GART Day 3 - Medora Musical

I don't do a lot of talking about fate, but only because I don't really believe in it. Y'know, there's a tiny portion of my mind set aside for ridiculous beliefs, and it kind of hangs out in there, checks out the fridge and whatnot, maybe watches some TV in its underwear, that kind of thing.

But every so often fate gives me a slap in the face, something that feels as ridiculous and shocking as dumping a pail of ice water down my pants. And I got that during the musical.

It's not like the musical is anything stunning. The first minute into it, Tamara and I both leaned close and said, "Saskatchewan Express!" But to be fair, although the show is in the same theme as something from Saskatchewan Express, it's a lot more polished. The parts Tamara and I liked best were the tribute to the American armed forces, the weird religious numbers near the end of the show, and the closing number: God Bless America, complete with giant American flag.

But it wasn't the music, the dancing, the religion, or the jingoism that masde me think this was all fated: it was Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt is peppered throughout the play because of his ties to North Dakota. He's very important here, not only because of his conservation efforts, but also because it's his favourite state. I always just discounted the man as kind of a bully, but it turns out he's more interesting that I gave him credit for. And the times around him were very interesting too.

Very well. So I'm to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt. But why was this fated?

Well, if Tamara hadn't misread the map, we would have driven through to Medora the night before, and gotten rained out. And if I hadn't been overcome with sleep for some reason, we wouldn't have stopped at all. If I'd done the 16 mile hike I'd planned, I probably would have been too tired to go to the musical. And when we booked our room, the bunkhouse we were sent to was called Canada Goose.

Sure, it could all be coincedence, and the pieces tend to come together when you look at things in retrospect. But when things tend to clump together like this, I tend to think more about fate than chance. In spite of myself.