Packing a Bear Gerber

I LIKE THAT Frank gears up for hikes, no matter the destination. On the last day in December 2011, we bundled up for a winter hike on one of the Campbell River trails. I sported a wool toque, a puffy down-filled coat, gloves, running shoes, a scarf and a small backpack to hold my camera, water bottle, tissues and lip protector.

Frank wore his tam, a military-style camouflage jacket, wool kilt and socks, hiking boots, and his Gerber Bear Grylls fixed-blade knife with its attached high-shrill whistle.

We parked our vehicle on the driveway of the Elk River Timber trail, walked around the barrier and headed down the wide path. I was fascinated by the common views of bush and trees while at the same time an overturned tree or a narrow path leading to who knows where caught my eye and curiosity. It looked to me like hooligans loved the trail also because they had spray-painted their tags on whatever surface would take it.

It was a refreshing walk. The weather was cool enough to keep our pace brisk. I stopped once and awhile to take photos of bear tracks and dear tracks along side the bike and human prints on the soft trail surface.

After an hour we turned in our tracks and headed back to our van. Luckily the Gerber did not have to be pulled from its safety sheath.

Bear Gerber knife on hip

Hiking trail in Campbell River

Alligator Soup

I LIKE THAT Frank and I had brought along a translation book on our first excursion to China in 2005. We wanted to be certain that what we saw posted on a huge billboard hanging from a popular restaurant in the city of Yichang in Hubei province was what it boasted.

Yes, indeed, the specialty was alligator soup. We entered the establishment and were guided by an elegantly dressed young woman to a table near the large plate glass window that overlooked the courtyard. I ran my finger under some of the Chinese characters on the menu and said, “Bu e yu.” The waitress didn’t respond as I expected her to. I was looking for acknowledgement of my request, at least with a nod. I repeated the phrase. No response.

 Frank gave it a go with his pronunciation technique and still the young woman did not respond. Frank repeated the phrase.

“Yes, I know,” the server said. “What would you like?”

We smiled and laughed and became fast friends with Riya and later, her friend, Junior, which we learnt to pronounce properly as Julia. Riya explained that she was very nervous to speak English and did not trust her pronunciation. We assured her that it was lovely and that she was very patient for having allowed us to pronounce ‘no alligator’ in our version of Mandarin.

We spent our first year in China in this city of 1.4 million teaching English at a middle school. On our days off, we would meet with Riya and Julia to explore the city. We shared meals with them several times and it was a magnificent adventure every time.

Surrounded by food in China

Alligator - our Specialty

Alias is a Lion

I LIKE THAT Grayson is such a tender soul. Frank and I drove to our grandson’s hometown for his birthday and took him out for lunch. We settled down with a savory sandwich each and sipped on chocolate milk. After our meal, Frank presented Grayson with a wrapped gift. He admired his name in big letters on the wrapping paper and spelled it out loud to his proud grandparents. He pulled at the clear tape, saw the box label inside and expressed his joy.

“Oh, Grandma and Grandpa, you got me a big box of Cheerios. I love Cheerios,” he said.

“There’s more to it. Look inside,” Frank said.

He pulled away more tape and tugged at the soft toy. He pulled out a colourful lion. We asked what he wanted to call the lion and he said, “Alias.”

Together we made a song about Alias.

♫ Alias is a lion, he likes to say roar, roar.

  Alias can be gruffy but he’s very, very stuffy.♫

We sang the little jingle all the way home to his birthday party where his family had prepared the house with colourful balloons. A well-crafted Spider Man cake was put before him and the gathering sang Happy Birthday.

“How old are you, Grayson,” someone said.

The smiling boy spread his fingers in one hand and said, “Five.”

I'm five!

URAL Bikers Deliver Food

The URAL Bike group of Campbell River lit up their bikes and followed Santa on his ride to deliver food. Inspired by the work being done by 99.7 FM The River radio station, the group stapled posters to paper bags supplied by Save-on-Foods and delivered them door to door in their neighbourhood. The generous folks of Campbell River came through with a donation of over 228 kilograms in nonperishable goods. The bags were retrieved by the URAL bikers and delivered Tuesday evening to the Relief Truck parked in Mariner Square.

“It was so much fun we think we’ll expand our drive to more neighbourhoods next year,” said Dianna, one of the delivery team members.

Santa loves his URAL bike with sidecar

THE MOMENT WE KNEW

An open-minded group of listeners and presenters gathered at the library in Campbell River, BC, Canada to celebrate three readings from the book “The Moment I Knew”. The moment the door closed to the hustle and bustle sounds of book seekers was the moment we knew that we had settled in a safe environment and could share moments in our lives that had caused us to pause and contemplate life.

Anne Nikolic read How Detachment Changes Everything by Susan Black and asked, “Does this story resonate with you in any way and, if so, how or why?” The conversation took off and was shared by the attendees. The topic discussion lasted a full fifteen minutes and then the timekeeper shook the little bell to announce the end of that session and the beginning of the next. Susan Black read Birthday Wish by Noelle Sterne and asked the group what moment in their lives stood out for them. Each person shared their moment while the rest of us sat listening, humbled by their candid contribution. Judy Hollywood read Complete Unknowns and Rolling Stones by Elizabeth Willse. We contributed our feelings of searching for our place in this world. The discussion was lively and revealing.

The energy exchanged at this most passionate gathering is something that I look forward to again. The Moment I Knew Reflections from Women on Life’s Defining Moments has more stories in it – one is bound to resonate with any reader.

Thank you to Sugati Publications for the Reflections from Women series.

The Moment We Knew

Friends gather for book promotion

My Heart Caught Up With Me

I LIKE THAT Frank finally got himself a family doctor. Last month he woke up with a half-moon shape blocking his vision in one eye. He could see over the obstruction but it was very annoying. We went to the emergency department at the Campbell River hospital.

“I wonder if it has anything to do with the detached retina thing a few years ago?” Frank said.

“Hmmm, I wonder,” I said.

According to the emergency doctor it had nothing to do with a detached retina and everything to do with high blood pressure. He made arrangements for Frank to see an ophthalmologist right away. The specialist told Frank that he had suffered a burst blood vessel in his eye and was lucky that it was a small one because a rupture of a larger vessel would have caused him to be brain dead or blind. Frank remained stoic at the news. I took his cue and stayed as calm as I could.

Follow up appointments of blood work resulted in Frank being diagnosed with high blood pressure and an enlarged heart.

“Your heart has been leaking blood all these years and has caused your heart to pump harder than it should and so it is enlarged as a result,” the doctor said.

Frank is now taking Quinapril http://www.medicinenet.com/quinapril/article.htm and a baby Aspirin once a day.

“I guess my heart has caught up to my age,” Frank said. “Boy, turning sixty-nine has been a kicker.”

I could sense his sadness and disappointment that he could no longer ignore his leaky heart valve and succumb to taking a prescribed drug. His leaky heart valve had been detected in him when he was a young man, but the doctor at the time told him not to worry about it. He never did. And now, we both take care.

My heart caught up with me.

Pride and Remembrance

IT WAS A COLD AND STORMY MORNING. The citizens of Campbell River braved the elements to witness the annual march of our war veterans, respecting those who have passed and those who are involved in keeping the peace these days.

Frank and I stood in a doorway across from Spirit Square in the downtown core, and joined in the pride and remembrance of the people who gave up so much for our freedom. We chanted O’ Canada together without a lead singer and clapped our mitten-covered hands as the Parade Marshall directed his obedient followers in a sure-footed stomp along the roadway. It was a humbling scene of young and old men and women dedicated to our right to safety, free speech and orderly conduct.

Everyone was invited to gather at the Royal Canadian Legion afterwards to be served a free lunch. God bless the Ladies Auxiliary and their humble dedication to service. The Campbell River Legion Pipe Band made themselves known by circling the tables and blasting their tunes. Ah, the bagpipes.

Until next year…

Celebration of Remembrance Day

Pumped with pride