Category Archives: Something About Us

You can't go home again

Cariboo outside of JasperAfter a long week in Calgary, Pam and I returned to Vancouver via the Yellowhead Highway through Jasper and then south on the Number 5 from Valemont. It was a lovely Mount Michenerdrive, although the route is considerably slower than the southern route, it is so worthwhile! We saw lots of wildlife including a couple of bears, cariboo, several deer, and lots of mountain goats. We appreciated the slower speeds to savour the views.

During our visit to Calgary, an old friend and I arranged for a group of old rocker friends to get together – thirty years later. Always funny to see who got the baldest and fattest (I think I won both awards!) I was deeply saddened by some of the tragic stories, but also greatly heartened by others.

Everyone has their tragedies, of course, and it was tough to talk about some of the mistakes we’ve made. And certainly the old pecking order came out. Some of the things said were so offensive, you wonder if people are just naturally that rude in Alberta, or were my “old friends” just….?

Someone's old dreamOne guy tried to tell me he could get in his car, go down to the library, ask the librarian to look something up for him, she would print it off, and he’d have that done faster than using his “so-called modern internet connection.” After picking myself up off the floor, I suggested to him that she was probably looking up his request on the internet, he shook the pile of papers in my face. I knew there were Luddites around, just amazed to see one of my old friends as one!

Yellowhead LakeComing from a city that has been awash in color and flowers and greenery for months, then driving through picturesque mountains, with wonderful wild flowers in bloom, it’s shocking to come to a dull drab city like Calgary, with it’s unending, sandy colored flat lands, pockmarked with pot hole filled streets, covered in loose, dusty gravel, with huge pickup trucks driven by aggressive rednecks careening down narrow streets, covered in snow. Yeah that’s right, snow in May – choosing to live in Calgary is a bit like choosing a toothache. Who chooses a toothache?

So many boxes...They love to talk about their strong economy, as if pulling oil out of the ground is an economy. When Alberta has more unemployed than Quebec it’s not hard to see why people are leaving in droves. We got sick of passing Albertans with their U-Hauls full of stuff heading to BC. You certainly don’t stay in Calgary because it’s pretty!

They sneer at West Coast liberals, proud to be unabashedly Conservative – while smoking their pot and needing details on how soon they’d get pot stores like Vancouver has had for years. Their sneers at Justin Trudeau were based merely on his parenthood. And of course they  assumed I voted Liberal. (I did not.)

Pam and BaileyIronically, it is Trudeau who will actually make a very real difference in most of their lives. The removal of criminal prosecutions for marijuana is so long overdue, it doesn’t even need stating. Some of them suffer from pot convictions. Harper’s rants on marijuana – sigh – typical Alberta redneck bullshit. No basis in fact, which of course helps in Alberta, where most problems are “solved” with out facts.

And these were guys who listened to the Ramones, and still call themselves rockers… sigh. Old people

Wainwright: Then and Now

The famous bison statueI’ve been wanting to take a trip to Wainwright Alberta for a number of years. Our family lived there from 1964 to 1967. It is a military training base, one of the largest in the world. It’s east, and slightly south of Edmonton. It haunts my psyche, lives in my dreams, and populates my nightmares.

Dedication dayWainwright is the first place I became conscious of “me” – I was born in Barrie, Ontario, but Wainwright is the first place I can remember conversations, things I did, things that were done to me, schoolteachers, friends, even the first death I experienced.

It’s been 49 years since I’ve seen Wainwright, and I was able to drive right to our house! The rocky ledge that I fell down as a child and scrapped all the skin off my left hand is still there, no doubt catching other clumsy kids. I can distinctly remember the pain of having my hand cleaned with iodine, the old school cut cleaner – no polysporin in those days!

Running in out backyardI stood in our back yard and turned and could see the ghosts of us running across the yard. If you wanted to recreate that picture, you could. The view is identical. All the elements are there – the “ole ski hill” in the background, the cable for the clothes line is even still there.

Tank in the parkThe hockey rink still figures prominently just below the ski hill. There seem to be a few more lights, but it’s mostly unchanged. The Canex is still there, so was the infamous round-about where Mom lost a hubcap driving a car full of hockey players to a game in the middle of a snowy day (“Don’t tell your Father!”), the swimming hole, the golf course – everything was there – except the school and the baseball diamond. They’ve been torn down and a cluster of new PMQs cover the area.

Pump jack #3BThe town has the feel of a lot of prairie towns – a big long strip of hotels along the highway, and then the main town runs off down Main Street. You can see the same town structure all over Canada and the US. It’s awfully generic, with each town having something to which they cling for fame. Wainwright was the original shelter for the buffalo. The town essentially sprung up to protect the buffalo, when in 1907, the original Buffalo National Park was created.

Dedicating the bison statueAlthough the park no longer exists, it was eliminated in 1939, Wainwright still takes immense pride in their role in preserving the magnificent plains beast. In 1967, during Canada’s Centennial celebrations, the town decided that a life size sculpture of the great bison should adorn the entrance to Main Street. My Dad took a great series of four pictures as the statue is unveiled.

Welcoome to StettlerI could talk a long time about the using a Navigation System to get to a small town like Wainwright, but I’m not sure my heart could take the strain… suffice to say that there are an awful lot of unpaved roads in Alberta, and our tires have driven over far too many miles of them.

We had lunch in Stettler, a small town where my maternal grandfather was born. There were no plaques to him – most unfortunate!

Mother's Day race in Calgary

Mother's Day 2016Yesterday was the Forzani’s Mother’s Day Race in aid of the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. It’s a cause we’ve supported before and this day was pretty nice. Weather was warmish, with only a slight wind, just enough to help keep you cool as you run.

Showing off my numberThe race is a bit strange in that you actually run down one of Calgary’s main streets – Macleod Trail – but only on the south bound side! The north bound side is still active, with cars whizzing by… There is a barrier, so there is no danger, but it is one of the charms of the race.

The course was nice and flat, with only a couple of minor uphill portions. I did pretty well, but I tell you something is very strange. I use the app MapMyRun to track my runs, and as I crossed the start mat, I clicked it on… After the race, it takes quite a while to get the phone out, turn off the app, and save it. I was really pleased with my time of 32 minutes and 20 seconds. Pam and I had a look and we oohed and aahed.

Maurice getting readyI check my official chip time on the website this morning and I’m at 37 minutes! Ah well… I prefer the MapMyRun stats, but I guess I have to live with being 34th in my category. In my last race I was 630th in my category, so that’s not a bad comeback.

We had lunch with Mom and Rod a little later on. Nice Mother’s Day.

 

Sun Run 2016

Maurice on the runYesterday – Sunday – was the Vancouver Sun Run, when more than 40,000 people run through the streets of Vancouver dressed in colorful costumes in a paean to spring. Or fitness. Or just because we can….

I had been training very hard for the race, but five and a half weeks ago I tore up my knee and have not been able to run a single day since mid-February. But no way was I missing the race AGAIN because of an injury.

I took it slow, but I didn’t want to go this slow! I had a really good first 5k, very pleased with that, but I hit a wall and had a tough last five. At least I wasn’t last!

There were lots of people who came out to line the course, ringing cowbells, holding up signs, offering high fives… and it seems corny, but it really helped. I was struggling coming up the Cambie Bridge, very near the finish line, and I saw a woman holding a sign that said “I’m so proud of you, Perfect Stranger” and it really gave me the energy to start hustling again. I actually finished with a flurry – my last k was better than my first!

I love the Sun Run – usually my runs are just Bailey and me running alone – but this run with so many people, young, old, every culture represented – just out moving – it’s damned inspiring. I think of it like a motorcycle ride you do with your legs – it’s for your soul, you can go as fast as you like, take the turns as tight as like, go up and down hill as you want, be out in the wind seeing the scenery… and still, you can stop on a dime and high five the people around you!

So we are pleased to announce….

When we got Dick’s email this morning, it confirmed in our minds to accept the offer we recieved on our newly renovated apartment PLUS the new owner has included his 2900 square foot log cabin in Alaska, so we are moving to Juno!!

Pam has already submitted early retirement papers, and we leave at noon tomorrow!!!!

We sold EVERYTHING. We are to take our clothes and electronics and Bailey and go!

At the hockey game

Bo knows faceoffsPam and I went to the Vancouver Canucks – Nashville Predators hockey game on Saturday night. One of her work buddies has season’s tickets and couldn’t go so off we went to Roger’s Arena. It’s been a while since we’ve been to a game so it was fun to be there.

The Canucks won 4-2, which was good. Our seats were quite high, behind the Preds goal for the first and third periods. The Canucks played very well the first period outshooting the Preds 14-4 , so lots of the action was in our end of the rink.

Henrik and Nikita TryamkinWe thought we might see the new Russian Tank, the basketball player sized defenceman Nikita Tryamkin. He took the pre-game skate, got some advice from Henrik Sedin, and didn’t play! Rats.

First time seeing Jake Virtanen play live was impressive. He looked pretty good, a little wild still, and sometimes seemed not quite lost, but needs to find out where he is on the ice sometimes. I don’t think he’s really comfortable out there all the time, quite yet, but you really notice him out there. He certainly looks like the real deal.

Alex BurrowsThe beer was 8 bucks or 8.75 for premium, quite normal for beer in a bar-type setting and I wasn’t outraged, just resigned. I also wanted a hot dog, $5.75 which I figured was reasonable. I ordered “A hot dog and a beer please.”

The hot dog arrives and I get my beer and she says “That will be 21 bucks.” I ain’t the best dude at math, but that seemed a tad out of whack, so I said “uh that’s a pack of taxes on that 15 buck bill eh?” She said, “oh no I gave you the double, saves you money!”

First off, I didn’t order a double, second off, it’s not even on the menu, ok? What scam is this? My other complaint about the place was how many people are drunk! I don’t mean fun to be around good times dudes, who have had a couple, but flat out, barely able to stand, bright red-nosed, drunk. And no wonder. Young guys are thinking they are getting one beer, pounding back 4 or 5 and actually having consumed 8 or 10. Who functions well with 10 beers in them?

Pam's viewLast little complaint – I’m sure this is associated with the over serving of alcohol – the three young men behind us, used the f-word every third or fourth word, sprinkled liberally with the c-word, and then they’d throw in the odd n-word for good effect. Seated beside me was a young family, three young girls, and a boy 5 to 11ish – all dressed in Canuck hats and stuff. I turned to the dudes and said,  “c’mon eh, young kids don’t need to hear that constantly.” Two guys apologized, and one said, “f-off, it’s a hockey game.” sigh

 

Here we are in March

The sink areaLooking into the kitchenI look at the blog and see that I’ve really neglected it. We’ve been in the process of repairing flood damage and getting a new kitchen installed since November of last year. It just sucks the life out of you having no kitchen – no place to cook, no plumbing, no walls – it’s a bitch doing the dishes in the bathroom sink, believe me!

Dishes and pots and pans and cutlery and appliances are stacked everywhere – in the spare bedroom, the living room, the dining room, the bathroom! –  since there are no cabinets, not even walls!

New sink and faucetBut it’s been worth it in the long run. From the doorIt’s almost complete now, and we’re really happy with how things turned out. Every contractor we hired, or were hired by the restoration company, were first rate pros. I’ve got some painting and tiling above the back splash to do, and then we’re finished. I’ve already got the back splash done on the left side – we’re leaving the right clear for now, for the electrician to do his work.

If you look at the four pictures of the kitchen, the top two are obviously the before pics, and the bottom ones are roughly the same view with the new cabinets and floors.

Bailey on our new rugBailey on the other hand, doesn’t seem to care about those kind of things. So long as there is a bowl of food and a toilet is open to drink from, she’s happy!

You can see her rolling her eyes at us as we try to take her picture.

And here is a little movie of her having a splash in Everett Crowley park, just a block from where we live.