Tour guide Frederick drove us in the Banff Discovery Tour van, where we discovered surprises like Bow Falls along our way.
To begin, we passed the John MacDonald statue, which stood in front of the Fairmont's Banff Springs Hotel.
Boris tapped his foot.
"John MacDonald was Canada's first prime minister and he created Canada's first national park system in order to protect nature's beauty," Frederick said.
"Today the Banff National Park, which includes Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefield and ....
Boris tapped his foot more recklessly. He had something to get off his starched Ralph Lauren chest, and he needed to get it off now.
Interrupting, Boris said forcefully, "The Russians!"
Are they coming?
He stared at me for an awkward moment. Leonardo's eyes followed.
"You're not Russian are you?" Boris asked, voice softening.
"No," I replied.
Boris dug in hard and fast now.
(Yes, he was probably an exciting lover, hence Leonardo.)
"Russians are difficult!" Boris declared. "I don't care to be around Russians. Not at t'all. They're this. And they're that..."
I can't recall what he said since I was startled by his open commentary. I had no such preconceived notions and didn't want to start.
"Russians are all over Banff," Boris said. "If you can see them through throngs of Chinese shoppers. Chinese are everywhere! Have you noticed?"
I had.
"They're shopping all over Banff because their economy is booming, unlike the Americans, who are noticably absent, except for you."
The nerve of Boris.
I loved it.
Boris, the wild man.
I was getting an open lesson on prejudice and economics. Mine and others. As he spoke, I noted a prejudice of my own surface as a result of a few significant and unfortunate experiences I'd had in West Los Angeles with one ethnic group. I made a mental note to toss it, for generalizing a group sounded bad aloud; surely it didn't belong polluting my mind.
I was mesmerized by Boris, though, which wasn't lost on Leonardo, whose gentle eyes met mine. Like a knife.
(Leonardo spoke with his eyes, as he didn't speak much English.)
Boris continued the cultural lesson.
"And Europeans. Their economy is tanking, too. Europeans aren't shopping."
I owned European stock I hadn't thought about until now.
"You don't see Europeans walking the streets and shopping, do you?"
His eyes bore into mine.
Leonardo's eyes doubled in intensity.
"Now do you?" Boris repeated.
"No," I said, softly, diverting my eyes to Frederick as I nodded yes to safety.
Frederick turned up the sound on his microphone.
"Prime Minister MacDonald today is on the ten dollar bill and is credited with founding Banff as a result of the hot springs discovered in 1883 and this million dollar view," Frederick said. "It's this million dollar view of Bow River and the mountains that MacDonald just knew would attract throngs of tourists from Canada and Europe."
"Russia and China, too," Boris added.
"Today the Banff Hot Springs Hotel is the cornerstone of Banff," Frederick continued.
The van glided up a hill.
"Now we'll go to the hot springs discovered by three railroad workers where Banff began."
We passed mountain goats licking minerals at the sides of the road.
Boris's foot tapped a bit calmer now that he'd unloaded.
Nontheless, Leonardo's eyes were upon me.
(Tourists names have been changed.)
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