P. Ferguson image, June 2021.
One Buffalo More
Once – short days ago there was a pickup truck fitted with bells and whistles as creature comforts are required for any long haul. This is the nature of driving across Canada through all seasons.
However, with this one truck was the growing clutter of ornaments, pins and amusements that filled the dash and visor of long driving days. Mostly they were buffalos (correct term Bison…but not here). Perhaps reminders of the range…the prairie…certainly fun…and perhaps so too recollections of the buffalo centerpiece worn for many years, Maintiens le Droit.
They were small and medium…not too large (as I recall) and when we rolled, our buffalo friends shared the journey in the great banter of the time. Perhaps it was a way of home running alongside the truck as the landscape changed. Laughter, humour, …the way of things…until one day…11 June 2021…we became one buffalo less.
A week to the day had passed and as I wandered through Sidney in pursuit of blueberry strudel (my buffalo friend would have enjoyed these too) I happened upon a small china Wade buffalo – just like one (of several – I seem to recall a herd) from my friends’ truck. And so it was to be that Wayne (my buffalo’s name) has returned to the range…one buffalo more.
P. Ferguson image, June 2021.