STRICTLY PERSONAL THERE JS a small but devoted subcult of people - who know or know of the legendary Garry Marchant. It is necessary to say immediate- ly that Gar, as he is sometimes known io his friends, is definitely not the notoriously amoral “Gaz” character in a small (tasteless, some say; unforgivable say others) book of mine called On the Sky. That said (and nobody’s reputa- tion sullicd, inadvertently or other- wise), the book is otherwise pretty brutally close to the truth about a phase of my life during which I did regular trave] writing stuff for vari- ous clients. Talso did PR and taught. The Communications biz, ch? During this time, I got to hop around the planet through a couple of dozen countries, frequently on assignment along with the real-life Garry (not “Gaz” Marchant), He was my guide, my guru.. He taught me Great Truths, or at least Ideals, such as “Thou Shalt Not Pay.” This was the essence of travel writing. Real travel writing. There are a lot of people who knock-off a travel piece now and then, but they gener- "ally have a home somewhere, and they only venture out on a looping pattern, yo-yoing back to base. This is not real travel writing, any more than a weekend novelist is areal writer. In travel, as in writing, the com- mitment has to be total. It has to come first. Otherwise you're a dab- bler. Garry and I go back to Kelvin high schoo! in Winnipeg, where we both worshipped (OK, lusted after) the same girl. : Later, we reconnected as copy boys at The Winaipeg. Tribune, Ut was, I believe, 1959, Almost all we ever talked about — besides girts ~ was travelling. Tt was the Oa the Road era, the post-war hitchhiking and adventur- ing period, as romanticized by Kerouac (although | think Garry's early readings had included guys like Blais Cendrars), Lonely guys of the road. Those were our heroes. We could hardly wait to get out of town. The one advantage of spending your childhood on a dead sea bot- tom is that any direction looks good. Just go. That was goal enough in life. To get out. I dragged my heeis, though, caught up in trying to become a reporter. Garry grew impatient and took off on his own on a motorcycle, heading north. He had an accident, broke a leg. It was probably psychosomatic, since he was already in love with a home-town girl, Janet, and this brought him back. Once mended, he headed with his lady off to Japan. Much later, 1 headed east to Europe. He married in Tokyo. I married in London. Over the years, on and off, we kept in touch, and our paths finally crossed in Vancouver. Garry’s travels had included a stint as an editor at an English-lan- guage paper in Rio, playing the gai- jin heavy in low-budget Japanese Westems, fighting malaria by spraying DDT in Borneo, laboring in Australia, sneaking in a ship’s hold down the Mekong River and crewing on a freighter across the Indian Ocean. All this while, one by one, his buddies bit the dust, taking up a regular job, shelling out for a mort- gage, moving to the suburbs, taking up gardening. Garry stayed on the road, at sea, up a river, on the sky, Garry was gonzo long before the term was ever invented. He has, truthfully, been to more countyies than there are, many of them having changed names since the last time he was there. SEAUTIFUL SOLID PINE PROMOTION Vieilowr shoe betora =i yev bey! im 1,5, S-DRAWER DRESSERS, ARHOIRES NIGHT UIANDS, BEDS, BUNRBEDS, TABLES Smed CHAINS, ELIS, ROLLTORS, BODRCASES arom? FREEMSUNDING WALL SYSTEMS, CABTHETS yoo DANISH BLACK A WHITE OREISERS Yise CONPUIEA PORTIONS m c INSTANT FURNISHING 1045 Wes! 4th Avenue. Wes! of Burtard, Green bldg, Patking atvear Since 1967731-4173 66 The one advantage of spending your childhood on a dead sea bottom is that any direction looks good. 99 He’s been around the globe so many Gimes he may have lost count. 1 do know he is revisiting countries, trying them on from different angles. Recently, he set out across a big chunk of China by motorcycle, this time managing not to break any legs. After at least a decade on the road together, he and his first wife broke up. He took it hard. His friends wor- tied about him. : Bets were placed about whether Garry would settle into bachelor- hood, ultimately becoming a cur- mudgeonly nomad, a kind of a ghost who would appear outside airport doors every once in a while and me!t away again into the wild- blue yonder. Then, one day, Mamie Mitchell entered his life. Lovely, sensitive almost to skittishness, Marnie, who was involved in the PR end of the travel industry, seemed altogether too gentle, too saint-like, too good, to put it bluntly. for the grizzled, hardened, cynical, world-weary old road pirate that Garry was in the process of becoming. He was, as Mamie had to admit to her mother, “40, and he drinks.” I had long since remarried, and my new wile, much as she had learned to love my old road-warrior buddy, did not believe Garry was truly worthy of sweet young Mamie, whose heart was certain to break, she was convinced. Bypnosis YPNosis is 4 suf, relaxation all can . Strengthen, teinforce the achievement Of your goals q poor Over and Above Counselling: The Extra Touch of-Caring Relief from emotional pain and discomfort is my first priority, But that's not enough. Greater happiness, reduced stress, beuer relationships, improved energy, better sleep. That's what it’s all about. Feeling /” Down, irritable ¥ Out of sorts ¥ Anxious / Unconfident ¥ Unassertive ¥ Stressed / Can't Sleep ~ Relationship Problems ¥* Smoking? ORT TAN Helps State of deep Joy. It’s used to 'd accelerate BEaroiten Gur Services Include + Free Snitiai Consultation + Brief Counselling Methods + Hypnosis & Self-hypnosis + Personalized Hypnosis Tape + Flexible Hours + Over 4 years Experience % Overweight? Call Now for Your Free Consuitation | 934 ~9904 Daniel Rutley & Associates “Short-term counselling focusing on long term results” fragility, she was a determined soul, resolved to become a travel writer herself, despite nearly everyone's advice. Which she did. She's now an editor in Hong Kong, where she and Garry have been living for several years. The two of them just upped and took wing from Vancouver one day, like two migratory lovebirds off for the South China Sea. A postcard arrived from Baja, California last week: After nearly a decade, Garry and Marnie made it official. But Marnie proved to be surpris- ingly resilient, tougher than you would think when you first meet * her. And also, beneath the aura of Winnipeg's ramblingest son won't have to ride the lonely Stratospheric Trail alone no more. at Victoria’s world class hotel on the Inner Harbour ONE NIGHT 7 nights‘a week sitgle/double occupancy TWO NIGHT SPECIAL Any 2 consecutive nights single/double occupancy $129 Valid for leisure travel only ° Excludes groups/tours Taxes not included © Subject to availability —! © Thru Feb. 28/94, (excluding Dec. 23-25/93) ° QW SP SP SP a ON rot uo AR t 45 SONGHEES ROAD, VICTORIA, BC. V9A GTI. y TEL: (604) 360-5859 FAX: (604) 360-1041 RESERVATIONS: 1-800-667-4677. CorPerince the classic 15-day Panama cruise beeween San Francisco and Nassau. You'll visit che colorful resorts of the Mexican Riviera, Costa Rica and a bevy of sunny Caribbean islands, coo! ; Her classic beauty warmed and enriched by a $30 million makeover, the Star Odyssey now possesses an elegant Mediterranean radiance, offering the unhurried luxury of single-seating dining ina fun-loving, friendly atmosphere of Greek hospitality. Boox Now AnD SAvE! . WRoyal Cruise Line ATLASTIC UCeAN trassau FAH AMAT Departure Date: September 3, 1904 cho Rios AKIAREAN wb MA Peace * CORE MCE are eas Departure: Panama Canal . , San Francisco Pe Calan SHUM AEQUSTRY THE BAHAMAS Come to our Cruise Night for more information. February 22 at 7:30 p.m. R.S.V.P. Bos) North Vancouver _ACRUIGE Bm WHOLIDATS bs West Vancouver -