Poor Vita Manitoba

When my Great Grandfather finally settled in Canada (after returning to the old country TWO TIMES - who does that?) he bought a piece of swampland between the two tiny Manitoba towns of Vita and Sundown. The farm produced the best berries but little else. My family made great berry moonshine to supplement their income.

As a kid I loved to visit the farm. It was a family place where family could be themselves. Oh the stories I could tell you.

One of the best parts of a day on the farm was doing a trip to either Sundown or Vita. Each only had one store and a quality Chinese food restaurant (like all small towns in Canada have). I used to love buying packs of trading cards from the corner store which had a better selection than most big city stores when it came to candy products.

I mention Vita only because they got the shit kicked out of them last week. After a wild fire that almost destroyed the town, they had an ice storm that knocked out the power - and all within three days! My heart broke for those brave stoic Ukrainian people, carry casserole dishes full of perogies through the bitter smoke and chilly weather.