Extreme Kindness

Val's Journal - September 22, 2002

Current location: Saskatoon

One particular lyric from “Wheat Kings” by the Tragically Hip has always perplexed me: “sundown in the Paris of the prairies…”. How could any place in the middle of the wheaty expanse that is central Canada masquerade as one of the great cities of Europe? But— here I am— crouching on a chair, laptop on raised knees, looking out at Saskatoon. Streetlights that could pass for giant lollipops are burning a frosty orange glow onto the Sask River, coating it in a rippling sheet of gold. The stone bridges that arch over the water seem too fine and are completely alien to the uninspired, steel monstrosities that seem requisite in all the other towns we’ve passed through so far. Paris of the prairies, perhaps…

Saskatoon has been a pleasant surprise.

Our Extreme Kindness Marathon yesterday was a messy salad of hair styling, doughnut munching, costume modeling, police officer massaging and senior serenading. From a hairdressing school to an old folks home, the costume shop to the mall, we squeezed in a good 12 hours of intense compassion. The highlight was certainly getting arrested and cuffed by the Sask police for being too kind.

With any luck, we’ll be milking cows till the humans come home within the next 24 hours. The French CBC wants to film us committing kind acts in a more pastoral setting. Quote of the day: “May the bluebirds of happiness do belly flops in your tears.”