THE SHANGRI-LA PHENOMENOn

OR SUTTON SUFFICIENCY

I must explain something first. My mission, as starship commander, is to travel the universe and find new worlds in search of the inner meanings of this present edition’s theme for LE TOUR, SUFFICIENCY. So I’ve decided to start with SUTTON.

Lo and behold, whom do I find? Ms. Holly Davis, a galaxy unto herself. Holly is of the stock of heroines and princesses, fairy godmothers and kindly souls. She always makes me feel like I am Captain Kirk. Holly’s father was Sheldon; Sheldon, a bona-fide legend around these parts, and her mother is Gloria, the epitome of kindness and harmony. I must not forget Suzanne, her sister and accomplice, and probably the only person that knew my mother. Sue and Holly are the most exquisite bookends that keep a lot of things together in this village.

When I questioned Holly about her inner thoughts on SUFFICIENCY, it was as if an opening in the multi-dimensional appeared. As we conversed, Holly slowly and compellingly offered a tableau of compassion: “SUFFICIENCY does not exist, yet is always present!” she spurted out. “It is a consensual awareness of the abundance that surrounds us and feeds us. Otherwise how could we keep going on?” Then the universal energy played a good trick on both of us. As Holly finished her affairs at the Caisse Pop, she looked at me and smiled: “SUFFICIENCY is about relying on serenity after you find out that your account as been debited with an NSF charge”.

Then came Ron Gilker, the “Hurdy Gurdy man”, (Anybody remember that song?). If for any reason you feel that you must consult a psychiatric specialist, I suggest you spend an hour with Ron. After you have made it through his treadmill vision on life and beyond, you will feel better, I assure you. By hook or by crook, Ron became the beacon of Sutton. And that ain’t an easy job. Just for the record, Ron was born in a little Gaspé town called New- Carlisle, the same village that offered us René Lévesque.

Ron Gilker Photo by denis Boulanger

So I went trough the treadmill treatment. I actually spent a few hours and a few days speaking to Ron about SUFFICIENCY. As expected, a new inner meaning to this word appeared. I quote Ron: “Interwoven into the concept of SUFFICIENCY is another concept, that of ADEQUACY”. After listening to him explain, I now interpret that the final analysis is: we must never reach a level of thought that leads us to a feeling of self-atonement. If you want to know more, go and have a beer with Ron at the new MOCADOR PUB.

Mocador Pub Photot by Denis Boulanger

If you live in Sutton, you identify with the expression “I was passing by CAMIL’S” . And this is exactly what happened when I caught up with Marilyn and Aime Buisse. They now live here. And everybody knows that the privilege is ours. Marilyn and Aime have blessed both the Glen and the Mountain. The fashion in which they have gone through their travails is an inspiration to our generation and the next. I once offered to help Aime push Marilyn’s wheelchair: “Back-off!” was the response. Then we exchanged amends. Everything went back to normal. Get the idea?!

Obviously, I was the last thing they expected as they were going through their Sunday evening’s romantic dinner ritual. Sometimes, we’ve got to take a risk. They made me feel quite welcomed. That was a relief. I explained my quest and Aime said something to the effect that his inner thoughts were not for public display. But he really wanted to help me. “Just ask Maureen?” was his response and this was her’s: “ SUFFICIENCY —of course I would have a lot to say on the subject. It’s just that right now, I can’t get my mind to summon up the right words to convey my inner thoughts. I’ll be back! Don’t worry.”… Then “I know, let’s phone Shannon” (her daughter). And so we did. Sorry Shannon, but I’ll never get to finish this story. The morale of all of this is that we finally concluded that SUFFICIENCY is what we had just gone through. Good company, good food, family, and let God take care of tomorrow.

Finally, Herr Manfried Helmuth: poet, painter, philosopher, inventor, bicycle mechanic and who knows what else? After 25 years as an airplane pilot (20 in the US Air Force and 5 five in the commercial field), Manfried and Nancy (âme soeur and wife) founded a little business in Montreal, which did very well until he acquired brain cancer. Two years of chemotherapy, hair loss, associated nuisances and financial stress had led Nancy and Manfried to SUTTON.

I shall quote Manfried: “ It was not the money that mattered… it was a matter of dignity. There is very little dignity when you are dying of cancer, but when given the dignity of work, even at $10/hr, self-esteem can be rebuilt. SUFFICIENCY is a mental abstract. If you don’t have a modicum of self-esteem, you cannot exist. SUFFICIENCY is a mental and financial balance”. I sincerely thank you Herr Manfried, for all the other thoughts you graciously shared with me.

About 350 years ago, Gros-Louis and I got thrown out of a town hall assembly because we were arguing out of order. Louis kept insisting that Sutton was at least 20 years behind the times. We crossed paths outside. I said: ” What do we do now?” Louis replied, “I’ll pay the first round!” After settling most of the world’s problems, we made a sacred pact. Basically, this is the outcome: “Yes, Sutton is 20 years behind. So let’s make the best of it.” And we termed it this “The Shangri-La phenomenon”. Louis then lived way past his years and so will I.

Good night Felix, good night Mathieu, good night Alex, good night Maïka, good night little Felix and God Bless.

Rolland Potvin