FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| BOOKS When Do You Let the Animals Out? "So how much does that mountain weigh?" "Is that with, or without the trees?" Believe it or not, that is one of the most frequently asked questions by tourists to Canada's mountain parks, says author and former Banff Park interpreter Michael Kerr - no relation to the other Mike from Canmore, the book notes. But don't think that's the only inane question put to people working in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Kerr, in fact, has collected 500 silly questions, along with dozens of other stories, anecdotes and photos about the Rockies in his first book, When Do You Let the Animals Out? Subtitled A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Humor, Kerr's book takes readers on a hilarious journey through the peaks and valleys accompanied by that ever-growing species, the mountain tourist. The pocket sized book is a quick, laugh-a-minute read, capturing the cheery nature of the author and the essence of humor in the Canadian Rockies. Kerr credits its existence to our high elevation and lack of oxygen. "And I like to think we have a distinctive humor from the rest of the country." The silly questions, however, come from somewhere else. "In a place like Banff, you have people from all over the world, and for a lot of these people this is their first encounter with the wilderness," he says. "And I think this is their first encounter with Canada and Canadians so they ask a lot of curious questions." Okay, that explains the title of the book and, perhaps, the even more confusing question: "Where does Alberta end and Canada begin?" While those asking the questions could easily be ridiculed, the Canmore resident writes that he is laughing with the people, not at them. "I'm a firm believer in the old saying 'There are no silly questions, only silly answers, and silly hats.'" Animals also take a leading role in the book. There are stories of mating porcupines, a bull elk wearing a woman's bathing suit, an attack squirrel, and a driving bear. After collecting humorous tales, newspaper clippings and re-told mixed-up stories for about 12 years, Kerr decided about a year ago he should pursue the idea of putting all the items together. "I had all this weird, goofy, bizarre stuff that didn't fit in into any of my filing categories," he said. "I needed a new category and called it Mountain Humor. And, literally as I was stuffing the stuff in, that's where the idea for a book first hit me." With help from "co-conspirators" from Parks Canada, visitor information booths, even waitresses and taxi drivers, Kerr's spoof of field guides can be enjoyed just as much being read aloud or by selecting pages at random. Like most books of this ilk, however, too much light humor at one time becomes tiring. Small doses are recommended to truly enjoy this compilation of mountain yucks. Now managing a corporate speaking and training company, the Penticton-born Kerr says there may be a sequel a few years down the road. But until then, we'll have to contemplate the ever-important questions posed in his first book such as: "Is it true that to escape a grizzly bear you have to climb a tree that's the same width as your head?" or "Does the glacier want to go, or is it just gravity?" For anyone with any knowledge of the Rockies, When Do You Let the Animals Out? is a must. |
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