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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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Out on the corner having a smoke. Kootenay Landlords. I'd promised not to smoke in the flat, on the property, but the landlady had called from the Sunshine Coast to tell me that - even as I was enjoying my cigarettes across the street - the smoke was getting caught up in the gravel pad in front of the house.
So I've taken my filthy habits to the corner.
While there I watch the neighbor. The lady on the corner is walking about with 2 wireframe record stands, a TV dinner table. Taking them inside her corner house. Probably a find from a Nelson Free Pile.
Think nothing of it. An hour later, out again for a cigarette - who should I see but the lady in the corner house - bringing in 2 wireframe record stands and a TV dinner table.
Curious. "A Glitch in the Matrix" I'm thinking to myself.
This morning, out for a cigarette, on the corner. And who should appear, dragging 2 wireframe record stands and a TV dinner into her house.
Here's a mystery.
Days off, thrifting - some finds. I make a list of what I'm looking for, a Dremel, Patio Table, Desk, various odds and sods. And - for a laugh, I top it with "Watch". It's a laugh because always I am looking for watches, I hardly need to make a note to myself, but, for a laugh.
And, what should I find? A 1957 Gruen Precision, Mint condition, beveled crystal, $20.00.
I'm laughing.
The other finds, a heavy old antique mirror, perfect for above the fireplace, an old cupboard door with leaded glass insert, broken, but I rather like the twin hearts motif.
And presents for Ken. The two signed "Star Trek" celebrity photos, a Chef's shirt, XXXXL - so it should fit, and a book from a free pile on "Boundaries" because -- well, it's always fun to accuse others of what one is most guilty of.
Ken, he likes the photos - he tells me "I've met them both" and I don't have the heart to ask why - or how. I tell Chris - "Ken speaks Klingon...", and he readily obliges by - saying something in Klingon.
I hate that he confirms my every prejudice so good-naturedly.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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The restaurant, largely dead, the weather conspires against us daily.
Not just the weather, of course, lockdowns, restrictions, pandemic, construction on the Ferry landing, there's a myriad of reasons we're not hitting our targets, and frankly, I don't care. I'm largely exhausted, 10 hour days on my feet, doing little to nothing, polishing glasses, tables, floors, meaningless work so to ever-so-slightly mitigate the pain of my salary. The slowest it's been by far, and I'm enjoying "The break".
Days off, finally catch up with Stormy. He's not doing well, cognitive decline, you can tell - well, see it in him that there's not so long left. Compared to others his age he's slowly checking out. Forgetting things, tired, this scooter, prescribed by his doctor to alleviate the pain of walking on a broken hip, it'll be both his life and death, his lack of activity is catching up to him. It's the balance of age, at what point does the pain of existence justify it's continuance? But comfort is death.
I've a few hundred scrolls to unpack, but these long days at the restaurant don't leave me the energy to view them.
Deal with bureaucracy, pay bills, vaccines, days off are consumed with trifles. Prospecting - next days off, I've art projects to plan, writing I should be doing, supplies to be buying, shopping, groceries, and, god-damnit! Vodka to be drunk! But to fit all these things into a day demands better time management skills than I have.
Thrifting, today, a few treasures left unpurchased, a few treasures found. 2 Signed fan-photos of Councilor Deana Troy (??), the "Empath" from "Star Trek - The Next Generation", (her holding the hand of a little Klingon Child), and another fan photo of some pretty alien with head-bumps, both signed in glittery gold markers, perfect gifts for Ken.
Ken likes girls and while he's never told me I'm pretty sure he knows these two. We were talking about movies at work and somehow or another the conversation worked it's way into sci-fi - (Chris recommended I watch "Gentlemen Bronco's) - and from there it worked it's way to "DUNE" and here Ken began regaling us with quotes, non-stop, "DUNE" is apparently his Shakespeare...
So I can both give them to him and do a good turn and then take the piss out of him incessantly afterwards. Clearly this is what they call a "Win-Win".
I need a glittery gold marker of my own to sign things with. And an abundance of cheesy photos of myself.
Otherwise, lovely days and evenings in Nelson, although my time here is too scant to appreciate it - living in Nelson, ideal, working in Balfour, not so much. The irony of paying rent for a beautiful space that I am too seldom here to enjoy is not lost upon me, the summers - too busy to find time to be creative, and time spent creative is time away from prospecting. The balance here is not of days or weeks but of years, summers - prospect, make notes, work work work. Winters, - well, they should be the time of creation but the remoteness of Ainsworth, the poverty-budget of EI and CERB, they suck the creativity out of you.
So it goes.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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Maybe it will, all of a sudden, but it seems unlikely. The days drag, slow, where the Pandemic hasn't conspired against us the weather has.
The patio, cold, windy, intermittent sunshine that doesn't last, ....
BC, the COVID numbers dropping, 800, 700, 600...
Alberta, the numbers rise, rise, rise again, 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300...
This Pandemic, it seems it will never end. Maybe, given the vaccination numbers, it will. All of a sudden, all at once, and the Covid will just disappear. But it seems unlikely.
Now, the latest, BC recommends, requests Albertans stay home, shelter in place, even if they have a BC residence.
It doesn't matter, the take out orders still come, Alberta area codes.
Maybe it will just end, but I doubt it, it seems more likely that it will be somewhat contained for the summer. Those that are inclined will get vaccinated. This will take a couple of months. Alberta's numbers might plateau, with their new lockdowns, BC's numbers will likely continue to drop, the borders will remain closed to all but "essential" travel, but how is this determined?
And come the fall the fourth wave, all of the anti-vaccers, the forty-odd percent of the population that knew infinitely better than all the doctors, it will be their turn to be infected, and the lockdowns will come again, only this time it will be natural selection, and my sympathies will be exhausted.
This is the never-ending pandemic, the Pandemic without end, and, a year and a half in, seeing everyone's reaction, our political will, I've almost come to rooting for it...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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Tuesday, moving into the new temporary digs in Nelson. Weird, actually living in town - but, a beautiful space, wrap-around windows, a waterfall, gas stove (!!! and what a treat this is!), only for a week but I'll be sure to enjoy it.
Tuesday night the boy comes in from Sun Peaks - finished his job at the ski hill, now a month off before he goes tree planting.
We catch up.
Wednesday, what to do? Lockdowns, and we're all broke. Give him a choice - head off to gather some crystals at the new location, or maybe go search for the Boswell Meteor...
He chooses the Boswell Meteor hunt.
Now, I should have advised against this. The meteor hunt, this is metal detector work, long hours of swinging a metal detector with not a signal in sight. This is mind-numbingly boring. Maybe if you smoked some ganja it would be better, but I'm not sure. I've watched the YouTube videos of prospectors in Arizona, Australia, looking for nuggets in the desert, their entire 2 weeks can be condensed into 30 minutes, yes, they dig up some great finds, but there's a lot of days where they dig up nothing, and they're in the desert...
This is grueling.
An hour passes, nada, not a thing, double checking the metal detector over your boots just to hear a signal. Any signal.
But - things are about to change.
What is clearly a piece of alien ship. Large, heavy.
Hmmm.
Hmmmm
The story becomes clear. This was no meteor, this was an attempt by a highly advanced space-faring civilization to make first contact. An attempt that left a debris field scattered all over the western Kootenays, and likely ended with the aliens having their ass blasted back to Saturn by some of the more no-nonsense locals.
We go down to Garland Bay to detect a bit more - to perhaps find all the lost Patek Philippe's and Rolex's and Diamond Rings lost by the beach goers of Riondel, but it ends up much the same. Lots of Space Debris, very few Rolex's and Patek Philippes.
Although the beach gravel, in the light rain, was more than spectacular...
Which ends the day and all the good work of taking the boy up Crystal Mountain has been undone by taking him on this Meteor hunting expedition, and I'm now obliged to go out and find it just to prove it can be done...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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Monday, an early start, back to the Smoky Mountain. On the 6:30 Ferry to the East Shore. The Ferry, packed with Alberta Plates. Me and Chris, we're the only BC Plates on it, and this - when the locals are advised to minimize travel, are under lockdown - it's infuriating. Albertans have a bad reputation, but has any other province ever worked so hard for it? Fucking Albertans. I'll come back to that, another post, I promise.
We make the site, begin the dig. Frantic shoveling, sifting dirt, repeat. Some good finds, large crystals, some an inch and a half wide, 3 to 4 inches long. But no great quantities, of digging, cutting through roots, tossing 100 pound boulders down the mountain. This is OK, but the motherlode isn't here. Maybe close.
Chris finds an old pipe - maybe 140 years old, more even, in some of the dirt he's sifting. Small bowl, missing the mouthpiece. Cool.
A long day, shoveling, sifting, then home, clean up the finds:
The photos are poor. The crystals - big, but - well, not enough, and I've found better. The good crystal shapes can advertise the cut-and-polished stones, which might be the way to approach it, but - I'm thinking -next trip, more pick-axe - less shovel, less grief with the roots and topsoil, and it will get me into the bedrock a lot quicker. And more walking around and exploring, because for sure we haven't gotten into the good stuff, these are just the early showings...