Contemplation

My 3 years in Ocean Falls were coming to an end. The first half of my adventure was filled with new experiences and challenges and made me grow up. It forced me to evaluate my life and my future and it took me away from some influences that could have been detrimental. It created in me a sense of independence and a final separation from parents as my care providers. I came to the realisation that I could not live alone and that marriage was a good and right thing for me.
The last half of the adventure was an extended honeymoon, an opportunity to build a financial footing in life, and a time to make plans for the future. It was a time when the deep loneliness disappeared and in retrospect was one of the happiest times of my life.
Overshadowing our life there, was the constant reality of impermanence. Leaving was inevitable, but the timing of that was uncertain but always imminent. There were constant threats of strikes. Our lives were greatly effected by longshoreman strikes, tugboat operators strikes, postal workers strikes, airport workers strikes, pulp and paper maker strikes, and I realise now, that those were tumultuous times in the world of labour relations in BC. In fact, the unionization of BC's labour force was a factor in the upcoming provincial elections of '72 which had an immediate effect on our town and our future.