immediately. We weren’t intimidated by the nature of the subject because our interest—so we believed at the time—was purely artistic and journalistic. It never occurred to us for one moment we would actually do any multidimensional travel.
Intellectually intrigued and psyched, we simply wanted to make a film about the fascinating topic. Our standard journalistic modus operandi was to not get personally involved in any way with the subject of our investigation. We considered ourselves professionals. We would be objective observers, not participants. Ah, the blind arrogance and naïveté of young journalists!
After the shattering effects of his past tutelage with Uncle Gaston, Rhone was loath to contact him ever again. Finally, after much pleading on our part, he agreed to give us his uncle’s telephone number. Since Rhone refused to call his uncle, I phoned the group leader in Montreal myself.
I rang Rhone’s uncle at his home. As soon as I mentioned my name, Gaston instantly replied, “Yes, we’ve been expecting your call.” Being certain that Rhone had not previously phoned him to tell him about us, I felt the Frenchman’s super calm, knowing response was like an overused line from a cheap “B” horror flick.
Gaston added to the mystique of his reply by coupling it with an invitation that seemed overly hospitable to strangers. Before I had an opportunity to mention our connection with his nephew Rhone, or our interest in making a film, Gaston volunteered, “You can all come and stay at our house for as long as you like.”
A red warning light went off within my suspicious personality. Why such over-zealous hospitality? Hiding my uneasiness, I
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