Go West Young Man

Nineteen months ago I returned from the amazing experience that was Central and South America plus Antarctica. In that time the experiences have been interesting to say the least. However with the job market in the Niagara Region among the worst in the country I am taking up the journey that almost happened 30 years ago but never had the courage to do. I am heading to the Alberta Oil Sands to get work.

"Go West Young Man"
The lure of the West. You find it in history, literature, music, poetry and art. "Go West, young man" is a quote by American author Horace Greeley concerning America's expansion westward, related to the then-popular concept of Manifest Destiny. The actual quote being..Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country.

"Go West, young man, go West. There is health in the country, and room away from our crowds of idlers and imbeciles." "That," I said, "is very frank advice, but it is medicine easier given than taken. It is a wide country, but I do not know just where to go." "It is all room away from the pavements.

The phrase captured the imaginations of clerks, mechanics, and soldiers returning from the Civil War, many of whom moved west to take up a homestead.

In the next while I will write about my experiences of the last 19 months. From being with the greatest girl I have ever known, to getting fired from Thomson Reuters for calling an umbrella gay. Yes sir you read it right, calling an umbrella gay. From working with the most unethical and egotistical douches I have ever met at the Streaming Network to delivering pizzas and doing manual labour for $12 an hour. Moving 3 times to 3 different cities, experiencing a loved one with cancer, the joys of Kijiji, road trips, and touching base with old friends. The "black cloud" hanging over the psyche and soul of Niagara Falls.

"The west is the best, Get here and we'll do the rest"  wrote Jim Morrison. 

Its my time!