All language subtitles for Still.Standing.S01E09_English

You guys believe
yourselves to be one

international airport
short of a world-class city.

[laughter]

Ah!

I was riding my bike
and I hit a bear.

Are you serious?

Would you like
to see my vagina?

[laughs]

And that's when
things got weird.

When you grow up in a
small town in Newfoundland

you see the people have
a sense of humour

about hard times.

Check Check

I turned that into a
career and hit the road.

MC: Mr. Jonny Harris!

Now I'm on a mission to
find the funny in the

places you'd least expect:

Canada's struggling small towns.

Towns that are against the
ropes but hanging in there.

Still laughing in the
face of adversity.

Welcome to:
Wawa Wawa Wawa Wawa

Look up, way up into
Northern Ontario,

there's a little
town called Wawa.

It's the last stop
between where you left and

everywhere you want to be.

I was driving up here,
the sun was starting to go

down, my fuel gauge was
starting to go down.

My knuckles were going
white on the wheel,

[laughter]

I had just seen a bear that
I swear to God smiled at me.

[laughter]

I was fearing for my life
when finally I saw it

like a vision, like an angel
with outstretched wings.

Big feathery iron wings.

[applause]

I saw the goose.

I knew I had made
it, I was in Wawa.

You know you're from
Wawa when you call

yourself a honker.

Honk.

I cannot do a
goose impression!

Honk!

Honk.

Honk Honk Honk!

So many people get
photographed with the goose.

I can only imagine if it
was low enough that

people could pretend they
were humping it.

People taking selfies
trying to hump the goose.

#duckfacegoosehump

[laughter]

This goose has a little

bit of wear showing.

Got to talk to
Brenda Grundt here.

Yes she was explaining
the plight of the goose.

The thought is that maybe
she'll lose her wings and

we need to replace her
but that's a lot of money.

How much is it
going to cost?

Half a mil.

Half a million dollars?

500,000 dollars?

I'll get up there with
some Bondo and a spray paint

can for 350,000, save you
a few bucks right there.

[laughter]

I can be seen sometimes
at 3 o'clock in the

morning covering something
happening some place.

Brenda owns and operates
Wawa's number one

24-hour news team.

So if something happens
in the middle of

the night surely you don't
your police scanner on

next to the bed all
night or anything?

Uh most times I do!

Oh really.

That's commitment!

Keep in mind it is
Wawa's only 24-hour news

team and the
team is Brenda.

And her husband Marcus
he knows that Brenda is

always driving around
with the police scanner on

I hear far more than
I want to ever hear.

It's Days of our Lives you
know it's a soap opera.

Oh really?

So if he can't get in
touch with her on

the cell phone,
he'll call the cops.

Right?

He'll say officer
I want to report a

Brenda pick up eggs.

[laughter]

Massive closures in mining
and forestry over the last

few decades made for a
long stretch of bleak

headlines for Brenda.

But this is a
story of our times.

It's hard.

The decline started in 96'
when the iron mine closed.

That course caused
peripheral business to close.

The Big bird...

So the restaurant
closes.

You lose your cook staff,
you lose your wait staff.

Now the ripple effect is
that your suppliers are gone.

Now you have your kids
that used to come back

from college and work
in the summer time,

working in the
bars good tips.

Now they work out
of town forever.

Do they come back?

The Big Bird was like
Wawa an essential stop

in a longer journey.

It was quite the rocking
place in its time.

People leave the
Lakeview they're just

passing the United Church
and they think oh god

I'm sobering up, I'm
sobering up, the Big Bird,

it's open, thank god!

I'll have 8 slippery
nipples please bartender,

thank you.

Where else could you
live and come down at

11 o'clock at night and
see the northern lights

dancing over the
hill in your pajamas?!

It's a great place to be
unless you're a hitchhiker.

Tits up on the
streets of Wawa.

I've heard that expression
before tits up in Wawa.

But of course it's
difficult to hitchhike out

of Wawa because people
know if you pick somebody

up at Wawa, you know
you're stuck with them

for about five hours.

Three hours from the
Sioux and six hours

to Thunder Bay.

What if he's crazy?

What if you pick someone
up 20 minutes in he's

telling you about how he
hates cops and hears voices?

You're doing the math ok
Thunder Bay another

460 kilometers oh god, oh god!

[laughter]

I couldn't have picked
a better time to be here

it's a very exciting
time in Wawa.

Is there any Michipicoten
high school grads here?

And hats off to
principal Peter Kusic.

This is a very
important graduation.

As we know every group
is different and special.

This year is both.

It's my son Dusan's
graduating year.

Success is not final,
failure is not fatal.

It is the courage to
continue that counts.

It should be a
celebration for the kids

you know you're sending
them out into the world.

There was a sense of
belonging when you entered

MHS four years ago.

There will also be a force
that will draw you

back into these halls.

You're saying kids we've
prepared you as much as we

can, now you have to go.

Grads we will miss you.

[chokes up]
Sorry about that.

You have to go down to
the highway and start

hitchhiking before you
classmates come down.

Cause it's hard to get
a ride, it's really

difficult to get
a ride out here.

So you and the Mrs. were
both teaching in Toronto.

Yes.

What brought you
back to Wawa?

I'd lost my father a
couple years earlier.

So I thought boy there's
more to life than rat race

of you know driving
everywhere in Toronto and

I wanted my kids
to grow up in Wawa.

And Dusan if you're going
to study mining then

I guess that would
allow you to come back.

Yeah that's the main
reason I picked it is

because I wanted to
come back to the north.

Wawa's so small
you don't see much.

I'm excited to see what
else is in the world.

Dusan are you
going to miss it?

oh ya I'm definitely
gonna miss it.

What did you do to get
rid of the beavers?

Shotgun, rifle,
traps, dynamite.

Dynamite?

Now a lot of my
friends in Toronto don't

even know where Wawa is
although Torontonians are

not always great
with geography.

I was trying to explain
to one of my buddies where

Wawa is and he actually
said to me who the hell

is Sault Ste. Marie?

[laughter]

I went to visit Anita at
Young's general store.

[applause]

The sort of design and
feel of the whole place

is sort of like an
old trading post.

Now do you accept
pelts as currency?

I think Anita knows that
people who come

to her store have just
driven through a huge

amount of nothingness and
are about to drive through

another good chunk
of nothingness.

So of course when they're
at her store,

they're looking around,
oh god what could

we possibly need?

What are
the big sellers?

Moccasins.

Moccasins, yes!

I won't have another
chance to get moccasins

till I get to Thunder Bay!

Kids, pick out moccasins!

And I love that good old
rural rebranding right?

I might not be in the mood
for some chocolate covered

raisins but a little
bag of beaver droppings?

Yes please!

[laughter]

Well we found this about a
year ago and didn't buy it.

So how many hundreds of
kilometers did you

come to find this t-shirt?

WoDon't know, Indiana.

Indiana.

From Indiana?

It's all fun and games until
somebody loses a wiener.

That's pretty good.

Where are you
guys from?

Ohio.

I love moose so I'll have
to try their droppings.

No wonder Americans have
that zany stereotype

about Canadians.

You know what I'm
talking about right?

Moose, maple syrup
and wilderness.

I don't blame Americans
anymore I blame Wawa!

[laughter]

What I've seen is Anita's
helped package her

way into tourist's hearts
and has helped turn Wawa

from a pee break
into a memory.

Also out front there is
a transgendered moose.

[laughter]

People have called
it Henrietta.

A he/she I guess.

A transgendered moose!?

Yes That's brilliant!

When you determine the
gender of a moose there's

a little giveaway right
on top of his head.

Henry doesn't
really have any?

No -Ah...

Also at the back there
are some subtle differences.

[laughter]

One of the best stories
I've heard in Wawa

is when Henrietta
was confiscated.

The Ministry of Natural
Resources heard that it

was poached or something.

The banks, the stores,
everywhere,

posted this in their windows.

Is that right?

It was pretty special.

A campaign to get
Henrietta back. -Exactly

It got national
wide media attention.

It was brought
up in parliament!

I couldn't have paid for
advertising like that.

And finally one day
the moose was returned.

They found out it was a
transgendered moose and

didn't want to be on the
hook for a hate crime.

For those who have
managed to carve out their

place here in Wawa
there's no shortage of

reasons to stay here.

You know since I got
here I've seen all

these wooden carvings
all over town.

I wanted to find
out more about it.

Now at first I was nervous
'cause when someone tells

you you have to go to
a motel to meet

a third degree black
belt named Spike...

[laughter]

Come on in.

Come on through
my closet here.

But Spike couldn't
be a nicer guy.

What do you call
these creations?

Gitchee Goomee's.
-Gitchee Goomees?

Gitchee Goomee
means all-powerful water.

It's an ojibwe term.

Ya?

Spike when he was a
younger man moved away for

a little while and moved
back so that he could

be closer to the lake.

The lake was
talking to me.

Directing me.

Kinda thing?

This one is a bit more
menacing over here,

this skull.

That's the lake kind of
screaming at me really.

Spike told me that
Lake superior speaks to him.

Now at first I wasn't
sure what he was talking

about I thought he does
live in the motel,

maybe it's the guy in
the next room.

[laughter]

I said Spike does the lake
ever sound like Law and Order?

Spike made us
this chaga tea.

Is it going to
make me feel good?

Yeah [slurps his tea]
-There I am sitting

drinking tea made out of
mushrooms with a third

degree black belt who
carves lake spirits and

that's when things
got a little weird.

[laughter]

Spike asked me- Would you
like to see my vagina?

At first I thought ok
Wawa this transgender

thing has gone too far.

It's gone too far.

It's from like a chunk
of a tree, it's massive

and it's a- it's a vagina.

It's a big- I sorted
wilted at the sight

of this thing.

It's where we
all started.

Where we all began our
journey here right?

Hundreds of years from
now, future civilizations

will come back and they
will see Spike's carvings

and they will think how?

How much hash oil did
they have in Wawa?

[laughter]

There's a lot
of great history

about the town
of Wawa.

It was founded
on fur trading.

In fact the Hudson
Bay company had their

headquarters here from
1827 up until 1987.

How many places can say
that their business was

open from before Canada
was even a country up

until the dawn
of hair metal?

[laughter]

Ah!! George please don't
chop me up and feed

me to the beavers.

Beaver doesn't eat people.

I also got to go down by
the river and hang out

with George Karasek.

What did you do to get
rid of the beavers?

Shotgun, rifle,
traps, dynamite.

Dynamite?

George used to work for
the railway, blowing

up beaver dams with
dynamite, didn't we all?

Beaver can put the
railroad out of the

business overnight and
nothing will stop it.

I used to carry
detonators around my neck.

Yeah they told me
I was like Rambo.

It would look
pretty badass.

It does.

But George was so good
at it he earned the

nickname beaver man.

Now guys I know we all
like to think of ourselves

as beaver men but
George is the real deal.

Oh! Bingo.

But it's tough times now
for George and lots of

other trappers like him
because the railway now,

the government won't
subsidize the railway so

they're no longer taking
passenger cars up north.

So how will people
get to their cabins?

They cannot.

So what they'll just
have to abandon them?

They have to so that will
be end of my trapping.

It's the end to a
400 year tradition.

They simply can't
get there anymore.

I'm 72.

I was not ready to feed
pigeons in a park yet.

You know I thought I still
could trap a couple more years.

And not only that the
government has told him

that he has to burn
his camp to the ground.

What a [beep] move!

I may have a heart attack
when I see my camp burning.

And that's true.

I'm pissed
off about it.

Now if I'm pissed off
that's no big deal

but George is a
dynamite expert.

Don't piss him
off I think.

I've put together a
little beaver dam and

the only explosives I
can legally purchase.

George I say you
go out with a bang.

Take the last train up there
with a bag of dynamite...

I was hoping
it would be a bit more.

the sticks would all.

...and blow that
camp sky high

I think it's cute.

Aww cute!

And if anybody at the
railway complains tell

them you saw a beaver
in there and they

can expect an invoice.

Half a million dollars
or a new goose.

Let's go vikings
let's go!

The Michipicoten high
60th reunion was in full

swing and past grads
from far and wide had

rejoined the flock.

Everyone was feeling
rah rah for Wawa.

I left Wawa for love.

And I'm sorry that the
mine is closed and that

there's a little bit of
hardship for these people here.

We all married
hitchhikers.

We all married
hitchhikers.

I got to have a chat
with Sherry Coulter,

lovely lady.

She was back
for the reunion.

She painted a great
picture of Wawa in the 70s.

A lot of fun.

There was a lot of trans
ams, camaros around a lot!

I bet.

Classic.

I love it.

A course that she did
that I think is pretty

much exclusively unique
to Wawa, outdoor survival.

You basically had to
like survive outside,

in the elements over night.

That's wicked.

Hey how did you do in outdoor
survival last semester?

Well I'm here talking
to you aren't I?

Yeah you hear about
Billy Tomkins?

He got an F, god
rest his soul.

But by far the greatest
story that Sherry

had to tell me was one
night she was riding

her ten speed home.

It was a
spectacular night.

So I'm looking up
at the sky,

enjoying the show and the
next thing you know,

boom right over my handlebars.

Went arse over kettle
down the street.

Like twisted around and
there's the headlamp

pointing back at these
two beady little eyes.

I hit a baby bear.

Are you serious?

She wasn't hurt too bad
which is good,

neither was the bear.

I had road rash
a little bit.

I got on my bike so fast.

In fact Sherry said
the most awkward thing

about the whole ordeal
was exchanging insurance.

[laughter]

She went up to the
bear and said

I'm with Mutual of Omaha so.

The bear said arrrrr.

[laughter]

In my heart this place
will always be home.

It's where I came of age
and never forget the raw

beauty of the country
and obviously the people,

they're the heart
of this place.

You know you're from Wawa
when you can dive into

lake superior and
drink the water.

You stop on the road
when you see a friend

and just talk to them.

I went over to the

school and had a chat with
Nathan Halloran everybody.

What a great kid.

Nathan really impressed
upon me how you guys

really encouraged
his playing.

He says the town
was very supportive.

I'm always getting
praise from everyone.

'Oh I saw your performance the
other day it was fantastic'.

It's really uplifting.

The last few years I
was always just a little

depressed and I didn't
really have a way of

dealing with it at all.

Once I started getting
more into piano I would

learn a song for fun and
that would immediately

make me feel better.

He's leaving you guys
for a little while now,

he's going to go away to
university to study music

and who knows Nathan by
the time you get

back there might be a
spot opening up in

the Wawa philharmonic.

[laughter]

Living in a small town you
really connect with things.

You're able to focus more
on the beauty of the world

instead of just everything
being so go go go go.

It's not often you look to
a high schooler for wisdom

but he sort of articulated
a notion that I had about

people from Wawa that
I was having trouble

putting my finger on.

It's just that
Wawa joy we have.

Wawa joy?

Ya it seems like
everyone has that.

Yeah -Yeah.

Sometimes it's really
creepy how happy

we are all the time.

I love Wawa and I think
it's really up there

with one of the greats.

And I thought
yeah that's it.

One of the stores down at
Anita's store it says

New York, Paris,
London and Wawa.

I think it's more
of a joke,

it's sort of an
attitude right?

You guys put yourself
in that class.

I think you guys believe
yourselves to be one

international airport short
of a world-class city.

[laughter]

You guys fought for your
transgendered moose.

You're fighting for
your rusty goose.

You guys feed and shelter
stray hitchhikers.

You could throw up your
hands and give up on Wawa

but wa-why would
you ever wa-want to?

[applause]

You know just before I
came over to the Polish

hall this evening my mom
gave me a ring at the hotel.

She said you know
how's it going in Wawa?

I said oh you know mom.

I learned a lesson with
the beaver man,

got my gitchee goomeed,
went to see the goose and

kissed a transgendered moose.

She said Jonathan what
are you talking about?

I said mom I'm talking
about Wawa, Ontario.

Thanks so much everybody.

I come here every summer.

Wawa is the
place to be guys!

It's a love letter to
my hometown

it's beautiful you know.

Dynamite was my history
but nobody knew about

it but now everybody
will know about it.

And in that short time to
write up what he did about

the town and some of us in
it you know just fantastic.

Is he going to come back
and do another show?

I can't wait
to see a recap.

I think everyone should
come visit at least once.

Oh yeah or more
definitely more.