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

Food, Frolic and Favour

I LIKE THAT our two friends, Dianna and Wendy, attended the Baha’i New Year celebration held on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. The quiz at the beginning of the celebration explained its purpose: to visit friends and relatives, celebrate with food and exchange gifts. Other facts about Naw-Ruz include its literal translation of new day, and that it’s an old Iranian celebration marking the start of the Zoroastrian new year.

Kindness permeated the celebration the moment we walked in. The hustle of putting the hall ready to receive friends and family was well underway with volunteers preparing the food tables, coffee and tea, placing live potted plants on tables draped in brightly coloured cloth. To add to the festive feel, there was a flying fish overhead being operated by a sweet young girl.

A good turn was captured by many of the attendees like when a friend asked another if they would like something to drink, or during the meal when plates were prepared for the children, and after we ate when volunteers unobtrusively slid utensils and dishes from the tables. Goodwill was celebrated in the kitchen also while hands dipped in and out of hot water, towels buffed dishes to a shine, and garbage was dealt with as a grateful errand.

Happy Naw-Ruz to everyone.

Baha'i Faith Website

Fun and Frolic

Live entertainment

International Women's Day

I LIKE THAT I stopped for a few groceries at a local market on March 8, International Women’s Day. It gave me that chance to speak to the checkout clerk and a male shopper about the celebration of women and how the day is meant to inspire women and celebrate achievements.

At noon that day, I had spent a glorious time having tea and sharing a fruit platter with other women at the Campbell River Women’s Centre. We sat around a large table and chatted about our accomplishments, so far, with our selves, children, husbands and family. One of the women wanted to know how International Women’s Day came to be and another explained that the idea and theme started in Eastern Europe and Russia around 1914.

“Women wanted to make a political statement about equality and wanted to have the same rights as a man. They marched in the streets and spread the word about human rights and how they wanted a say in how things should be run. In the United States, in 1908, women took the streets with placards telling everyone that they wanted the right to vote.”

I piped in with what I had learnt while I was teaching English in China.

“In 1949 the Chinese government proclaimed March 8 would be made an official holiday with women in China given a half-day off. We need the same thing to happen in Canada.”

The conversation continued in a playful and highly energized way. Some of us exchanged contact information and promised to continue our newfound friendships.

  

“The woman is indeed of the greater importance to the race. She has the greater burden and the greater work…” ~ (Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 102)

Women are grrreat!

The Chicken Coop Incident

I LIKE THAT my son and I played together, laughed out loud, and hugged each another long enough to absorb each other’s energy. I discovered unconditional love the moment I knew I was pregnant.

My sweet boy was born in Edmonton, Alberta and after our release from the hospital we returned to our forty-acre hobby farm in Millet, a small farming community approximately fifty-five kilometers south of the capital city. My husband, at the time, worked in the nearby city of Wetaskiwin while my son and I worked the farm. Our daily rituals included collecting the eggs from the chicken coop, feeding the chickens and the four charolais bulls, each weighing around 500 kilograms, cleaning the barn, picking weeds from the garden in the summer, and shoveling a path from our home to the barn and coop, and to the main road in the winter. Regardless of the weather, if my boy and I had to go outside it meant packing him into a baby carrier. Loaded up, I performed our duties without incident until one day when one of the bulls decided he wanted to join us in the chicken coop. I heard him snort and I turned around to face his huge skull flanked by two large eyes scanning my son and I from top to bottom.

“Get out!” I shouted.

He didn’t move and I knew it would take some shoving on my part to move him back. It’s not common for a steer to walk backward. I was stuck with what to do until I increased the grip on my flat shovel. I lifted it up and brought it down hard on his forehead. He turned his head and led the rest of his body away from us. He was angry and pawed the ground with his front hoof. That signal was enough of a warning for me to slam the chicken coop door behind us and run for it. We scrambled over the locked fence and ran to the house. My son and I celebrated our safety with a warm bottle of milk for him and a cool drink of lemonade for me.

Get back Mr. Charolais!

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