George

I had a friend named George. He passed away on November 21, 2008. He was only 38 years old. I had only seen him once in the past fifteen years and that was about three years ago.

When I was young, I went to Chemainus Elementary School. There was a family which lived two houses away; the Mawson’s. Bill was in my grade, Ada was a year younger and George was a year younger than her.

As we grew up in the small town, we all stayed friends. During my teenage years, if I wasn’t at home, chances were very good that I was at the Mawson’s house. We were all very close and always had a lot of fun together. The kid’s Dad, Bill Sr., was a very funny man and would always have me in stitches. Rita, their Mom, was so sweet and welcoming to all of us “extra kids” who hung around their house. It was “Our Gang” and the Mawson’s home was our clubhouse.

The years went by and we eventually grew up and went our separate ways, except for me and George. In our early twenty’s we were inseparable. We did everything together, and got into a bit of trouble every now and then. He would even ride the ferry with me both ways when I had to get my oldest daughter from Vancouver for the weekend. Four hours on a BC Ferry - now that's a good friend!

One day - I remember this well - we were heading back from Ladysmith in my ’67 VW Baja Bug with Stinger exhaust, which is the style with an open engine and a big tail pipe sticking out the back. It was pink, very loud (oops, the baffle popped out), no brakes to speak of and a dead battery - I always parked on a hill so I could jump start it. I think it had an 1100cc engine and I always had the pedal to the floor. We were going to Chemainus along Old Victoria Rd and the engine stalled a bit, but then it started going again. (That was another thing, the gas gauge didn’t work so I did run out of gas every so often.) When I looked in my rear view mirror, all I saw was an orange glow and yelled out “Oh, s**t! We’re on fire!” It took me a bit to get us stopped - remember, it had poor brakes. We both jumped out to assess the situation and saw that the entire engine was in flames. We’d happened to stop in front of a house where we knew the occupants and ran in for help. George burst into the house and yelled “Do you have a f***ing fire extinguisher!!” They did have one and came out to save the day. After the fire was out, they gave George a little talk about his language. We got the car started again and drove it to my parent’s house. I didn’t drive it after that and I think I ended up selling it for $100. That was just one of the many memories I have of George, he was such a good friend.

I moved to Victoria and visits with George became a less frequent event. We ended up going our separate ways and having our own lives. As I mentioned, I did see him a few years ago. He told me that he was a single father of two and was living up island somewhere. I also told him about my life and then we went our separate ways once more. We get so busy with our lives and if I’d known that that was going to be the last time I’d see him in this lifetime, I probably would have made more of an effort to contact him. I didn’t, so I didn’t.

Today I went to George’s funeral. I was so sad, but a couple of good things came out of it. Bill Sr. had passed away in 2006 and I didn’t hear about it until months later. George was buried beside his Dad, so I got to say farewell to both of them at the same time. The other good thing was that I was re-connected with the Mawsons and I found out that Bill lives very close to me. I took his phone number and will give him a call in a few days so that we can go for coffee or something.

George had the biggest heart. He would not think twice about doing anything for anyone. He was always smiling and usually on the verge of a big hearty laugh. We had so much fun together. I’ll never forget him.

Reading

I love to read. I find such a comfort in exploring books and delving into different worlds and lives which come from the imaginations of others. Reading is such a gift. I have an extensive library so I never run out of reading material, literally hundreds of books.

At any given time I have between three and six books that I am reading, depending on my mood, where I am reading, and the type of book being read. Right now I’m reading five different books: Duma Point, by Stephen King which is a large soft cover that I read in the living room; Rainbow Six, by Tom Clancy which is on my computer; The Teeth of the Tiger, by Tom Clancy which is a small paperback that I read only at work and on the bus; The Hounds of Baskerville, by Arthur Conan Doyle, which is a large hard cover that I read in my office; Imajica, by Clive Barker which is a paperback that I pick up and read periodically. I also just picked up the new David Morrell novel called The Spy Who Came For Christmas which I read in two days a couple of weeks ago. I will also pick up a short story compilation (I have many of these) every once in a while to read a quick short. Then there’s magazines and online articles and so on.

When ever I put a book down, the bookmark stays in place and if, in a few day or a few weeks, even a few months, I can pick the book back up and it was just as though I never paused in reading. Think of it like a multi-part TV show or a mini-series which you can only see an hour or two of each week; that’s how it is with my books. Each book I pick up or put down, has a mental pause button which I push to keep my place in a particular story. I don’t know if everyone can do this but it’s how I like to roll.

Twilight

There is a novel series out right now called the Twilight Saga. It is a teen oriented series about vampires and werewolves. Laura has been talking about it for a while now and a lot of her friends are reading it. The first book has been made into a movie which will be out soon.

We were shopping in the mall yesterday and saw a display of the books in the book store, Laura pointed them out to us as we walked by. Susan and I decided to get her the first book and boy are we ever glad we did. She has not had her nose out of it since she got it and is almost half way through. She says she wants to finish it before she sees the movie.

It is so good to see Laura reading something she likes. There is something special about finding a good book and immersing one’s self in it.

Curry Chicken

Sunday nights have turned into our regular night for curry chicken. We all love it and look forward to it all week; at least I do.

The other day I bought a jar of Major Gray Mango Chutney to have with it tonight. It was so good and a perfect compliment to the curry chicken. It seemed to take forever to get Susan to make curry to begin with - she figured that the kids wouldn’t like it. Glad she does now.

There is such a variety of different foods out there for the trying. We are enjoying the Thai food from the little restaurant down the road. We also like a Vietnamese restaurant downtown.

It is such a change from when Susan and I first got together. She would laugh at me because the only thing I would ever order from a restaurant was a burger. Even if we went to an ethnic restaurant, I would always make sure that they had burgers before we ate there because that was what I was having. I can’t remember the last time I ordered a burger in a restaurant now. I still have them every once in a while but it’s not my main meal preference.

Thank goodness for diversity.

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse never dies.

Last week we were grocery shopping. When we went back to our car and I put the key in to unlock the trunk, nothing happened. The key turned but the trunk didn’t open. That was a little frustrating. It’s a good thing we can access our trunk from the back seat.

Yesterday I got around to taking a look to see if there was anything I could do to fix it. I brought my big flashlight, two pairs of pliers (Mickey’s favourite tool next to vice-grips) and climbed through the back seat to access the lock mechanism from the inside. When I got some of it apart, I found that the cable had broken on the key end. I opened the trunk so that it would be easier to work on, went into the house to see what I could find and came back with two staples, a safety pin and a bit of wire. I ended up using the wire, made a knot at the end so that it would stay where it was supposed to and then wrapped it around the original cable, crimping it tight with the pliers. Once I fit the cable back into its housing, I put the key in the hole and turned it. Nothing happened. I then realized that I had not attached the part I’d put together back onto the key cylinder (glad no one was looking). Once I put it all back together properly, it worked just fine. We just have to be gentle with it for now. I’m just sorry that I didn’t have to use duct tape (Mickey’s favourite binding agent). Maybe next time.

Mickey Mouse is alive and well in my car.

Shortbread and Eggnog

Last night Laura decided to make some shortbread after dinner which was a nice surprise for everyone. I love it when she bakes just for the fun of it. I didn’t have to help her at all, she did everything and they turned out perfectly.

I’d gone to the store a little earlier to pick up some milk and a few other things. When I passed the eggnog, I just couldn’t resist. Laura and I are the only ones in our house who drink it, so after she was done, we sat down and had shortbread and eggnog. It was so good. It made me realize though, that Christmas is only just over one month away.

Time flies.

Wine and Cheese

One of the date activities Susan and I like to do is have our own little wine and cheese party while watching a movie or our favourite TV shows. Now that the kids are older and doing a lot of things on their own, we have more opportunity to have nights like this. We find that it’s much more enjoyable to be in the comfort of our own home rather than sitting in a crowded restaurant complaining about the crappy service or the poorly prepared food. It seems that with the job market the way it is, everyone and their dog can get a job in the food service industry. I can’t wait for that to change.

Working in a grocery store, I have to help people find products if they are having trouble. The other day a lady asked where Kelly’s Red Pepper Jelly was. I took her to aisle three and showed her that it was on the top shelf, above the pickles. I then asked her what she used it for. She told me it was the best thing with crackers and cheese. We picked up a jar of the red pepper jelly to go with our wine and cheese and it was amazing. The flavour matches perfectly. It is a little sweet and not too peppery, enhancing the experience of the wine, cheese and fruit. Now it is a must have for our wine and cheese nights.

The wine we have most of the time is Jackson & Triggs Sauvignon Blanc. It has a sweetness of 00 and a smooth flavour which goes well with the cheese and fruit. We also buy a few different cheeses but our favourite and another must have is an English cheese called Applewood Smoked Cheddar. It’s a firm cheese with a mild smoky flavour. The fruit we usually have is grapes and strawberries. We also try different crackers and Sociables are our favourite right now.

We have the best time with our wine and cheese nights. It’s romantic and relaxing; a perfect date.

Fog

Last night the fog started to roll in. I love fog. Sounds are muffled, sight is restricted, it is a mysterious form of weather.

When I was a kid, walking to school one day, I came upon a patch of fog in a large empty lot. To me it was the sky coming down to earth, a cloud on the ground. It just sat there, inviting me, so I walked into the middle of it. I remember thinking, ‘so this is what it’s like to have my head in the clouds’. (I was always a daydreamer and that phrase was repeated to me many times.) It was magical. I was hidden in fog, a cloud of protection, embraced by a weather pattern. I think I was probably late for school that day.

Now, whenever I experience fog, it always brings me back to that time when I was young and so amazed. It still amazes me.