Alleyways are Appealing

I LIKE THAT there are so many back alleys in Campbell River. They run north and south and offer interesting passages from one avenue to another. Some are paved while most are covered with gravel and dirt. It’s the various views that are most engaging when Frank and I take our daily morning walk. Our journey south presents us with a variety of curiosities. A woman walks her dog on the paved path and the little thing leaves the cutest footprints. Further down the lane, where the terrain changes to dirt, it is clear that a heavy vehicle has travelled before us.

What we view from the lanes is very telling. A sign indicates a bump somewhere along the path, graffiti by attention-seeking people tells that they’ve been there, a pile of rocks that looks like a cairn is more likely a stack of rocks, an abandoned bike camouflaged in the grass belongs to the person looking for it, and a precious red tulip determined to show itself among a cluster of weeds and branches is a runaway sprout from the flower garden on the other side of the fence.

Life is a pathway.

Appealing Passageway

Pathway Curiosities

One Honk and a Wave

“Are you picking up garbage?” the young boy said. He and his father walked toward me sipping on drinks in large paper cups.

I lifted my trash picker and pink bucket into the air, smiled and said, “Yes, it’s Earth Day.”

They walked past me while I carried on retrieving trash from the sidewalk and boulevard. I hum a happy tune as I grip the plastic handle of the garbage tongs and kick the bucket on the flat surface of the walkway. I like the way it makes me feel to be of service to my neighbours along the 350-metre trek I’ve adopted in the City of Campbell River. I asked a few friends if they would consider adopting a block, and twelve volunteers have now taken stewardship of areas throughout the city.

My singing was interrupted with a car honk and I raised my head just in time to see a wave. I shook my bucket as a response. It’s kind of people to recognize the need to tidy up – especially on Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day!

Hiking is Happiness

I LIKE THAT Frank and I enjoy hiking together. Today, we set off down 4^th Avenue to a path that eventually led us to our proper destination off 2^nd Avenue and McPhedran. The first few metres offered us a fork in the path, and without hesitation, Frank veered to the right. The most predominant smell for a while was the Yellow Skunk Cabbage, a delightful looking green and yellow plant that thrives in our Central Vancouver Island wet woods. The sound of rushing water alongside the narrow path was music to my ears as were the chirp of birds likely compelling their companions to be wary of the strangers in their midst. The fresh air was palatable. The spring air pushed its way through our nostrils and open mouths as we caught our breath at the top of a steep hill. Our mud covered path revealed a large print of a bear and I asked Frank if he had his hiking knife – he did.

The magnificence of the forest and all the life within is a wholesome beauty like no other. We are blessed to have paths throughout Campbell River that take you from one backyard to another and beyond. Wonderful!

Hiking we will go.

Yellow Skunk Cabbage - whew!

Bears like hiking too.

Show Me Your Papers

I LIKE THAT Frank and I manage an apartment complex that is designated a Crime-Free building,  which means that the property has undergone three levels of security supervised by representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and that they have certified us as solid citizens.

Today, as part of my daily duties, I was pulling out cleaning supplies to use for the job, and I could sense a person standing behind me. I turned and saw a large man wearing a black t-shirt with a small company logo on the left hand corner. He was grinning.

“Are you looking for someone?” I asked.

“I’m looking for the telephone room,” he said.

“Who are you?”

“I’m from Telus,” he said. “I’m here to work on a telephone for apartment 203.” He asked me to let him into the locked room.

“Suite 203 is empty. Who are you here to do work for?”

“I think it’s 204 or 304, I’m not sure,” he said.

“I’m not sure who you are. Please show me your ID and papers.”

“What? Are you kidding me? I don’t have it on me. But, here, I’ll show you my driver’s license.” And then he pointed to the name on his shirt. “Can’t you tell I’m from Telus?”

“I could be wearing a Hooters t-shirt and I’m not from there. You’ll have to leave.” I waived my arm toward the exit door.

“Let me go to my truck and get my ID and the work order. OK?”

“That would be great.”

He performed as promised and returned with the proper credentials and paperwork. I recognized our tenant’s name and suite number.

“Wow! I’ve never been challenged like that before. Never in my fourteen years of working as a repairman. I’m a big guy but you had me jumping to attention,” he said.

“We love our crime-free building and we protect the people in it – including ourselves.”

Stand our ground, ladies. Stand your ground.

Show me your papers