As children, we were so gullible. We had so much trust in the universe, in Mom and Dad, angels. Santa. Our brains were just forming; it was hardly a surprise that we believed that a fat man with a white beard could fly in a sled pulled by reindeer (when it’s pretty obvious that reindeer don’t have wings!). That he could squeeze himself and his beer belly down the chimney. Even if the fire was going. That he wouldn’t burn his feet. Somehow. That he gave out presents to millions of people, one chimney at a time – all over the world on Christmas Eve.
This story explores our deep trust in these stories when, as children we believed with our heart and soul the most fantastical things. It was inspired by the lore of Ripple Rock, an underwater mountain that had two peaks below the surface in the Seymour Narrows of the Discovery Passage, a part of the main marine trade route from Vancouver and the coast. Only 9 feet at low tide, it was a hazard – not only the danger of hitting the rock but also big eddies caused by tidal currents around the rock.
A planned explosion on 5 April 1958 was seen throughout Canada, live on CBC Television. It was one of the first live coast-to-coast television broadcasts of an event in Canada.
