first peoples

The Oystercatchers of Gwaii Haanas
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The Oystercatchers of Gwaii Haanas

Hail Brave Hearts

The great wild is calling,  An adventures awaits.  Dutifully we don our apparel for yet another great holiday in Canada.  It’s summertime, and the sun shines gloriously on long days of warmth and outdoor activity. Canoes and kayaks entice us into the waters of lakes and rivers.  The iconic Canadian transportation system, lures us into the paths of our history.  Build your canoes, build your kayaks, follow in the steps of legendary people who navigated the waters this way.

The great wild calls us to develop the skills of history makers who charted the seas, mapped the coastlines and stamped the approval of the ownership of this land.  This is ours.

The great lands of the Haida, tucked away in the northern islands, north of Vancouver Island.  Isolated and rare, a gem of discovery.  This land is our land, protected by a great nation of peoples, the Haida people of Haida Gwaii and the Gwaii Haanas National Park.  It belongs to them and their stories fill the islands.

We arrive by plane, for the trip of a lifetime, into the land of the Haidas.  Remote and alive, the area fills with eagles.  The ocean is calm and the days are warm.  We’ve packed for a week long kayak adventure into Gwaii Haanas.  This area is a paradise of wilderness ocean adventure.

Seagulls meet us, reminding us that God is here.  In the call of the birds, we clearly hear Gods name.  Seals bask on the rocks and a river otter swims past.  An Oyster Catcher stops us.  His antics catch our attention as he jumps around on the rock in a aa unusual dance.  His five chicks huddle close together in the nest and his mate slumber close by.  He is a father and proudly shows off the nest.  A thirteen year old bird, whose making a noise that sounds like Barack.  We name him Barack then, pleased that he’s shown us his fine family

Black Oystercatcher Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Our luck with the weather holds for this trip.  There are seven of us on this  July excursion, with a guided kayaking and camping company.  The Pacific is mainly calm and peaceful towards us as humpback whales surface and feed in our sights.  One comes close to us.  It’s a pleasure.  The wildlife sightings are superb, with black bear, dolphins, orcas and sea lion to add to our list.  The bird life is unusual to us as well.  Ancient Murrelet,  seagulls, falcons, puffins, rhinoceros beaked birds and red footed pigeon guillemot to add to  our list.  It’s a list of some rare bird and animals  in an area filled with ocean life.

Then, there’s, the people.  We visit the Haida of the ancient totem poles.  to see for ourselves the carvings of great masters and to hear their stories.  A far flung people, out in islands in a remote Pacific location.  An area of impressive beauty molding a nation of seafaring people, who live from the sea.  The builders of ocean going canoes paddling the great seas.  A people of unique culture, surviving in an area of wildlife wealth.  The ocean provides.

This was a dream holiday in our great land.  So much to be proud of, so much to enjoy.  The land and the people, the ocean and the wildlife.  A place of unusual prosperity.

parks.canada.ca › pn-np › bcGwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine …

The sun shines brightly on Haida Gwaii and the warm summer breeze encourages outdoor adventure.  This was a wonderful, unique  holiday in Canada’s superb wilderness backyard.  We congratulate ourselves for this choice of adventure.    We’ll be back

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

August 27, 2023

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A Brave and Perilous Journey

Hail Brave hearts

In the era of yesteryear,  the land was young, and people from Europe sought passage to this place, seeking a new freedom, a quest for new life, a new self fulfillment, a new community, a new start in the world.  This was Canada, when it was young, a place for settlers to, call their home.  Strong people, adventurous, industrious, hard working and courageous, they flocked to this land for their rights to a new life.  Free of the constraints of power in Europe, the new colonialists forged ahead, seeking refuge, land, a place to farm and a place to call home.  This is us, in Canada.  Young, welcoming, offering a life to those who were willing to make the journey and to work for a life  like no other.

The wild calls, with it’s howling voice, its watches with it’s thousand eyes, it hears with it’s sharp ears and vanishes into the bush, only to emerge at night and howl some more.

The crack of a branch in the forest.  Who’s out there?  Only a wild cat?  Only a bear?  Who lurks in the bushes and stalks us?  In the quiet of the forest, when the wind rushes through the trees, the clamour of restless birds, announce the presence of the stranger.  In the wild of the waterways, the rushing water tumbles over rapids and waterfalls.  Dangerous rivers, dangerous portages, dangerous stormy lakes, all lead to the wealth of a land of promise.  The new land of plenty, if you dare to seek it.  Follow the treasure map to the X that marks the place.  Here you will find what you seek, if you survive the perilous journey to reach it.

How long will this journey take depends on you.  It depends on your skills, your health, your aptitudes, fortitude and negotiation., or perhaps, stealth and quiet.  It’s a dangerous game, but for the many who sought this refuge in the wild, the high stakes must have been worth effort.  The right to own land, to have a freedom.

1670s in Canada – Wikipedia

The journey across the Atlantic Ocean is just the beginning.  A 5403 kilometer start to an uncertain finish in old Quebec City.  Such a long and tiresome journey for the the hopeful stalwarts of the day.   Alas, this is not the X on this map.  Old Quebec is not the treasure for this group of immigrants, longing for a fresh new start in a wild and uncompromising land.  This refuge in the storm is not for them.  This fabulous  colony, so fortuitous, the weary, grateful travellers can cast their eyes on the potential that awaits them.  A city!  It’s possible.  It’s possible to tame this land.  It’s possible to farm here, and to enjoy the benefits of a tenuous freedom.

There are freedoms from some things, but the land and it’s inhabitants are still in charge.  Push on, oh brave hearts, push on.  Seek your fortune.  Find the treasure.  It’s promised to you, if you survive.  So brave hearts, if you should choose to accept this challenge, your good fortune and perhaps fame awaits you.  Good luck.

written by Dr Louise Hayes

April 11, 2022

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Challenges of Discovery

Hail Brave Hearts

The never ending adventure to voyage and discovery to meet and greet the new people, to learn their ways.  Peace among us is a priority, gifts and exchange, routes of travel and a path to the new world.  Discover, trade and progress, learn the language, the customs, the society.  There are many peoples, many societies, many worlds to discover.  Come with this explorer into the heart of our land and meet the people, listen to their stories, share their passions, learn their wisdom.  This is New France, in 1615, with an exploration into the aboriginal territories of Ontario, as far as Georgian Bay and Lake Nippissing, in search of a route to the Orient.

The Orient.  That spell binding, alluring destination of dreams.  Silk, spices, riches.  The Orient!  Find the route through Canada, we know it’s there.  Yes, it is, but not this time.  Not in 1615, when the world was forested and filled with mighty, turbulent rivers, with rapids and waterfalls to portage.  Not in 1615 when every few hundred kilometers brought new nations of aboriginals to meet and negotiate with.  As skilled and brilliant as these explorers were, the land is too large, the peoples too many, the dangers too difficult and the demands too great.  Still, the path to the Orient exists, but the people need to know these explorers, before extending such a substantial gift as the whereabouts of this sought after trail.

Samuel de Champlain 1604-1616

Travel and travel and travel, is a must.  Explore the world around and before you.  Go to these uncharted lands.  Bring peace, negotiation and prosperity with you, if you can.  It’s a daunting mission, to be the explorer, to discover and collaborate with people of unknown character.  Meeting them in their own land, on their own terms.  Peace and skilled negotiation.  The intellect soars as the negotiations are successful and the peoples minds are set at ease, with this friend.  Gratitude for such necessary gifts, as some burdens are lifted and some work is eased.  Sharing and caring, the beginning of a new world.  The start of a new land.  This is now New France, being explored and documented and carefully mapped.  Each river that is traveled, each new tribe that is encountered, each new language that is spoken and the forest of trees, plants and animals to marvel at as well.  All carefully described, by this well educated person, who knew the land so well.

This is the life of a great explorer, Samuel de Champlain.  His mission of discovery was so successful that it formed peaceful and prosperous relations with several aboriginal tribes and the French people, who earnestly sought common bonds and  well intended relationships with the people of the new world.  The needs for these negotiations for the fur traders were high.  In the end Champlain died in Quebec city with only 150 settlers living in the colony.

With the explorer, came the missionaries.  Jesuit priests from France, intent on bringing Christianity to the people of Canada.  This seemed necessary for the aboriginals to understand the religion of the French people  so that they would have a common bond in humanity to share.  Peace among the people, brothers in Christ.  Although the aboriginals had their own religion, with their own after life, it was deemed essential to bring these people to Jesus.  Such was the quest of the Jesuits who pursued this mission to the ends of their lives.

https://routechamplain.ca/en/listings/carhagouha-1615-site-of-first-mass-in-ontario/

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 28, 2020

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The Iroquois of Hochelaga

Hail! You awesome human. We meet and we are joyous. It is with gladness that we greet the newcomers to our great land. Come, eat, fill your bellies from our larder, you will not starve among us. We feed you, we accept you, friend, speak with us. We will teach you and help you, friend, come to our village, for conversation and peace among us.

You, oh lofty European, with your fine boat, your interesting garment, your unusual style. How intriguing that you should come here to meet us. Tell us about yourselves, your passage, your ways, your reason for being here.

And so, the dialogue occurs. A conversation on the island of Montreal, between the explore Jacques Cartier and the Iroquois of Hochelaga.

The kindness of the  people, the curiosity, goodwill, companionship and generosity all marked in the captains log.  A fine people of bravery and fellowship, standing at the gateway to the interior of Canada.  A brave new land.  A people of skills and craftsmanship who built a fortress of wood with a village of longhouses inside it.  A people who farmed the land, planted crops, fished in the waters of the St. Lawrence River.  A people with some invention, with tools and self sufficiency, that were able to rely on their wits and toil for their survival.

https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/french-canada/the-mystery-village

These are the  people who are lost to us, only six years had passed and they are gone.  Where did you vanish to, you kind and courageous people?  Where did you go, when we needed your stories?  Your kinship is important to us, yet you vanish into history.  A people of fame, marked in the year 1535 and gone 6 years later in 1541.  Man the builder.  A fortress of wood, with longhouses inside it.  A village to protect the 1500 occupants.  The historical significance of this site is immense, since the builder has tools and a method of construction which was unique to them.  They also had social order which helped them to live congenially in such a confined space.  But where did you go,  oh fine human?  A human of intellect and high aptitudes, of compassion and caring, vanishing into the unknown in such a few short years.  

The mystery of Hochelaga still haunts us, as we excavate Montreal.  Although the people vanished, the message survived.  Come, friend, speak with us.  The exploration of Canada and later the fur trade.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 1, 2020

Prayers for the People
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Prayers for the People

Hail, oh brilliant ones

From the minds of the common man, the culmination of skills and knowledge to survive in the cold, white winter.  Plant your crops, harvest your gold, smell the sweet scent of success.  The smiles of surpassing years of struggle, the world is won, the population is rising, the connection has been met.  Sow the seeds of prosperity, in the soil, in your minds, in the community and in the cultural exchange.   Tips of survival that heal the body, heal the mind and mend the sorrow.  Live you awesome stalwarts.  Live and let live, to soar in this land of plenty.

By royal decree the brides arrive, about 800 in total.   By royal decree, they marry and they stay.  No more visiting and making the decision to stay, only to return to France because the colony is too rustic.  Now there are families and sighs of relief.  Mutual sharing, caring and helpfulness, homes and companionship, comfort and joy.  The blessings of a child, the good work of the hospital.  The population starts to rise.  In 1663 the population of New France is merely 3200 strong and hearty souls.  In ten years time, the population doubles, to 6700 in 1672.  From the humble beginnings of 26 in 1608, to rise to a population of 6700 , sixty eight years later, in 1672.

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/filleroi/  The Kings Daughters,  Filles de Roi

The success of the Kings Daughters was mainly due to the origins of the women.  Peasant girls for the countryside were more well suited to the rigors of life in the colony, than girls from the towns.  Make your own bread, pick your own berries, harvest your own crops, feed the animals, milk the cow.  The country girls had more life skills than their counterparts in the city and could manage the hard work better, with more knowledge and more skills to their credit. Mainly rural people, from the farm.  People who understand animals, crops, weather, soil.  Hardworking people, who know how to plant seeds and preserve food.

The small population of Quebecois in Canada is finally starting to rise.  These women were needed to prevent incest and to finally ensure a that the small group of people, living in that far off land, would actually survive and become a people of their own.

Cast off into the colonies, with wits and courage to save them, they will work hard for their living and persist in developing the land and the character of the people who dwell their. They will have their babies and change the world.  With the developing colony comes a people of ingenuity.  Inventions of their own.  Negotiations of their own.  An existence that becomes a life of unexpected chance.  Maple syrup and horse racing.  Unique and unknown in some circles, becomes a part of life.  A chance for joy.

With prayers for the people, the nation is developing well.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 15, 2016

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We Got What We Asked For

Hail Bravehearts

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, so invent away, oh brilliant ones.  We need your intelligent, focused minds.  The land is lush and forested, the ways of the new world are forming.  Unique culture, unique people, united through a necessity to survive.  The harshness is surpassed, the colony if finally a reality, a town, a community, a people of strength and character.  A new world to be proud of, a new colony to call home.  Safety and security, faith heals all.

This new destiny brings hope for longevity, wealth in adversity, dreams to fulfill and lives to share.  More happiness, more health, more survival,  more life.  A community starting to thrive and a prosperity starting to emerge.  Now the world changes and with new life, new skills emerge.  Challenges are overcome and ideas form and are listened to. Hail, oh brave ones, enter the invention.

A small effort, to bread a horse.  Commonplace and casual.  No one thinks twice about it.  So there’s a mare and there’s a stallion and a farmer needs a foal.  But this is a different world, a world of constant work.  That necessary animal needs to be changed.  Tweek those muscles, change that stature, increase that stamina.  We need a workhorse, an iron maiden, a horse of steel to work all day, to  ride on, to show with, to jump with, to teach our children to ride on.  We need a smaller horse, one that doesn’t eat too much, but well muscled for the work at hand.  We need an well rounded animal, that we can use for anything.  Work in the fields, pull a cart, take a day off for a ride on.   Please give us such an animal.  The king has sent many horses, try an experiment, fulfill our wishes, see what you can do.

And so it comes to pass.  From the breading stock of the King of France, comes several different breeds to consider.  Perhaps the Andalusian, maybe the Barb, an Arabian, a Norman, a Breton  and a draft horse.  All animals of superior breeding, all animals of quality and perfected genetics.  Each of these breeds has character and worth of it’s own.  Now, for the outcome that we desire, pick the perfect matches.

http://www.chhaps.org/breedinfo.htm  the Canadian Horse

From fine bloodlines and carefully selected breeding, comes the horse of their dreams.  Sturdy and capable, strong and even tempered.  A horse for all occasions.  Breeding their own, gives them rights, superiority of aptitude, distinction of intellect.  A breed made to order, an invention of necessity.  A work horse, a riding horse, a unique horse.  Well done, oh awesome human, to conjure up the animal of your needs.  Well done, oh early homesteader, to support your survival in such a unique way.  A new horse, and a beauty!  Hail to you, and the Canadian.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 4, 2016

It Persists
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It Persists

Hail, oh brilliant ones!

The morning shines with light and warmth, the shadows of the darkness pass.  Into this world comes the strong passion of the rising soul.  Now, another day, another quest, another memory.  Each day lived brings us closer to the cause.  To peace, security, life and prosperity.  The greatest achievement in the minds of mankind.  To build a nation and to be one.

To be one with the land, to be one with the people, to join in a massive undertaking of privilege and success.  To be the ones who made it real, to set the stage of your own destiny, to carve footsteps for others to follow, to be the unbeatable champion.  Rise all of you.  Rise to glory.  It is with duty that you come forward, but it is  glory that you aspire to.  Rise, oh champions.  This is your day.

This day, of setting the boundaries, of felling trees, of building dwellings.  This day of toil, of laborious, hard work, of companionship, of perspective and perseverance.  This is a day of duty, of care, of obligations.  This is just another day, way out there.

Way out across the ocean in a land of newness and wild.  The great wild.  So tempting and so secretive, so majestic and so dangerous.  In unison they toil and in unison they strive, to build a fortress of security to protect themselves, shelter, and keep them, in this brave new world.

The great wild is lurking, we hear the howls in the night.  The barks of canine species as they call.  The hoots and coos, of the unknown, the swirling flight of night creatures, the croaks and chorus of singing sounds, the eyes of creatures in the dark.  The night in the forest, so loud and alive, as hunting and singing and playing rings in our ears and the watchful wild stare in the dark, lurking and forbidding us to trespass.  The night sky, a shining mass of stars and the brightness of the moon casts shadows across the grass.  The insects sing in a deafening crescendo and the sounds of the night in the forest fill their dreams and disturb a restful sleep. The wild, so haunting and forbidding, so silent and so eerie.

But the test for a colony comes from adaptability,  foresight, ingenuity and preparedness.  The strength to carry on. The ability to survive.  Good leadership,  sound judgement, skills and ability.  Determination.

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/perr1/newfrance/  A Brief History of New France

Here, in the wild frontier of Canada, where hope and dreams and dares and challenges fill their every day, comes the human of fortitude.  An illustrious European, with desires of grandeur, with minds focused on a colony, with dreams of prosperity.  Persevere, oh great ones.  All is for fame, for fortune and for us.  It is for a place in history and a place for you.  A new world!

Oh awesome human, venture forth.  To a new world!  To a new beginning!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 15, 2015

In The Beginning
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In The Beginning

Good Day Bravehearts!

Welcome to this awesome new day.  The world brings light into your lives, life into your existence and hope to those who sing for  it.  Brave new world, a world of hope and inspiration.  A world of challenges and excitement.  A world for the bold, the daring, the skilled and the champions.  Light our lives, oh daring adventurers, for the great good earth has presented a brave new world for exploration, adventure and settlement.  Light our lives, oh torches of strength and courage, as the great swells of the ocean, cast you about and hurl you through the darkest and most dangerous storms, to a landing of somewhat safety.  Cast your doubts aside and persevere, oh bold and talented chosen ones. The angels fly and their wings surround you as you step to the chosen shore.  Safety.  The security of the land, the chosen place of a new birth, the cultivation of civilization, wrought from the timbers of the land.

An opportunity so profound, it could not be overlooked.  The opportunity of life, of fortune, of fame, of grandeur, all for the sake of a few strong souls who could make it real.  The hope of success, the plea for courage, the compelling need to try.  The fortune hunter, the inspired authority, the wealth of riches, the greed of plunder.  Dreams, inspiration, imagination and flights of fancy.  The mind races with prospects of achievement, the brain spins with possibilities.  Unlimited opportunity for those who dare.  A new world.  A new life.  A new beginning.  To be on the breaking edge of new discovery, new possibility, new everything!  A chance.   A roll of the dice.

Sooth sayers, fortune tellers, tarot readers, crystal balls.  What does the future hold?  Tell us, oh wise and enchanted ones.  What does it say?  Will we be rich?  Will we survive?  Give us your answer!  Tell us our fortunes!  Will we survive.

Our luck is surrounding us, the King pledges his trust.  His command is omnipotent.

Bold and daring, we must adventure, to cultivate a civilization from the forest of a far flung world.  A world of temptation, of persuasion, of allure. The call of this land is the song of the siren, enchanting and haunting it begs us to stay.

” Come!”, whispers the wind, and the swaying branches wave us ashore.  The rustling leaves catch the sunlight and play with our senses.  A pretty sight.  A friendly world.  A breathtaking, heart stopping, thought.

Build it!  Build it and they will come.  The fortune seekers, the treasure hunters, the rich and the poor.  Build it and they will come.

To the might of France, to the power of the authority of the King.   A brave new world, a fabulous civilization, fashioned from the rough hewn timbers of the forest.  An indomitable human spirit.   The sailor, the ministry, the adventurer, the pioneer.  The champions of new life, new liberty, new beginnings.  The torch shines brightly for the souls of those days, as we feast from the harvest of their workmanship, negotiation and peace.

Hail, almighty ones, a country is in the making.  Hail oh bravehearts, your backs are breaking.  The long and difficult journey to a colony is at hand.

To greatness!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 1, 2015

Is It a Calendar?
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Is It a Calendar?

Good morning, all of you brilliant ones

Today is one of our solstice days.  A day of long summers light and warm summer sunshine.  Today, we discover our ancient past and peek into the lives of an ancient people.

Hail bravehearts.  Come to Canada!

Come to a land of intrigue and mystery.  A land of ancient people living in conjunction with ancient peoples all over the world.  Come to a land of discovery, where the early aboriginals rival the intellect of peoples world wide.  Come to Canada where the ancient world is opening it’s doors and showing itself as a marvel of ancient wonder.

Some call it a medicine wheel, some call it glaciation, but another scientist has researched the site and credits it as a  huge sun temple.

5000 years ago on the plains of southern Alberta, the ancient Oxbow people gathered their strength and might and formed a huge circle of stones, 26 square kilometers wide, with features that represent the sun, the crescent moon and the morning star. This vast calendar was placed by them, as a means to view the changing seasons and to watch the moon phases.   These ancient people, built their vast temple from stones with a similarity to, but 700 years older than the Stonehenge site in England.

http://canadastonehenge.com/2009/01/sun-temple-discovery-in-alberta-informs-stonehenge-research/Canada’s Stonehenge in Alberta

The still evolving discovery of this place is being researched, with pictures catalogued to prove the possibility of a calendar, which marked the changing season and the changes in the moon phases, as light is cast upon the Earth.  Ancient man, trying to tell the time and to prove the date, the length of a year, the changes in light in each season for the hours in a day, the number of days in a year, so that they can predict the seasons which is so important to their survival.

This particular area of Alberta is known for ancient and prehistoric life, being in the vicinity of the dinosaur dig as well.

written by Dr, Louise Hayes

June 22, 2015

I am Your King
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I am Your King

Good Morning all you brilliant ones!

A day for adventure into the great unknown, to challenge your wits and your courage. Another day to relish in the delight of a call to greatness, to rise to the challenge, to set your course on a path of duty, to live bravely and to sing the songs of champions in the quest for a new destiny. A call from the great wild, from the wind swept lands of plenty, to colonize a great new land and to set your fellows free. History calls your name and the log books fill with the brave deeds of strong and mighty humans.
Cast off from shore and abandon your tasks, a new day, a new world, a new life awaits you.
“They’re at it again”, whispers the wind and their neighbors on foreign soil watch in curiosity as the French embark on yet another attempt to colonize the great white north. It has been 80 years since their last venture into the land of plenty, where the wild north wind blows and the snow piles high in winter. The friendly natives had offered their wares, fur to trade for knives and supplies and the hopes and dreams of fortunes of gold had dulled their wits to the perils of doom and disaster that would certainly come.
Friendly natives, offerings something small, maybe squirrels in exchange for much needed items to make their own lives easier. A small offering of just a little animal. Think, think, what is this exchange? Trivial and small, but eagerly offered. This is what we have, can we trade? And so, trade it is, commodity for commodity, mutually agreed upon price, from a small beginning to a large and profitable undertaking. So large and prosperous that it filled the nation, built forts, built friendships, ties of compassion. Trade; the fur trade.
But in 80 years, still no colony.

http://www.canadiana.ca/citm/themes/pioneers/pioneers2_e.html Samuel de Champlaine

Now the time has come for more adventure, for the common man to come forward and offer his services to his king. Righteous lord with command of presence, dignity and glory. All glory to this awesome king, a human of spirit and praises and worthy bearing. Glory and honor, dignity and power. Thy will shall be done, oh mighty one, our lord most high and we your lowly subject will obey, dutifully, your high command. Praises lord, oh awesome king! Praises to your glory, your adventure, your high and mighty ways, your awesome power, your might, your right, your rule!
So be it master, you have the brains. It’s ideas and brilliant thinking that pursuades us. We are only your loyal subjects, only poor humans of weak minds and strong bodies, work all day. So be it master, have your way.
The lofty almighty man, the king of great adventures has now spoken.
The French will colonize Canada. And we all know why. Because, I am your king, and it shall be.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
April 29, 2015