My father marvelled at a man who comes from a well-established Newfoundland family down the coast. Despite having access to both a car and the fuel to operate it, the man had never crossed the peninsula to visit a neighbouring community; not once in his 43 years, not even after the government paved the 80km byway spanning the divide. It’s a lovely drive, the terminus is a gorgeous little harbour and the people are both friendly and rather comical. Better still – they are good customers of the family business.
Of course my father had to ask; “How come you never drove over for a look? Aren’t you the least bit curious about the place? Sure your father used to deliver the mail over there using a dogsled” To which the man merely shrugged and with a laugh reminded him – “Now Jim, you know you can’t believe everything the old man told you!” Dad walked away shaking his head – not so much in disbelief anymore but instead because of the humour and the simple honesty offered in an explanation without remorse.
With this in mind, I like to start every one of my tours with an explanation about myself and the folks our guests will likely encounter during their stay. Certainly Newfoundlanders are a lovely & welcoming bunch. Indeed, guests to the province cite the ‘people’ as their second favorite experience, following only the coastal beauty. But everyone knows there’s nothing we love more than a good ‘Yarn’. Newfoundland Idle takes on a whole new meaning out here – and we will talk, no matter the subject so long as there’s something to be learned or a laugh to be shared.
Thus you must first know that if you engage us you will likely be delayed. You see, Newfoundland was a pretty isolated spot for many generations so any form of news was gobbled up greedily and passed on with great haste and relish. As well, our weather causes us to spend an inordinate amount of time in doors with family & neighbours – so we’ve come to appreciate company and will go to great lengths to delay your departure. And what more effective way is there to maintain your audience than with practiced oration of a tried and proven story.
Secondly, like any good story teller you should be aware that we have a propensity to exaggerate. It’s our prerogative, eh boy. When you’re competing for an audience you sometimes need to embellish the details in order to maintain their attention. I remember my own Grandfather’s attempt to stall long enough to be offered a drink, exclaiming as he looked out on the bay the first morning the government opened a ‘food fishery’ since the moratorium was declared on the Northern Cod – “Some good to see all the boats on the bay this morning; t’ousands of em out there today –yes sir, must be at least a dozen!”
And finally – you need to know that we have the most skewed temporal perspective of anyone on the planet. ‘Island Time’ takes on a whole new meaning in Newfoundland. Anything that happened in the past couple of days could have taken place any time this month. If we say a couple of weeks ago it could have been any day this season. And whatever we claim happened “a couple of years past” will often be followed with an exclamation regarding how time flies.
My logic in all this is simply to ensure our guests truly appreciate and understand their experiences. For while it may be difficult to believe at times, there are varying degrees of truth in every story. And ultimately, what difference does it really make so long as you recognize the foundation of truth upon which every story is built? 4 or 5 hands on the river aren’t exactly a ‘crowd’ by mainland standards but given Newfoundland’s rod to river ratio it’s certainly a fine “crew” of fishermen. The sun might not be “splitting the rocks” but she’s trying to break through the mist and the water is indeed ‘Civil’ for your day on the bay. This might actually be the only day this summer when we don’t see whales. The ferry might not arrive as promised “any minute now”, but the good news is, we’ve got an extra half hour to do everything on this island and we’re more than willing to spend it swapping a few yarns with you. So bid a greeting to everyone you meet on the island. Enjoy the time and the conversation.
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