Driving along the Trans-Canada highway this fall, we saw some very dilapidated buildings.  I remember in particular an old church in Upsala, Ontario. Sadly, after the seeing the church beside the road, I did not drive back to photograph it. As a meanderer I consider such stops a personal obligation. This time I muffed it and kept on going.  This I now believe was a serious failure, but I am stuck with it unless I drive all the way back to photograph it.

A little farther along the Trans-Canada Highway, I marvelled at an old beat-up sign beside the road that said, “Coming. Jesus.” A simple message. How long had it been there? Sooth Sayers have been saying for 2,000 years that the return of Jesus is imminent. They have been wrong. So far. Recently I heard about some people in Steinbach who are not worried about climate change.  Jesus is coming don’t worry about the future. That’s their attitude.

How far can we carry such logic?  Should we not worry about which side of the road we drive on? Should we quit our jobs (if we have them) and really enjoy life? Should we sell all our worldly goods and prepare to meet Jesus? That is actually what Jesus recommended, yet I don’t see too many people doing that.

When I passed this sign, I thought of that abandoned church in Upsala I had passed.  Were the parishioners getting ready for the arrival of Jesus? Is that why they abandoned the church or did the dream fizzle out?

We also noticed a number of gas service stations were closed, even though the Internet said they were still in business. After the second such station was closed, many kilometres apart, we began to get nervous.  We were frankly worried we would run out of gas before we got to the next open gas bar. Were the owners of those stations just  heeding the advice of Jesus?  Had they sold everything or just abandoned the business? That might be good for them but would be unfortunate for us.

I also noticed the Gloria’s Motel. It certainly was no longer glorious. This time I stopped for a couple of photographs. It was in pretty bad shape, but I’m not sure it was the worst motel along the Trans-Canada highway as we were to learn. Others are pretty bad too. How is this possible along our national highway? Thankfully, there were some great ones too.

All I say to fellow travellers is: Be Prepared. In fact, be prepared for the worst.