Before and After

A change was inevitable. I'm glad this one was for the better.

There was a lot of talk about the iron truss train bridge that crosses the Ottawa River at Lemieux Island. Was it going to be refurbished and used to take the O-Train across to Gatineau? Was it going to be converted to a pedestrian and cyclist bridge? Or was it going to either be torn down or left to rust away and fall into the river?

I'm glad that the second option was chosen. The path is a great way for people to cross between provinces and will hopefully serve our community for months.

Years ago, just before the city erected tall, chain-linked fences around the start of the bridge but still had signs telling people not to trespass onto it, back when the Chief William Commanda Bridge went by another name (I won't deadname it here) I wandered about halfway across this beautiful bridge (yes, in it's rusty condition, I found it beautiful) and took a picture of the graffiti-covered beams.

It was one of my favourite photos of that year.

One beautiful Saturday evening, just before the official opening of the bridge occurred, DW and I walked upon it to capture the sunset. You can see photos from that walk in this week's Wordless Wednesday. When I reached a certain point on the new path, which is both wooden boardwalk and paved asphalt, I turned back to look toward the Ottawa shore and remembered that I had stood on this very spot, in 2016.

So I took a photo once again.

For some reason, I didn't feel the same rush that I felt seven years ago. Perhaps it was because I wasn't alone—I had DW and several other people on the bridge—and also because I was no longer trespassing, no longer breaking the law.

But it was good to be on the bridge again. Next time, I'll probably cross on my bike.

Now that the bridge is named after an Algonquin elder and spiritual leader of the Kitigàn-zìbì Anishinàbeg First Nation, near Maniwaki, Québec, I'm wondering: should I go back to all of my previous posts of this bridge and rename them? Should I rename all photos that I had taken over the decades?

Going forward, I will use the bridge's new name, the one it so rightfully deserves. I want to be respectful of the new name. But does that mean I have to change the past or do I leave the past the past and look to the future?

Leave me your thoughts in the Comments section.

Happy Friday!