Sellars Sales

# 3 -- "Try never get drunk outside yr own house"

Best for observation. Best for image. Best for mind, I would add.

Three drinks and I was meeting the Member of Parliament of the Sea to Sky corridor: John Weston.

Discussion on changing perceptions of Canada; about the only thing that came to mind at the moment.

“Should it – need it -- be done?” I ask.
Need not be, according to the MP. If people have their opinions -- let them stay in America, was basically the gist.

Introduced to the MP via David Bromley with David Bromley engineering and with Rampart's Avenir -- “he’s building his own town,” a woman named Jane said, telling me to "remember this man."

And surely I will. Before the group left with MP staffers, she put the idea out there as a “voice for radio” – she enjoyed the way I spoke.

Earlier in the Ted event I posed a question on the etymology/discourse of “travel” and “tourism” – arguing that if tourism is to become more “sustainable” – perhaps it should be reevaluated to become more focused on the benefits of travel – interaction, connecting with the local, investing a bit of one’s self versus adding to consumption and being a passer-though.

People approached me during a few of the breaks to talk about this and were glad I raised the point, also commenting to me on the idea of “adventure” travel. “Must all adventure and eco-tourism be done in places of the developing world?” I asked, thinking of my own sense of adventure and travel. Sometimes I believe people can have just as great a sense of adventure by staying within a regional context – it helps enrich a person’s knowledge and cuts down on the overall footprint of the travel.

Another were a pair of Kiwis (New Zealander) whom I stood by at the hors d'œuvre table chatting with. After further discussion and drinks, off we go to Citta's Bistro along the Stroll. Mel ordered “Screwing the Dog” and Jaime the “Whistler Barbie.” Canada just wins the hockey game versus Switzerland (yes, I’m catching up); Silver in short-track, Shaun White gold in half-pipe (48.6/50). Correy is with us -- my partner in crime for the TedX event.



Jaime, Mel, Correy (and the Red Mittens).

Before we know it, a man hops in to our temporary establishment, situated right next to Whistler Live. I ask him before introductions if he is an insurance salesman. Turns out it is food import; salesman seem easy to spot.

I’m dancing to Deadmau5, “Ghosts and Stuff” plays live.



Canadian maple leaf ghost.

The salesman tells tales of his father -- Don Sellar and uncovering the death of two F18 fighter plane pilots and being on the FBI’s database and being a Canadian writing about Americans, scandals, etc. as a 40-year career as a newspaperman (a stint as political writer for the Calgary Herald, a Parliament Hill correspondent and Washington bureau chief for Southam News Services). Wild Whistler and the people a person meets.

I’m dancing out of happiness.
Not drunk, but not sober, outside of my own home; meeting Canadians, Kiwis, locals, travelers and everyone in between.

Mel writes the world a haiku about New Zealand.

“Muriwai beach smell the air
Nestled in the Southern Alps Coalgate beers,
Aotearoa NZ, 100% pure us!”