My childhood friend and fellow blogger Deb R. who now lives in downtown Vancouver, had some questions about my last post. Here are the answers for this faithful reader.
Q - Where are the men? There's none in the pictures.
A - Many were across the river building a new colony. When a colony gets too large it splits and a new one is created. If necessary, lots are drawn to see who stays and who goes. Some other men were in the barns showing our group pigs and other animals. I didn't get there. If I knew I was going to write a blog I would have gone.
Q - What did you eat exactly?
A - As I said it seemed like left-overs... pasta casserole, bowls of radishes and green onions, creamed corn, fresh buns, cold sausage, fries, and canned peaches for dessert. They didn't put on the dog for us.
Q - Is there an inclination to compare the women to The Handmaid's Tale?
A - I never thought of that. I think Hutterite women are quite strong, it's just that the division of labour is very gender specific. An older Hutterite woman, well, my age, once told me the man is the head of the household, but the woman is the neck, and the neck turns the head. Hutterites have a great sense of humour.
Q - Why haven't you done these trips any more since 2017?
A - Various reasons I think. Dave headed up much of the organizing: route, hotels, restaurants, support van and driver, etc. and no one stepped in to take over. Also in nine years we had covered all the possible routes near Swift Current. Some riders had health issues, some moved away and everything has its season.
