As a small boy I left Belfast, N Ireland, in Aug. 1957, to go to the promised land, Canada. We lived in London, Ontario for just 11 months when my parents decided to return to Ireland because they failed to integrate and make it their home. I loved every day there.

They’re both dead now and my brother Howard, who was born there 2 weeks before we left, sold up and returned to Canada 10 years ago and hasn’t come back to the UK since.

I understand what it’s like to lose your dreams, however strange those imaginings may be. Canada to me is like Mars to Stevie. However weird and far away, it’s the place we call our spiritual home.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe… humph… Attack ships on fire off the Shoulder of Orion. I watched C Beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears… in rain… time to die”, and so in the act of expiring, replicant Roy Batty releases the captive white dove from his grasp and it flies into the rain filled sky, above the roof of the Bradbury Building he is squatting on, in the final showdown. Blade Runner, 1982.

“Do androids dream of electric sheep”? Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982)

It’s no fun being a chattel slave, a Nexus 6, of the Tyrell Corporation. By the way Stevie all your little animal friends on Mars are replicants, sorry pal.

hahahaha, classic, laffed my butt off, you should write childrens novels with narative skils like that!!

The documentary was good, I enjoyed and Mr. Howe above me shares my sentiments.

You have a good site here and your ban on ‘text’ speak makes for a fine forum too.

Humans did this. No gods, no magic, no ancient superstitions; just science, engineering, and determination.

There’s this girl Kate that lives in the little shack on Mars. She’s a nice girl. She tells stories about herself in the third person. There’s not much to do on Mars since they closed the roller coaster due to lack of gravity. The cars just kept floating into space. Kate hasn’t had much to talk about since the last day the roller coaster was open. She misses the screams from the riders as they floated into orbit.

There’s this stupid beach on Mars. No one goes there anymore. They built a shitty restaurant near the beach. The owner is a talking flamingo named Carl. He keeps shitting on the beach. That’s why no one goes to the beach.

There’s this animal on Mars that doesn’t breathe oxygen. It’s got these wings that keep it on the ground. He’s a fuzzy little frog with huge feet. We call the animal Graham. He bites us.

We used to take trips to Mars all the time. Then mom got sick and dad lost his job. My brother went away to college and my sister got married. We all fell apart. Some days I sit on the roof and look up at Mars and think ‘Gee, I wonder how Kate is doing in her shack. I wonder if they’ll open the roller coaster. I wonder if they’ll clean up the beach. I wonder if Graham has died since no one is there to feed him with their flesh.’

I used to fly on Mars. You have to tie a rope to your waist so you don’t float away. I could do the best flips on Mars. Things were always easier with less gravity.

I think I’ll move to Mars if I grow up.

So if you’re ever on Mars, tell Kate I said hi. But don’t go to that beach. It’s shit. And Graham will bite you. Don’t go see him.

Mars isn’t that far away if you drive straight up….