Tourist to Cape Breton Island, You May or May Not Want to Stay

 

It has been a long time that I’ve been meaning to get writing. I guess it’s like everything else, the more you say you are going to do something the less the doing gets done. And, in my case doing the walk along with the talk comes way past the desired will. In my lifetime, I’ve done many things such as get a Bachelor’s Degree and things like take every wrong road or path to self-discovery, that it only makes sense for me to write. I’ve yearned to write like famous writers, and in an attempt to do so, I tried to fabricate what I thought to be the most lavishly glamorous romance story ever to be written. But, once again, I let my over inflated ego stand in the way--it’s always getting in the way. Only, this time I am determined to write. I am so determined that I refuse to write about anything but what I know. And now, I reveal the question that in the past has prevented me from continuing further, “where the hell do I start?”

My location is something needing to be addressed. I am back where I started--the same place I said, “I would die before living there again!” And, living here, I somehow feel dead. I’ve been told by most people, “Life in a small town is what you make of it.” For those that have lived here their whole lives, I must make them angry or hurt them whenever I decide to voice my negative views--I think partly because they don’t see that they are each day manipulated…., Or,… perhaps it’s my own seeds I’ve grown. Maybe, it’s the inner beast within me that from a very early age has rebelled against everything making it difficult for myself only. I know I’ve been fighting, and it seems like a no win situation…… Perhaps, I am fighting me--who am I?! Maybe, this town really is a small piece of who I am, and that is why I have a difficult time here. I really do! Yes, I choose what it is I do, but really, when a person is limited to only one or two things to do, I am someone whom has always taken the short term relief plan--as much as I’ve tried to concentrate and try have a real good long term plan…it never happens! Am I a product of learned behavior from my early years in life, and these behaviours of mine are really only following through a similar, yet distorted fashion of the learned behavior from a past I have unknowingly blocked.

My hometown is none other than a small town in Cape Breton, N.S. A speck on the map, and as of recent one can actually locate it when looking. It is a seasonal fishing town and because of past booming tourism, and the fact that our Canadian dollar was virtually worth nothing, we have made it on the map. I suppose living on the outside one would marvel at its beauty, especially the scenery which does envelope this mean little town. Entering the outskirt of town, the fine catholic Church can be seen before anything else. At the other end of town and on one’s way out, the mesmerizing beauty of the Cabot Trail begins with its rocky, somewhat chiselled coastline that stands out against the worn down but lush mountains tempting one to continue and explore. It is the explorer that will be captivated the most, and those along for the ride will remember its enduring enchantment--unless traveling on a foggy day, and then the chance of seeing much past the hood of the car is certainly more than one can ever expect.

Sometime after I moved away from home between 1996 and 2005 many projects developed and the town gradually transformed and became a sightseer’s gem. A boardwalk runs along the shore making it possible for the townies to open small businesses that cater to tourist. The boardwalk could certainly be used for more creative things made here. Different boutiques could certainly line up along the boardwalk…….Folks here could and would make money. Tourist, tourist, tourist needed.