Alberta
Even though he now
resides in Toronto, Ontario
Canada, Spud considers his hometown to be Calgary, Alberta. Ever since
first stumbling into the quaint mountain hamlet back in 1985, he has always
referred to it as 'home'. He was ecstatic to finally return to Calgary
in March of 1998 after 3 years of being away. Although it was for just
a visit, he managed to check out all of his old stomping grounds: The
police station, where he spent his first night in the town, the hospital
where he spent years with his psychiatrist and then his recovery from
his hit and run and mountain climbing accidents… He used to love
taking his inanimate friends to the top of Scotchman's Hill and ask them
why the saddledome looks more like a feminine hygiene product than
a saddle…
Spud
only had a short time to see the sites and he couldn't pass up a day trip
to the mountains. After a day of shopping in Banff, he ventured into the
backcountry for some winter hiking near Mt. Rundle. Two hours of trudging
through the snow into the deep woods he ventured, leaving all traces of
humanity behind. Spud opened his body and took out his tent and stove,
preparing for a wilderness dinner in this secluded part of the world.
A traditional camp feast of back bacon and lake trout would serve as the
night's culinary delight. There was an odd smell that plagued the air
as Spud hovered over the hot stove (the smell was like that of sweat socks
that had been in a pair of sneakers for a couple of weeks). The stench
was coming from a golden glow of light hovering behind a clump of bushes
a few yards away. Peering closer at the source of the disruption, everything
became immediately clear; a McDonald's had been opened in the backcountry.
Spud's homeland had gone to pot.
Spud goes skiing in the Rocky Mountains