When I think of Chasing Home, I think of running after something that is just out of reach. Something that is in the distance and that I can see, but the closer I get the further away it moves. For me the idea of chasing home is trying to find something that is important to you, but you don’t know what that thing is. I think chasing home is chasing the memories and thoughts of the friends and families, the thoughts of the life that I’ve lead, the life I’m still leading. I think chasing home is the way that we connect back with our pasts and forget about our troubles, where there is always a space at the dinner table. I think chasing home is the idea of trying to recapture the memories and feelings of our past.
 Nanook & the Dancing Fireman: Part One
By Jacob Ricketts Many years ago in the North of Newfoundland, there was a boy. The boy was wild and reckless; so the elders of the Mi’kmaq tribe called him Nanook. Nanook was the name of a spirit that represented the curses of recklessness upon a being. Days and days past and Nanook grew more brash and barbaric, Nanook would break knives and fishing poles, he would not listen nor respect the elders and their wishes, the elders were becoming more and more impatient. The elders of the tribe sat and had a meeting one night and as they gazed into the fire, they saw Nanook and the village except the village was in ruins. All the elders looked at one and other and they talked about the story of the great bear that once destroyed an entire village in less time than it took to yell stop. All the elders agreed for the sake of the rest of the people in the village that Nanook should not be around anymore. The elders came to an agreement that if Nanook was to cause any more harm that he would be sent away, the elders all agreed that if Nanook acted out again they would send him on an impossible journey that would not lead Nanook back to the village. Nanook was 15 when he was sent on the impossible task. Nanook had been out playing and he showed off to the younger kids by grabbing fire from a Teepee and throwing it in the air making the most beautiful smoke, however when Nanook grabbed the fire he tripped over a cloth and dropped the fire on the teepee and it went up in smoke. After the smoke had cleared and the belongings were gathered the eldest man asked Nanook to run north and find Little Seal Lake “follow the great river and in time you will find the Lake, beware though every man who has tried to find this lake has never returned. Be careful, but be wise as well”, Nanook did not know why the elder asked him to find the lake but he accepted the task and started on his journey. Nanook was given a pound of meat and a litre of water, he was sent on his way. As the hours past Nanook seemed to be walking in circles, he had no map, no compass, just a general direction to travel. Nanook stopped and sat in a snow bank by a great flowing river, he looked over the bank into the water, when he did he first saw his reflection than another shape started to form. Nanook turned away and looked back again, when he did a figure, that he had never seen appeared and it freighted him, Nanook jumped back and closed his eyes, breathed and crawled back to the river. This time when he looked at the water…he saw himself staring back at him. Nanook collected his water, meat and continued on with his journey. The great sky grew dark and the extravagant Northern Lights showed themselves, Nanook stopped and gazed at the beauty of the gifts bestowed upon him. Nanook decided that he had been walking long enough and it was time to rest. As he laid in the snow and closed his eyes, the lights suddenly stopped, disintegrated and disappeared into the night sky, Nanook opened his eyes and sat up, when then the lights came back, this time in the shape of the figure that he saw in the river earlier in the day. Nanook closed his eyes, and opened them, this time he opened eyes, the figure started to move almost like it was dancing with the stars, all though he wanted too Nanook could not take his eyes off the dancing figure. The figure was a yellow and orange man, it was a man, a man in the sky dancing, he almost looked like that the man was on fire. Nanook was no longer afraid, he was intrigued, no he was amazed, amazed that a man in sky on fire could be so wonderful. Hours passed, to Nanook it only seemed like minutes, he gazed in awe and wonder. Nanook wondered why this being was here, why did it choose him? Why? Day broke and the lights disintegrated and the sun was shining, Nanook gathered his things and started on his way, snow covered ground, birds overhead and a beautiful sun shining with only one fluffy cloud. The river was clear and distinguished, Nanook was not taken in by anything surrounding him, he was only concentrated on the dancing man on fire that he stared at for hours the night before. As he continued down his unmarked trail, Nanook began to feel hungry he opened his pack and looked around for the meat he was given, to his surprise the meat was gone. Gone, like the fall before the winter, Nanook became hysterical and started running and looking for where he could have left his meat. When Nanook returned to where he had slept the night before he could not find the meat or any tracks that he had left, to Nanook the reckless boy this was the first time he became cautious. This scared him, he did not know what this feeling was it was a strange feeling, something he’d never felt before, even though he was scared Nanook felt a strange feeling of safety. Safety like being held when scared, with this new feeling and sense of safety and wiseness Nanook continued on his journey. Not having meat or any food was scary to Nanook, but for the first time it was the first thing on his mind, Nanook had finally grown from careless and reckless to wise and vigilant, he shook off the ways of his boyhood and was finally a man. As the hours past, Nanook’s stomach growled and bellowed, he saw something in the distance. Something shining a beautiful blue shining object in the distance, Nanook squinted and looked as far as he could see. Nanook began to run, faster and faster gaining speed he finally found Little Seal Lake. Faster and faster, Nanook dropped his packs and screamed to the heavens and then stopped, stopped, dead in his tracks. The dancing man had returned, this time in the daylight, he was dancing majestically and with great poise, but he wasn’t dancing in the same motions as he did last time, he was dancing west and pointing the same direction. Nanook looked at the man and followed him, as long as Nanook could before the man disappeared. When Nanook looked around, the shining blue lake was gone, gone. Nanook collapsed and wept screaming that there was no use in continuing. Nanook sat in the snow sobbing and wincing for hours. Night took over the land and the stars showed themselves in full beauty. Like the night before the man returned, this time not dancing, standing looking at Nanook, Nanook cried and screamed at the man “Why are you here, what do you want?” The man turned his head and spoke to Nanook, “I have come to you, to guide you to the Great Lake, go west and you will find what you seek to.” The man started dancing and disappeared into the night sky as he did before. Nanook stood and yelled at the top of his lungs, “I will find this Lake and I will return a man!!” Nanook gathered his pack and stormed to the west. The sun rose and Nanook was still walking to find what he was looking for. Nanook was entered a forest, with beautiful maple, oak and ash wood trees, this was the first time that he stopped and took in what was going on around him. Suddenly a branch broke in the distance and the great blue birds flew away in a panicking frenzy. Nanook called on his new feeling and sense of safety and continued walking carefully. Not 10 minutes later 3 white furred wolves appeared from behind the darkness, Power to the People The Government of Zugzwang
The No Name (NN) Party Jacob Ricketts Steps Down as the Prime Minister of Zugzwang For Immediate Release Zugzwang, Zugzwang, March 8, 2000- The Government of Zugzwang announced today that Jacob Kevin Ricketts has officially resigned as the Prime Minister of Zugzwang. In the Prime Minister’s official statement, he expresses his joy being Zugzwang’s first Prime Minister. The PM explained that the resignation comes after being under enormous stress under the work load required. The PM confirmed that he will keep a seat in the House of Commons and wishes that the new Prime Minister will be able to handle him/herself in running Zugzwang. PM Ricketts has been acting as Prime Minister for the past couple of months. In that time Prime Minister Ricketts sat in the first sitting of the House of Commons and passed four of the five bills. The PM won the first Zugzwanian candidate election by a land slide. The PM set very stern, but reasonable laws in hopes that the country of Zugzwang would be a free and fair land for everyone to live in. The No Name (NN) Party has voted & released the name of the person who will be filling in for the recently departed Prime Minister. Early today the No Name (NN) Party representative announced that Robert Terrence Flynn will be officially stepping in as Zugzwang’s second Prime Minister. The No Name (NN) Party issued a statement stating that the party is very bereaved that the Prime Minister stepped down but they are very optimistic with the choice of Robert Flynn. “Prime Minister will be missed, but it is the dawn of a new day. We believe that the country will thrive more with Robert Flynn.” Power to the People Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefiled and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were first and foremost in the fear suppression business. -David Halberstam, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War  It seems that North Korea continues to impress. The country has tested 3 nuclear devices against United Nations orders, and now is threatening to ignore and destroy the 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War. In the 1950s the Korean War was raging between the United States and the Koreans, after the war was finished, the Koreans and the Americans signed a cease fire agreement ending the Korean War. However the North Koreans are expressing that the ceasefire only meant that the fighting would stop and that they didn’t sign a peace treaty, which would have meant that the grudge between the two countries would stop forever. The North Koreans are now threatening to tear up the agreement if the United Nations meets and restricts the Nuclear Tests. Back to the 3 nuclear tests conducted by the North Koreans, after repeated warnings by the United Nations, North Korea continued to test nuclear devices in hopes of finding a nuclear warhead small enough, but still powerful, to attach to a missile that can travel to the United States. In the United States and the United Nations, disbelief is high, the U.S & the U.N believe that North Korea is nowhere near developing the technology.
North Korea can have the technology and are waiting to use it or could be miles away still on the drawing board, that’s the scary part we don’t know what’s going on, seeing is how no one is allowed in or out of the country and all military plans are top secret. This begs the question, should we be scared? What if North Korea has the technology and are waiting to use it, how would we survive knowing that we are in the midst of nuclear warfare? Which brings another question, the United States is the main enemies to the North Koreans and any allies may be attacked as well, so is Canada in the mind of Kim Jong Un? Personally I’m worried, I’m worried that North Korea has the technology and I’m worried that they will use it. I don’t know what would happen to the world, World War III? North Korean Domination? I find that idea the scariest, the idea of not knowing what will happen. I trust my leaders to do the right thing, I hope that World War III will never happen; it’s not up to me though. Again I come back to the question… Should we be Scared? |
