Plowing Up The Weeds

Old fossils never die, do they Sonja Wood ? – pt. 3

I remember very early on in our relationship, my girl told me I was going to have to get used to my life becoming a little more public. I didn’t really appreciate to what extent she was predicting the future, and was thinking, like, maybe more cocktail parties and gatherings. Never saw it coming. Later that evening I was watching myself on the TV news walking Ms. Sonja Wood into the Kentville courthouse where a judge would be considering the matter of Wood vs. Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation.

The year was 1999, and I had already moved about six thousand pounds of fossils into Sonja’s ‘barn’ - a steel Quonset building which is the Blue Beach Fossil Museum of today. We both shared a vision for this museum, understanding what a great thing it could be for so many. We still have a vision, but that’s for real. The fossils have outgrown their home and yet cannot be asked to leave. Old fossils never die (they just get lovingly curated).

As you probably know, Sonja quickly wore the John Hamm government down, and the movement to spur our leaders to action began gaining momentum. Soon there was a unified voice, calling from the streets and commerce chambers alike, to twin Highway 101; and they finally did it. Not all of it, but a significant segment (with construction costs these days, who can afford to build more than a segment at a time?).

I don’t know exactly why Sonja went from musician to activist, but I think it was just her reaction to the incompetence. She didn’t agitate about the dangerous highway because she was it’s victim - she saw herself as a mascot who could help impact an issue and apply a little of her media savvy.

It all started when she saw a piece on the news about a family involved in yet another fatal accident, and thought “how can I do something about that?” She had been scheduled to perform at the Country Music Awards, in Toronto, so after finishing her show Sonja jumped back on a plane to Nova Scotia to started making her placards and plans.

Don’t laugh, the thing that worried her most was she had to let the other band members pack up the gear and drive back without her. A van full of rowdy men…

Incidentally, Sonja did amazingly well in her music career, and was nominated twice for the East Coast Music Awards. Along the way she also enjoyed working with some of the best musical talents in the Maritimes. She is especially noted for her fine voice. I think what stuns me most is the sheer entertainment which ensues after she gets on that stage.

Although she started out doing her shows off the back porch with her sister, Tammy, and having the other half of Mt. Thom for an audience, Sonja had years of frustration after buying herself a mandolin, and then getting nothing good-sounding out of it. She sure could sing, but she couldn’t play worth a pinch (which more-or-less describes my own efforts). A short while after her accident, one day sitting by herself, suddenly playing came easy. Well, at least that’s how she describes it.

The first official tune she learned on the mandolin was shown to her by an old-time player who called himself “Back Alley John”; the song is “Saint James’ Infirmary”, and still brings up goose bumps every time I hear it. Sonja was a fast study, with a natural ear and perfect sense of pitch. If you don’t believe me, you can ask anyone who’s worked with her. I’m proud to tell you my baby really rocks the Kasbah !

So when she packs away her guitar or mandolin and comes home to Nova Scotia, to sit on the highway for seventeen days and nights, it’s safe to say she was sorely missed. It was at this point the promoter lost his patience, and then dropped her from his portfolio, which Sonja characterized as an unfortunate piece of attrition. If you want to make yourself an omelet, you have to break a few eggs along the way…

A lot of those eggs were politicians; a few reporters and editors also got an ear-full. In fact I know of a few old boys who came darn close to threatening her. Listen boys, she knows enough karate to make you think twice about that! (Her left hand was trained in China, the other hand in Japan !) More importantly though, Sonja E. Wood pushes her wheelchair through the valley of darkness, and don’t you try to stop her; she is proud to tell you she carries the biggest stick of all – and that happens to be her faith in the Lord God.