Out on Highway 41

You’ve reached the revamped online personal home of Scott Shpak, curmudgeon, part-time bon vivant, canoeist, raconteur and soon-to-be euchre doormat. With 63 revolutions of Sol nearly complete, circumstances finally grabbed me by the collar of my black v-neck and dragged me into the lower reaches of the Canadian Shield.

I’m trading life in the city for septic tanks, bears at the dump, flaky cell phone coverage, dock spiders and Elon Musk’s satellite internet. And I’m doing this voluntarily.

The Unhappiest City

Just last month it was announced that London, Ontario is the unhappiest city in Canada. I feel, then, it’s my civic duty to leave. This should cheer up more than a few.

In truth, I’ve been trying to get away from London for nearly as long as I’ve been there. True, I had a decade away in Manitoba and brief sojourn back in Niagara, but for London, the writing was on the wall, even if it was a really, really long wall.

On the Mighty Mississippi

Nope, not that Mississippi. This is a smaller Mississippi, more travelled by pontoon boats than paddlewheels. But that’s okay, see above. Canoeist and curmudgeon. If I have any spare time around septic tank service, perhaps I’ll spend it sitting on the docks, cursing at the pontoon boats.

Anyway, the plan is to post about the trials, tribulations, and culture shocks experienced by me as I step boldly into this near-north remoteness. There will be the usual, pithy remarks and photographs, and probably a lot of pointing and laughing, on your part anyway.

Enjoy it. Or else.

-Scott.