The Good, Too Bad and the Ugly

 I LIKE THAT FRANK AND I go walking every morning on the sidewalks, roads and alleyways of Campbell River. I bring along my camera and take shots of things that catch my eye. I’ve prepared a patchwork of pictures for you to see the goodness that exudes from the city and also what might seem ugly..

One of the many features I appreciate about a big city is the pedestrian crosswalk sign with blinking lights. I press the action button and wait patiently for the traffic to stop. Frank and I amble across the road and continue our urban hike. As we stride down toward the ocean, our spectacular view gets wider and more breathtaking. It’s a magnificent destination.

As we pass by a storm drain, I wince at the condition of it. It is covered with debris, pinecones and pine needles so deep that it is completely unrecognizable. I know what’s under the cluster of rubbish because five months ago, during the summer, it was clear. However, because the City of Campbell River is sporting such a tight budget, the drains are ignored. That’s too bad!

When it comes to ugly, my personal list begins with tagging. I find it offensive, repugnant and most of all, very difficult to remove. The statement it sends to visitors to our city is that we don’t care, but on the contrary, some of us mind very much about the condition of our home.

Welcome to Campbell River.

In the eye of the beholder

From Here to Eternity

Today, I was daydreaming for a few minutes on what my life might look like in the future. From here to eternity is a long time so I had to narrow it down to a week. My future stems from my past and recently, I was interviewed by Ms. Marjorie Greaves, a Video Journalist for Shaw TV on North Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

The video came about from my having had my essay printed by a publisher in Ohio, USA. I was the only Canadian submission chosen. The publisher sent out a press release to several local newspapers, radio stations and Shaw TV, our local Campbell River broadcast station. When Ms. Greaves called me to see if I would be interested in being filmed, I was flattered and humbled. She booked a time to come to my home and she made me comfortable with the process right away.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Between now and next week, I will be joining a yoga class. What are you up to these days?

Reflections of Women

Eternally grateful for my life

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