It is Tuesday morning and I am hearing the sound of some heavy machinery this morning and can’t help but wonder if construction is starting across the street as advertised by the city. I looked out the window and the sound is coming from the opposite direction, the lane behind my building.
It is clear and cold outside.
Yesterday a vicious windstorm blew through the city and they had to block off all traffic around Shangri-La next to my office building as debris from the construction was coming loose and flying into the street, damaging cars and threatening to damage people.
When I left the building for my dinner break at 5 p.m. I had to lean into the wind and opted for a corned beef on rye sandwich at Kaplan’s deli…too high priced for my budget but just around the corner from us. Normally I walk about 10 blocks during my break and go for salad and soup at IGA but it was far too windy to do that…and possibly dangerous given the flying debris.
By the time I left work the wind had died down considerably but the street to the west of us was still taped off and so I had to take a detour around the back of the building and head up Thurlow at Alberni, not my normal route. Given the weather, there was no sign of the panhandler who usually sits posted at that street corner outside the 7-11.
As I approached the corner however along Alberni, a bearded and bedraggled man approached me and I thought here he is after all but instead he said, “The Liquor Store is closed.” After all, why else would I be walking in that general direction at that time of night?
It had been another killer shift with the phones flashing non-stop all evening but it was my Friday and so I could look forward to my 2 days off.
I made my way home along the dark still windy streets. Earlier in the day they had been rain soaked but now were completely dried off by the strong winds.
Thank God for that walk home to ease the tensions of a busy day!
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2 comments:
Hi Ted,
Enjoyed your blog and your outlook.
Your 21st century wild west dervish photo looks very handsome and entirely too young to be my older brother!!!
It was great to hear your voice this season and that of my other elder brother too! Love to all, sister Jean
hmmm maybe this will work this time?
Ditto Jeannie's comments on the wild west dervish pic. I had quite a ride home on the plane yesterday from Minneapolis on. As luck would have it I was seated next to two women my age, who were both in a transition phase in their life and needed to talk. One of the women had just left her son and teen grandchildren after a visit that was "one week too long" and was needing to talk--her husband of 15 years had recently passed away. The other woman had only recently left her husband of some 40 odd years. We discussed God life and love for two hours without stopping. The woman whose husband had died works as (are you ready for this?) a clown. Her husband and 'the love of her life' had joined her in her clowning and together they had entertained children and adults for the years they had together. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 1998 and given 3 years to live --so they had 6 bonus years. Not surprising given the lifestyle. This woman had come to Canada from Chicago in the 70's and had met such people as Tommy Banks, Della Reese, Jack Duffy. She was herself a singer (gospel music) and had many such adventures to relate. She is thinking of writing a book and I told her she might need to write a few. She told us that she had prayed the night before for fun travelling companions and felt her prayers had been answered. I arrived home feeling very refreshed in spite of having a bad cold, and having gotten up at 3 AM to catch my plane. I think that woman may have been a dervish all unknown to herself. Marilyn
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