Institutionalized: 1940

On the Ship to Canada

Greg and I have been at sea for a few days now. Greg is trying to find any men from his squad or anyone from where he lives, but no luck at the moment.

It has been two months since we left England. There is no land in sight. Only the open water of the ocean.

I do not know what day it is or what month it is because all I see is ocean. I do not even know how much long the voyage will be to Canada. There is still no land in sight. I think depression is settling in just like when Greg and I were in the institution. I hope it goes away because I do not like the feeling of being depressed. I feel sore, tired, and sad when depressed. All I want to do is sleep when I was depressed in the institution. If I slept for days, the voyage would not feel so long.

Now I want to talk to other soldiers and pilots, but I am afraid. I think the men would think of me as rubbish. I told this to Greg. He told me that I should not be afraid because most of the soldiers and pilots on the ship are wounded. They have missing limbs, paralysed, or have severe brain injuries like Greg has. So, it will be no problem talking to them because they will see that I am like them and accept me.

A few days after talking to Greg, a soldier came up to us and started talking to Greg. The soldier asked where he was from, what regiment he was part of, and how he met such a beautiful woman. When I heard that, my face turned red. Greg answered the enquiries. Then he asked the soldier the same basic questions. He also asked his name. The soldier only gave Greg the initials T.K. The last thing T.K. said that he was originally from Brazil and is living in Canada now.

Another soldier started talking to Greg, this soldier had what sounded like a French accent, but it was different then a french accent from France. I know this because while on the train to the institution, I heard people from France speaking to one another. How is the Canadian soldier speaking is different. I was with Greg when the soldier approached him. I asked the soldier where he was from. He answered by saying he was from Quebec. He also added that Quebec is French speaking province of Canada. Greg asked him which regiment he was in. The soldier from Quebec answered that he was part of the vingt deux regiment. Greg responded by saying that he was impressed because the vingt deux regiment was famous in the Great War. The French Canadian soldier gave us his name. He name is Patrick Carpentier. He told us that he wants to become a race car driver when he gets home. When he said this it made both Greg and I smile.

A few days after talking to Patrick, T.K. Wanted to speak to us. He told us that he was going to Quebec to become a race car driver like Patrick and Dario. We both told Patrick and T.K. That we hoped to watch them race, they both smiled when we told them.

It took a few days, but T.K. finally revealed his full name. His name is name is Tony Kanaan. We asked why he did not tell us his full name in the first place. Tony answered by saying that he was known as T.K. With his regiment and that he would like to be known as that or as Tony. We told him fair enough. Also we told him we would call him Tony. He was pleased and said fair enough.

Almost four months have passed since we left England. Also four months since we have seen any land. I thought I saw land today, but I think my mind is playing tricks on me. I think it is because I have been at sea for so long my mind is making me see things that are not there.

A few days later, I can see land for real. Greg saw it too. Greg told me that we will be going into the St. Laurence River to stop at Montreal.

A few days after the first sight of land, we arrived in Montreal. While leaving the ship, Greg and I said our goodbyes to Patrick and Tony. We also wished them good luck with their racing careers. They both said thank you and disappeared in the crowd

On our way to British Columbia

Now, Greg and I are in Montreal. We are on our way to the train station to catch the train to Toronto. The train ride to Toronto is the first part of our trip to British Columbia is after the ship. The trip to Toronto will only take a few hours. The trip will be the shortest part of the big trip to British Columbia. When we arrive in Toronto, we have to transfer to another train that will take us to Vancouver, British Columbia, which is the closest city to Maple Ridge.

We are at the train station waiting for the train to Toronto. The train has arrived and now we are boarding

On the train to Toronto, we notice there are a lot of soldiers. We did not talk to any of them because we were afraid of offending them in any way. We decided to just keep to ourselves. We just talked about what we were going to do when we arrived in Vancouver. Greg told me he was going to call his dad when we arrived in Toronto to ask him if he could pick him and a friend up from Vancouver. I agreed with him that calling his dad in Toronto, so his dad knows when he would arrive home. We will soon arrive in Toronto. Greg and I make sure we have all our luggage. A train worker has come to tell us that there will be a person to assist us to our train to Vancouver once we arrive in Toronto. We thanked him.

We have arrived in Toronto. We are met by a man to help us with our luggage. He led us to a waiting area to wait for our train to Vancouver. The man who assisted us told us that he will retrieve us when our train arrives. While waiting to board our train, there was a woman in a wheelchair with a boy about nine or ten years old. She was the one who noticed us. She asked where we were from and where we were headed. We replied to her questions. We asked her the same questions. She told us that her name was Stacey and she was with her nephew Brody. Then the assistant came to get us to our train. We said our goodbyes and told her to have a safe trip to London which is about two hours west of Toronto. The last thing was she wished us a safe journey to British Columbia. We thanked her and we were off to our train to Vancouver.

Once on the train, Greg asked to use a telephone to let his dad know he was on his way to Vancouver. The train is now moving towards the west and I am thinking Vancouver here I come. My new life waits.

A few hours into the journey, I noticed a piece of paper in my coat pocket it was from Stacey. It was a note saying where she lived. It also told me to write her once I settled in British Columbia.

We have been on the train for two days now. We can see the Rocky Mountains in front of us. Greg told me about them when I asked him about the mountains we were headed towards.

Once we passed the Rocky Mountains, we will be in British Columbia and a new life. I noticed Greg was getting excited to be finally going home since he joined to fight in the war. I noticed he was getting nervous as well. I told him not to be nervous and everything will be okay. He was really nervous about how his family would respond to me and his engagement. I told him not to worry and we will see until we arrive in Vancouver where his dad will take us to Maple Ridge.

The engineer just announced we will be arriving in Vancouver in an hour and check all luggage because Vancouver was the final stop. I am getting nervous and excited to start my new life.