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What it was like to fly over Fiji. But in a Beaver float plane, made in Canada, with a pilot from Vancouver, Canada... that finds out Vancouver is my home town. Chapter 11 : The Deserts.
It could not have been in a more remote location the night a scorpion stung me. No phone reception on a dirt road, and over a hundred km to a roadhouse. I was in my warm sleeping bag the sting felt like a hot knife burning its way into my skin. All I could do to kill the pain was take a Demerol I had for extreme pain. I thought I surely was going to die there. I knew a Bark Scorpion was deadly but I had no idea what type it was as it scurried into the night as I rolled around in pain in the sand. I was at first very afraid of dying alone there. I thought of my family and friends, all the people I had met terminally ill that were so brave.How could they be so brave? I thought about the time spent in the cancer ward thinking I will die there in some bed. I thought how I almost died trapped falling through a staircase in a house fire. I wished I had found the peace again . But then I felt calm, as I looked up the the beautiful desert stars. I felt an absolute peace in this beautiful warm place. Maybe it was the demerol. I went into a feverish dream. I awoke the next morning and clenched the sand in my fists feeling the earth knowing I would live. And then suddenly, I knew why I had yet been given another chance to live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P16YC_2vKU The clock stopped at 10:10 am in the Oncologists office. If you are ever face to face with your own mortality like I was several times, know this is true: You will likely beat it if you stay positive, and when you do: Every sunrise, every sunset, every success and every new friend you make will mean so much more that it ever did in your past life !  Excited to have been accepted by the Canadian Red Cross as an Internation Aid and Emergency Response Technician. Packed and ready for delpoyment, using all my previous firefighting skills. Now I will have followed my inspirational Fathers footsteps in all three of his major life events: Engineer/Paramedic/Red Cross. Love you Dad (Rudy Sr.) ! I met a lot of Nomads. I was always amazed by their strength and courage. I will write more about their stories in my book and film under final edits and coming out soon. Plus some other people that came into my life recently, good, bad some I miss so much. Some Nomads had travelled for months, some had travelled for years. They had lost lifetime partners, had broken hearts, were dying or were going great distances around the world for a cause. They gave it all away, job, home, they lived outside and surprising they all smelled pretty good. Its hard to keep clean fed and healthy living on the road...really. Sometimes we travelled a few days together, we laughed we cried we told stories of our journeys and hardships. They all signed my flag that will rest on Everest did you? In the end when we said goodbye, I gave them all 3 things they needed: Food, water and a good long powerful hug! I gave them all 3 things they needed: Food, water and a good long powerful hug! 
I planted this cedar tree over my mom and dads ashes in Whistler by Lost Lake. Sometimes I cycle up the 125 km just to water it. It has grown tall and beautiful just like they were. Its so peaceful and special here. I hope an angel will plant a cedar tree for me when I die..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4-1ASpdT1Y&start_radio=1&list=RDd4-1ASpdT1Y&t=12
I am very grateful that I was able to save countless animals I found at the side of the road (except snakes). I never left one animal that was alive...ever. Even if I just patted them gave them water until they died. Sometimes I cried. Maybe my job instilled that in me, as I held many people when they died. If the animals were small I put them in my bin and carried them along did what I could, we kept each other company, sometimes left them in a town with a refuge. I am not a bad person, that you know, never hurt anything or anyone. The universe knows that. But, I knew that if anything ever happened to me in the desert, these demons that constantly followed me likely would not be as kind! I looked out my window and saw this...... I had to climb our local mountains starting to prepare for Kilimanjaro. Camping is great for making snow caves with snowfalls are at record levels, excessive snow is a good thing, its our drinking water. Fresh water is more valuable than oil. It was so tranquil, so quiet in the virgin powder. I feel like spending the night. Even made a few friends, a Canadian version of St Bernard and a pesky Raven that likes chicken sandwiches on the peak. |
My Name is RudyI am a fire captain and cancer survivor. Current LocationIn memory of the
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