Unfinished Business

I sat amongst the debris still coming down around me, the smoke choking my lungs as I stifled a cough. "Quick, he whispered, there's no time." I pulled out a kerchief and tied it loosly around my head covering my nose and mouth. We crawled out of our hiding spot still shrouded by the black smoke.

Ebb & Flow

I let myself flow onwards, I swim through my mind back and forth. My soul still sings the song that once we wrote together. We had a dream. We had everything. We rode together to the end of the world. We slew dragons. We climbed skyscrapers. The peace is gone now. I lack balance, I fall down. Still, I let myself flow onwards. I swim through my mind. But I always come back to that same place.

Aimless Drifting

You have splintered my soul.
I reach out and try to hold on,
As you silently slip beyond my reach.
Erratically I drift in a sea of chaos.

Sakura

There are times when no words are necessary; when silence is our greatest ally.

Kaslo May Days

This weekend I trundled off to the quaint little village of Kaslo to investigate all the fuss I’ve heard about their May Day celebrations. Encouraged by a couple of friends who told me to check it out, I did. My first impressions left me saying “Wow!” For as small as Kaslo is, they sure know how to throw a party, and so they should, locals have been celebrating May Days since 1892. That’s well over one hundred years.

The festivities span from Friday through Monday of the May long weekend. They include events such as the choosing of the May Queen, pancake breakfasts, ball games, carnival games, logger sports, car shows, craft fairs, dances, parades, beer gardens, live music, outdoor movies and, of course, the May Pole dance. It is a festival not to be missed.

Obviously I couldn’t spend the entire four days perusing about, much fun as it would have been, so I chose to go over on the Sunday. Kaslo is about a scenic hour’s drive from Nelson along Kootenay Lake. The weekend weather was fabulous…perfect for a Sunday drive.

Sunday’s events included the Logger Sports, a very typically Canadian event; although I must confess that this was my first time attending such a spectacle. The town was there in full force with testosterone thick and heavy in the air. The fellow sitting next to me, an Acadian who had made his way out west decades ago, gave me a brief run down on each event, then proceeded to show me his tattoos, as he put it, his mid-life crisis a little after mid-life. I’m so sorry I didn’t get a picture.

Enthusiastic crowds cheered each event, but the highlight was the log rolling finale. That was when we got to watch Darren, a Nova Scotian boy as well as the world log rolling champion. I tell you, does that boy ever have fancy footwork and I bet he’s a great dancer too. With him on the log, those other boys couldn’t have avoided getting wet had their life depended on it. I’m including a video clip a little further on of a similar event that took place at Gross Mountain in Vancouver for those of you who are interested (and I actually think it might Darren on the log…apparently he was at that event as well).

After that, I took a walk down the main street to see the vintage cars, everything from a 1924 Model T to an antique hearse from the 40’s or 50’s.

Finally, out of mere curiosity, I ended the afternoon by checking out the Burnout Contest, an “exciting tire spinning burnout” competition. No one seemed to be able to tell me what the actual purpose of this final event was or how one determined who won, but I think it’s nothing more than to see who can burn the most rubber and make the most smoke…definitely an event for the guys. And I must admit, their enthusiasm was contagious, that was until the noxious fumes almost knocked me out. Perhaps that is the same reason why the men were having difficulty articulating more than how “cool” they thought the event was.

Overall it was a fun day full of festivities and I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are ever in the area over the May long weekend.

Peaceful Meditations

All things in moderation with the exception of love and laughter; one can never have too much of those.

The Crescendoing Silence

Faint murmurs on a wispy breeze
Soft rumbling memories
Fading into the distant seas
Nothing left, not even a glimpse
Softly I weep
Were you ever really there?
Were you ever really there?

Drained

Another busy week and I'm totally drained. Think I'm going to tap out for the evening. I'll be back soon with more pictures and stories.

Connections

Things don't fall apart. Things hold. Lines connect in thin ways that last and last and lines become generations made out of pictures and words just kept

~Lucille Clifton

Things I Have Learned

"Air on the G String" will always sound dirty to grade 7 boys.



Isn't wonderful to know that there is always someone who can change your perspective on the way you see things?

The boys have a new appreciation for Bach. And I will never quite look at "Air on the G String" in quite the same way.