August 24, 2019. I had stopped in Turtleford, Saskatchewan early on a rainy Saturday morning; the tiny town still tucked into bed. I had been lured off of the highway by the sight of the town's fairgrounds after the rain, then decided to fill up with gas at the station. I passed Warren coming out as I went in to get a coffee–that face! I paid, and ran out the door with my coffee in hopes that the face and its man had not left. I jogged towards his paving company truck. The window dropped and there he was, and he seemed delighted to be a part of the project. He did mention, afterward, that his mother had been killed by a drunk driver. This woke me up and made me so sad, there, standing in the mud, talking to the face, body attached with his very real and tender heart beating deep inside it. I could tell that this troubled him and that he missed her like crazy. Warren seemed so kind–one of those people for whom you wish something really good in their future. And if you could go back and change the past for them, you would.
Are you in love?
“Am I in love? Right now, at the time, no I’m not.”
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
“I would have to say my mother. It was 2011 when she passed away. And after that, I’ve been just going on with what she taught me, so, yeah.”
How do you feel about the future?
“I just take it day-to-day. One day at a time, and I don’t look too far into the future, so it’s simple, I guess. I can simplify it in that way. Yeah.”