‘The way these kids looked after each other, I’ve never seen anything like that’
Drew O’Neil expected his Sunday to be boring. But 30 minutes into his day at work, he received a text: five more people from Jasper wanted to ink themselves in memory of their beloved town.
The day before, O’Neil, who runs a tattoo parlour in Brentwood, received two clients who wanted to honour the treasured town devastated by wildfire. O’Neil, who had seen the destruction wrought by the blaze on social media, ordered food and charged the two clients half price.
The next day, the group of youths in their 20s crowded into the shop, eager to resurrect their town on their bodies. O’Neil said he was overwhelmed by their grief and love.
“The way these kids looked after each other, I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.
Ever since, the clients flowing into his parlour hasn’t stopped. Lying on an extended couch with an arm stretched to the side was Matteo Gutierrez. Gutierrez, who is studying to be a dietitian in Nova Scotia, worked in the summer as a line chef in a restaurant in Jasper.
“For the past two years, I knew that, at least for a summer or two, I would come out West,” he said.
When he arrived, he marvelled at the pristine views around the town.
“I love snow, yeah, so just knowing that I could step out of my house and look at dozens of different mountains covered in snow with like little lights,” he said.
The start to his summer experience in the town was slow. But he gradually made friends, whom he will remember for the rest of his life.
“I became really close with my head chef, which is also from Mexico. We lived in the same house,” he said.
“Jasper is a very touristy town, but also has a tight local community.”
Gutierrez had been napping when the alert rang on his phone. He was woken up by his friend who urged him to pack a bag. His roommates were incredulous, suggesting that nothing would materialize from the alert. But he packed a bag anyway, stuffing clothes and belongings for two days, believing he would be back.
He biked across town, veiled in smoke, to his friend’s house, hoping the town’s future wouldn’t be as apocalyptic as it seemed. Soon, he and his friends were en route to Calgary.
Gutierrez always wanted a tattoo, but never felt strongly about a design. When he heard the town that gave him memories of a lifetime — that changed his outlook on life — had been devastated by the wildfire, he decided he would have his arm etched in its memory.
“When Drew placed the design on my arm, I realized I definitely want this,” Gutierrez said.
