There had been a lot of tension in the house for several months and it looked as if it was coming to a head. Father was out working while Mother and the children were packing everything they valued into the old Chevy wagon. Thus far I was sitting on Josie’s dresser wondering about my value, most of the clothes living in the drawers below me had long since been loaded into the car.

Finally, Josie picked me up along with a few puzzles and colouring books, and headed for the car. It seems I am valuable enough to travel on Josie’s lap, a good warm feeling and much better than the prospect of being left with a cranky, no nonsense, cheated, lonely Father.

I should explain it is very difficult for a teddy bear to find out what is going on and in particular where we are going. No one takes me seriously and sitting down below the window level I can only guess where we are by the building tops and light poles going past.

I know we drove down town and got onto the Trans Canada Highway and even though I heard talk of us going to Regina to live with Mothers parents, while still down town in Calgary we turned off onto Provincial Highway 2 heading south; a mystery.

I was in the back sitting on the right, on Josie’s lap, behind Betty who was helping Mother by reading maps and things, explaining where to turn, which is how I found out where we were going. Beside us in the left rear seat was Jason, a sad hyperactive person who delights in flipping, irritating Josie and Betty. We have only been in the car for fifteen minutes and Jason has already been told to stop kicking the back of mothers seat. I almost forgot Bozo is over in the back with the luggage. He is also like Jason and has trouble being still.

The light poles were becoming spaced apart and the vehicle building up speed when the mystery was solved, by listening to Betty and Mother. It seems we are going to Lethbridge to stay a night with Mother’s Brother before continuing towards Regina. Mother’s Brother is going to lend us the money to complete the trip.

Josie got out her colouring book and I was concentrating on how to join up some dots to make an image, on the page when it started. Jason pinched Josie’s arm, the ensuing exchange of hits and flips knocked me over and alerted Mother who offered a ‘don’t start’ threat.

No sooner was I put back on Josie’s lap than Jason grabbed me by the ear and threw me in the back with Bozo which was a terrible thing to happen as Bozo is disgusting, he slobbers on everything and his manners are just like Jason’s. True to form, Bozo picked me up in his mouth and started to shake the stuffing out of me.

What happened next I’m not quite sure, I remember seeing Josie and Jason pushing each other while grabbing at me with Bozo resisting aggressively. The next thing I know I’m flying out Jason’s windows doing sumersaults, bouncing several times on the highway, being run over by an eighteen wheeler and two cars, and finally coming to rest upright on the side of the road a little shaken and twisted but otherwise unhurt, save for the harsh reality that my family didn’t even stop to pick me up; bastards.

There wasn’t much to do sitting on the side of the road with my whole future in jeopardy. After a few hours feeling somewhat sorry for myself, I started to take in the surroundings and noticed how flat and featureless the country was, save for the patchwork of fences that portioned the scene into large squares. The fields were very green and productive looking, dotted with healthy horses and cattle preoccupied with eating the lush grass on display. There was not a house or person in sight other then the constant rush of traffic hurrying past, totally oblivious to my dilemma. In the distance I could see a truly beautiful blue silhouette of a jagged mountain range jutting into the western skyline. Looking south along the straight carriageway I could make out a large green sign displaying, High River 10km and Fort Macleod 120km.

The hours ticked by slowly, I watched the sun sink behind the mountains and were it not for my situation I would have enjoyed the beauty of the crimson glow accompanying the onset of darkness. After a rather long, cool night listening to the constant drum of passing traffic with glaring lights I welcomed the warming sun on my back with some joy. For several hours I tried to pass the time counting cars though I confess I would have been happier if I could have thrown stones at them.

Then it happened; a shiny black Mazda MX8 braked heavily, it swung to the curb and backed slowly towards me. A rather well groomed, handsome, middle aged man stepped out, walked around in front of me and in a well spoken gentle voice said, “Hello little fellow, you look lost and lonely. How would you like to come home with me, you can keep me company along the way.”

He scooped me up and placed me on the dashboard of his fancy car saying, “You sit up here where you can see out and get yourself warm.”

We set off along the road and as we got up to cruising speed the man explained he was on his way to Cut Bank, Montana and he knew a lovely young lady down there who had a soft spot for lost teddy bears. He assured me she would look after a handsome young bear like myself as if I were royalty.

Passing the exit sign for High River I noticed the country around the dual-lane divided highway was starting to display the hint of undulations with long gentle sweeping hills, still beautiful, all lush looking with cattle laden fields and occasional building accompanied by large stylish Dutch barns. The Mountains in the west continued to display their impressive form. The man told me how High River was a pretty town with cobblestone pathways winding through it. Many of the building were adorned by colourful murals depicting the local history. High River he told me was an historic location important for the plains Indians, it once located a sacred Medicine Tree on the bank of the Highwood River that was used as a meeting place.

We powered onwards through the rich countryside and in what seemed like only a few minutes we were approaching Fort Macleod. There didn’t seem to be much of the town to see but the man explained it was a very important historical town, being the place where the original Royal Canadian Mounted Police was formed and it was the oldest settlement in the Canadian West.