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 Chapter 2

   I traded in my car on a small motorhome and over the next year and a
half, I wandered all over the US and Canada trying to find that elusive
`something' that would give me peace.  I never seemed to find it until
finally I wound up in one of the communities in Haida Gwaii (I'm not going
to say which one).  I became deeply interested in the beliefs of the Haida
community and became quite friendly with one of the Haida elders.  (The
gentleman asked that I not use his name so I'll just call him `my elder
friend' in the story.) As I lived among the community and participated with
them in their rituals, I found I was able to sleep better and felt more at
peace with myself.  It seemed I'd finally found that elusive `something'
I'd been searching for even though I couldn't say exactly what it was.

   At one point, I'd sold my motorhome, rented a small house and had bought
a pickup truck to get around in.  In my time with the Haida, I'd often gone
out with various members of the community in their boats as they fished,
both for their own needs as well as to sell and I'd become a fairly good
seaman.  I let it be known that I'd like to purchase a small boat suitable
for deep sea sport fishing.  Several boats were offered to me but all of
them seemed to be either too small or too big.  Too small a boat would
likely mean I couldn't comfortably live on it if I chose to go out for
several days, too big a boat meant I wouldn't be able to handle it by
myself.

   One day I was told to go and see an elderly gentleman who apparently had
a boat like I was seeking and one that he might be willing to sell.  I met
with the gentleman and discovered his boat was just the size I was seeking.
During a prolonged visit with the gentleman, I learned that he had fished
by himself using that boat for many years.  As my visit came to an end the
gentleman and I reached an agreement and I purchased his boat.

   Now, with a boat that was suitable for use on the ocean, I started
exploring the coast of the island I was on.  Strangely, something seemed to
push me into exploring more of the smaller uninhabited islands in the
surrounding waters, so with detailed marine charts in hand, off I went on
my journey of exploration.  Often these trips would last several days and
each night I would find some sheltered area where I could anchor and stay
safe while I slept.

   On one of the trips, I came across a small island that appeared to have
been inhabited at some point in time although it now appeared deserted.  I
anchored my boat and using the dinghy, rowed ashore to explore.  Ashore, as
it had appeared from the sea, I could see that someone had been living on
the island in the past.  I found the remains of a cabin that had the roof
caved in.  An inspection of the cabin and the area around it led me to
believe it could be repaired and that a person could live comfortably on
the island but that they would have to be prepared for the isolation that
would bring.

   As I started back towards the shore where the dinghy was, I got an
intense feeling that I should move here to this island.  I stopped and
looked out to sea and then back towards the cabin site and almost instantly
made up my mind to make this island my home.  Instead of leaving, I spent
the balance of that day as well as all of the next exploring the island. 
The more I walked around, the more I became convinced that I was meant to
be here.  That first night at the island I had a very weird dream but I
forgot about it - until much, much later.

   I studied my maps again and made sure I knew which island this was, then
headed back home to see what I could find out about the island.  As I had
surmised, the island had been lived on by an eccentric man who had died a
number of years ago and while his estate had tried to sell the island, so
far they had been unable to find a buyer.  A few phone calls and a trip to
a lawyer on the mainland made me the owner of the island.

   Over the next few months, with the aid of some of the local handymen, I
repaired the cabin and got it ready to live in.  The previous owner had
been a recluse and wanted little or nothing to do with the outside world
but, while I was prepared to live alone, I wasn't going to forsake all
creature comforts.  I added electrical wiring and made provisions to have a
small electric generator installed.  I also had both solar panels and a
satellite dish installed.  I wasn't so much interested in the TV service
the satellite dish offered but did want to be able to have some sort of
phone and internet services.  I also installed a marine band radio so that
I could talk to folks on the main island without running up a big satellite
phone bill.

   Soon the work was done and I moved over to my island.  I sold my fishing
boat to a young fellow who had been very helpful to me and purchased a
seaworthy 22 foot aluminium boat which I could use to go back and forth to
the main island if I needed to.  It also allowed me to get out and catch
fish for myself and to rescue nice driftwood logs which I could use for
firewood.  I'd made arrangements for a local resident to replenish my stock
of staples as required.  I would contact the store on the main island by
phone and they would put my order together, then contact the deliveryman
who would deliver the order along with any mail that had come for me.  On
one of my rare trips to the main island, I acquired a medium sized, mixed
breed dog named Maggie who soon found her way into my heart.

   Over the next couple of years I was happy and content living on the
island with minimal human contact.  I read a lot and became very
knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna.  There was one thing that
was both a blessing and a curse - the often violent storms.  When one of
these hit, the winds could be very strong meaning boating was out of the
question.  The rain, while helping to refill my rain barrel, usually meant
that only essential outside activities were tended to.  Once the storm had
abated the blessing side kicked in.  The storm often washed useful objects
up onto the beach and I always tried to get out and make a circle of the
island as soon as possible after a storm to see what treasures had been
left.  This is the point where I originally started this story.