Flashback Friday

I've always loved looking back on old photographs. Visits to my grandparents always included some time flipping through photo albums from when my sister and I were toddlers - it's as close as we get to 'going back in time.'

Does it work the same for writers? Do you sometimes get the urge to go back and read your first drafts? Early writing? High school poetry? Do you enjoy it, or does it make you cringe and laugh (hopefully in a good way!)?

We would like to start "Flashback Friday" and I'm looking to you, our members, to submit older pieces of writing, blog posts (did anyone write about what *may* happen at 12am on January 1st, 2000?!), or simply posts about the process of looking back and how it may influence and inform your writing today. If you have something you would like to share, please send it to me ([email protected]) and I'll make sure to get it up on our "Flashback Friday."

To start us off, Brandon Walker has shared his first column from The Chronicle Journal in 2009.

Enjoy!
Meagan

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Walk This Way: Nice Place You've Got Here (first Chronicle-Journal column)
By Brandon Walker

Your new correspondent has had an interesting last couple of weeks.

I moved here on Nov. 20 and, after touring the city (and getting lost several times), I’ve come to the conclusion it is a beautiful place to live.The many lakes and rivers, coupled with parks, will no doubt serve as a solace when I’m not working.

One of the first things I did was visit the mighty Lake Superior.Many people were strolling along the path when I popped by to take a few photos. Those pictures were quickly posted on the Internet, for friends and family to see.

The move from Timmins to Thunder Bay could only be described as eventful.

The plan was to pack my cat into a vinyl carrying case then drive 10 hours to an apartment I found with help from one of The Chronicle-Journal reporters.

It didn’t go as planned.

The cat got out of the bag, Houdini-style, within about five minutes and before I could even load it into the car.

So, I took the vinyl case back to where I bought it and got a cage instead. A friend said my cat, Meowzer, would hate being in a cage. She was right. He bit the bars, cried, drooled and did everything he could to show his displeasure. Two hours into the trip, I took him out of the mini-jail, hoping he’d ride on the floor of the passenger seat.He didn’t.Instead, the little orange and white fluff ball climbed into my lap and became a kitty cat fanny pack for the remaining eight hours.

I was covered in hair.

There was so much fur on my shirt and pants, on my face and glasses, that I was embarrassed whenever I stopped for coffee.

I arrived in Thunder Bay on the Friday night and was impressed with the apartment I’d chosen blindly. But, at first I thought Darth Vader was living upstairs. I heard what sounded like deep breathing, an inhale, then an exhale, and it felt as if it was all around me. I even imagined Vader’s booming voice: “Luuuuke,” it said. “I live abooove you.” I quickly realized it was someone playing Wii Bowling at full volume.The rolling of the ball was the exhale, and the inhale was the striking of the pins.

Meowzer didn’t seem to mind our new neighbours having fun, and neither did I. While travelling around the city, I spied a bench I plan to take over with a book when the warm weather returns in the spring.

Until then I plan to settle in with a happy kitty and a thick book, and provide readers with interesting and fun stories in The Chronicle-Journal.

Originally from Pickering, Ont., Brandon Walker joins The Chronicle-Journal from the Timmins Daily Press.