A ballad of survival against all odds

Truth is stranger than fiction, especially along the St. Lawrence River, and for people born in towns around its tributaries.

Here is a link to a song of ours about a man from Alexandria, a little town at the North end of Glengarry County, Ontario. He moved out West to work in mining, and had a few unfortunate encounters, the worst of which was with a wrench that fell from high enough above to break through his helmet, and into his brain.

I often try to imagine what must have been going through his head, besides blood and metal, when he was at the bottom of the mine, refusing to die. Maybe the thought of unfinished business, or unresolved matters of faith, kept him going.

Here is "El Dorado"

The footage is from a live performance at The Dakota Tavern in October. The musicians include one of Newfoundland's delicious exports, the rhythm section of Jon Hynes on bass and John Power on drums; the prairies are represented by Saskatchewan's Shaun Brodie on acoustic guitar, and Alberta's Holly Andruchuk on the electric. I'm the one accidentally channeling Jello Biafra. The photo above is of Jon and John.

Thanks to John's excellent drumming, I have to recant the earlier commitment to the 'play only what you can carry' rule. Nobody is an Island, so I guess the rule is now 'play only what we can carry together.' Together we can carry a whole drum kit.

We will be playing a string of dates with some friends from out West in the new year, so stay tuned, as details will soon be posted. Though it has yet to be confirmed, I must confess I've already been using Skype to rehearse a Hank Williams duet with one of said friends, for said dates. Which tune? Which towns? All will be revealed in due time.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you face to face before long!
Love,
BB

El Dorado's ghost on a Port Hope pier

My friend Magali and I recently took a Sunday drive to Port Hope, Ontario, to see what we could see. We met some artists, and stumbled on an excellent independent bookstore, which I was compelled to write about for an upcoming issue of Broken Pencil. But there was something I saw in Port Hope I didn't mention in the article- the ghost of El Dorado.

As well as luring a few lost souls through the jungle, and inspiring songs and art, the mythical city of gold once lent its name to a Canadian mining company.

Twenty years ago I paid a visit to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, and I had to ask the staff why there was no mention of the bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the World War II exhibit. I was told that Canada hadn't been involved "in that." But the uranium used to make the bombs was refined by El Dorado in a warehouse on a pier in Port Hope Ontario, and today you can walk along that pier on a Sunday afternoon and cast your line into the lake to fish.

Here is a picture of Magali by the fence on the pier, maintained by Cameco, the company that took over El Dorado in the 1990s. The barrels in the shot contain wastes from Cameco's operations, and the little black trefoil symbolizing radiation is stamped on each one.