Making It Up As I Go Along #266

MONDAY...
— Nasty day with morning snow (likely ten centimeters). It takes two and a half hours to bring mom and dad to the airport, make sure their flight isn’t cancelled, and go home again. I take the day off work and just do some cleaning up and relaxing. The snow turns to rain before I’m home in the morning... but it’s still nasty out.
— Dad leaves behind a few reminders of himself. His blazer remains in my front closet... and his “Ah Caramel” Vachon cakes remain unopened in my kitchen. Seeing those cakes always makes me think of dad... silliness.

TUESDAY...
— Work is okay. I get the good seat in AFIS... do livescan work, which boosts my stats... and get taught new stuff by Janice. Lunch across with Janice and Dave is okay too.
— Left over Chinese food for supper and hockey and baseball fill out the night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is okay... it’s nice out by this afternoon and Kiyomi and I go for a walk at second break.
— Hockey on TV tonight and some car studying on the internet. I’m thinking of what to do when my lease runs out in the fall.

THURSDAY...
— Well the vacation is booked. Mom and dad called today to let me know our flights are booked to BC. For me, it’s June 16th to June 30th in Castlegar. Should be good to be out that way again and visiting the sissy and family. Flying with mom and dad will be neat too... and having them in Ottawa for a few days first is good.
— Work is okay. Learning more new stuff and that’s good... and it’s sunny and 18 by the afternoon. Ground hogs are all around Kiyomi and me at the afternoon break.
— Get a few groceries and some gas after work.

FRIDAY...
— Work’s okay but it’s too nice out to be working. Tonight, Linda, Sheila, Nick and I are down to the bar to watch Jonathan and Read singing. It’s a good night.

SATURDAY...
— Lazy day around the house. Some napping, baseball and hockey. It’s nice out too but I just open all the windows and let the fresh air come through.


A History of Home

A sea side pond.
Surrounded by great hills where if you look towards the west, you see forest and fresh water.
And to the east is vast ocean and the distant cliffs further up the coastline.

Slowly, the seas rise.
The melting of great ice sheets that once covered this land bring a creeping change to the coast.
And one day, no day in particular, and with nobody there to witness it, the sea rushes in.

The lowest hill is breached.
A mossy covered piece of land between two bodies of water. Had people been there, a place to picnic and dream during sunny days.
Overtaken and lost, the shoreline grows a little more, with a pond becoming extinct.

Generations later, visitors.
Ships drift overtop of that once mossy covered piece of land and find a safe haven for weary travelers.
The surrounding forests are removed for homes and roads and the hills guard over a growing city.

The pond, turned inlet turns once again.
An enclave of sea becomes a hub of new world activity with ships, people, trade and waste.
Generations of garbage followed by generations of fuel poison the harbour.

People overtake nature.
Wood buildings are overtaken by brick. Dirt roads turn to cobble and then to pavement.
The harbour edge is covered over, overtaken by a road and dock. Visitors don’t know the sea is beneath them.

And with the passing of more generations, more change.
A far away ice cap melts away. Great mountains of ice which once brought bergs to this coast, gone.
And the sea grows again, with a green Greenland comes nearly twenty-five feet of water.

Nature overtakes people.
The road and dock are gone the way of the mossy hill of generations past.
Roads of dirt, covered by cobble, covered by pavement are now covered by ocean.

Islands of building roofs.
Where the homeless once laid to sleep, in alleys smelling of urine, drink and drugs.
Now crabs, flat fish, snails and mussels have taken over. Clinging to bricks, exploring shards of bottle, and hiding in the kelp which has overtaken the city.

People remain nearby.
High hills for berry picking and overlooking the city below are now a little less high.
These hills are now part of the city itself, homes encroaching the forest.

Perspectives change.
Tourists come to dive and explore the downtown core. Swimming through Water Street and picking through garbage.
What was garbage on land, becomes artifacts under water. Mementos of a past civilization in an ever changing world.