Silver Linings

You know, I've heard so many sad stories from Newfoundland.
The sealing disaster of 1914, the sinking of the Caribou in 1942, Beaumont-Hamel in 1916 and Resettlement in the 50's. I met a man who'd been a fisherman for 53 years while I was there. When they closed the fishery he took the engine out of his boat and burned it (the boat, not the engine). I get the feeling, looking at all of the abandoned buildings and towns, hearing the staggering numbers of people leaving the island, seeing the sub-standard produce and high gas prices there that someone, some nebulous entity has been slowly strangling the island and the people that call it home for a very long time. I worried while I was there that all of Newfoundland would eventually become a "heritage" site (as so many previously inhabited homes have become). "Come and visit the abandoned island of Newfoundland" the signs would read.
Yet Newfoundlanders prevail. They dance to their own beat (and songs), they are fiercely proud of their background and they still make their mark on the world stage, even being a relatively small population and I have to think that such a hard-working and ingenious province will find a way to thrive once again.
I want to be part of it when it happens.