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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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Thursday, day off, into Kaslo for a bite to eat. Check the thrift shop, nothing, across from it a new consignment shop, filled, more or less, with the kind of stuff people have left over after a 3 day garage sale. Upstairs to the "boutique", however, and I find some treasures:
If you can see past my reflection, on the left some black tourmaline, various quartz crystals, one big one, what looks like a selenite or desert rose, a stalactite (probably from the Cody Caves, or the mineralizations near Ainsworth Hot Springs)...
And this:
Blue/Green Tourmaline in Quartz, and (not pictured), a fine rhombus of Icelandic Spar.
Now this is exciting for me, because recognizing the quartz specimens as similar to ones I've found I'm pretty sure that the rest of the rocks are local as well. The lack of preparation suggests they weren't storebought at a rock-shop. And Tourmaline is a major constituent of rocks here, and I've found dogstooth spar (a different varietal of Calcite, not quite as pretty), and it gets me salivating...
I'm not going to buy any, a rock to me is generally only as good as the finding...and I want to quiz the proprietor to see if she knows where they were found - but I suspect - if like me - they'd be a little cagey about specifics...Nevermind, I got maps.
And finally, the bookstore:
It's a gem, open - like a few Kootenay businesses, whenever the owner darned well pleases. An interesting selection of old books, esoterica, a well-read proprietor, but it's not open today.
After this, to the Fish & Chips kiosk, tasty, Halibut and Poutine, then home, a bear in a field (they're everywhere at the moment), snap a couple of pictures but he's too far away...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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I'm up bright and early, bright and squirrelly, off to the garage sales in Ymir. The whole town, the ad stated, starting at 8:00 AM, I'm on the road at 7:15. The morning, beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, not a ripple on the lake, the mountains perfectly reflected. This is paradise.
And, Ymir, 8:00 AM on the dot, park, get out and walk, it's that small, not a single garage sale, walk further, did I get the date wrong? But no, there are other people circling as perplexed as I am, walking, walking, finally...
Sporting goods. Count on sporting goods wherever you are in the valley. Fishing equip, $5.00 for tackle, rod & line, I buy, the chef at work could use, if ever he gets a day off. I could use, but I have back in Calgary in the locker, and there will be no fishing license until I've paid off a few bills. Then, fish, watch out...
A silver Mexican money clip, heavy, with the Aztec Calender depicting the end of days and a turquoise dancing figure inset, $2.00, I'll sell it on.
And now I'm out of garage sales, this girl, she's apologizing for the town, apparently they had a bit of a shin-dig last night in anticipation of all the money they'd be making on Garage Sale Day, everyone over-imbibed, ha-ha, looks like they counted their eggs before they hatched...or got them to market...
Wander around the town, take some pictures. Locals pop their heads out to tell me: "There's no garage sale here...".
(Above, Ymir Church, Hotel & Schoolhouse)
Most of the houses in Ymir ramshackle assemblages of motor homes, school buses, trailers, with built on makeshift tarpaper shacks covered in tarps, definitely it's own little hippy world, a stark contrast to the houses of Kaslo, say, which if you ever go exploring will pleasantly charm and surprise you.
But then I found this:
Which I love. Small garage sale, she's apologetic, husband probably went a little hard at the town party last night, hasn't got his stuff out yet, but I get a singing bowl for $5.00, good deal.
Then - onward and homeward, spot a bear beside the road...
Then Oso for a coffee, and home. Not a great morning's garage sales, but a great morning.
Driving through Nelson, down by the water, I should have gotten closer, how early is it? No, pretty sure I'm sober by now, just another day in the Koots...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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$100 Deposit, $25.00 Membership Fee, I'm a new member. As a new member I immediately attempted to vote against the membership fee and the $100.00 deposit, to no avail. Apparently they don't check with your other banks, I think I'm in pretty good standing at the ATB, although my account is rather empty, but first steps...got a job, got a bank account, now all I need is a place to live and I'll be set. Closer to town would be ideal, in town would be perfect (but a bit of a drive to work, work, however, is only a necessity until I find the gold, which is nearer and nearer every day...)...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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And so a couple of weeks ago I found a job. The Pub, down at the Ferry landing, it's a start. A beautiful view, the locals, travelers, it's a good way to meet the neighbors.
I don't particularly want to be here, not here exactly, need to move closer to town, ideally in town, but jobs here are scarce, I know people who've been unemployed or underemployed for years, so I count my blessings. I've had - for a dozen jobs, only 3 interviews, they're cautious, you're not local, new to the area, one - remarkable, an Australian manager, she's interviewing me, telling me they'll call me to start, remarkable because her posture, her body language are at odds with everything she's saying, I'll be staying at the Ferry Landing for a while.
At first - well, seldom do I like a job at first. They grow on you like cancer. Working with an older lady, she summers here in the Kootenays, but she's got some issues, one evening announces she's going home after her shift, up and packs herself into her car and makes the drive back to Northern Saskatchewan.
Weird. But here, not so.
The job, run, run, run. It's the steady stream - growing daily - of tourists and bikers, the tourists, sometimes they tip, the bikers don't. People here don't spend money. Tables - a round of 3, 4 glasses of water, a plate of fries to share. It's good I'm earning a wage, never have I had a serving job where you were grateful for your wage, here - well, it's important. A customer offers me a tip: "...because you're not getting a cash one from me..." he jokes, he's not joking, locals are generally poor, tipping is not a recognized custom here, it's a bonus, from Calgary to here, it's more of a culture shock than Calgary to London or New York by a long shot. It's the worst of a pub and restaurant, in a pub people drink, most here don't. In a restaurant people eat, many here don't. Every day, 30, 40, 50 tables even to ring out $1,000. I won't mention percentage, it's bleak, but I laugh, you gotta laugh, I'm living in paradise, working in hell.
Here's a tip for you: If you're moving to the Koot's don't count on tips.
The kitchen, they all live in housing provided by the pub, a couple of suites out behind, below it, rent is a deduction on their paycheck. The lead chef, a functioning alcoholic, drinking at the bar after his shift, 2, 3, 4 beers, a 6 pack of offsales to go, these are all deducted off their cheques, a lot of staff, at the end of the season, they end up as broke as when they started, "owing their soul to the company store...". It's crazy, but that's how it goes here...
Orientation, 2 hours, WTF?: "stealing is grounds for dismissal...drinking on shift is grounds for dismissal, sexual harassment, bullying", the hyper attempt to make a rulebook out of all common sense, "You Were Warned", 2 hours and she's cutting it short, we gotta get to work, there are rules about how to address the kitchen, co-workers, always prefix your query with with "Kitchen, May I?" or "So-and-so...may I?" - ridiculous formalities, but as I get to know the people I'm working with I begin to understand why, some of them, well, they're pretty sketchy, and need to be told.
Punctuality, showing up for scheduled things, you gotta be told here in the Kootenays that's an expectation because otherwise people will misunderstand, think that it's a suggested thing, not an expectation, not uncommon for people to blow off their jobs so they can hit a music festival.
We don't have sections, we alternate tables, the pub, easily 5, 6,000 square feet, 150 Seats, you have to watch the whole dining room, tables flipping every hour, people arrive for the ferry, want their food/drinks in 15 minutes, wait in line to pay, go, it's a zoo. People escape without paying all the time. The last minute - the 20 minutes before the ferry - when the customers see it docking - are frantic with people trying to clear up their bills.
A line up at the till, people demanding their bill be split - into x different ways, 3, 4, 5, "I had the....." "...and I had three of his french fries and I dipped two of them into the mayonnaise..." It's unbelievable. One girl, debit declined on her beer, frantically on her phone trying to transfer money to her account...Bikers in for an Iced Tea trying to pay with American bills, wanting the best exchange. Bills for a party of 6 under $20.00, tip, a dollar, two if you're lucky. And running - cleaning, bussing, running food, drinks, side duties - until 2 hours after the last table leaves. My fitness app on my phone records 15,000 steps a day. 50 tables. $1,000 dollar ring out. 10 pounds of shrapnel weighing down your pocket, loonies, quarters, nickels and dimes. Fucking bloody hell.
And this:
marked on the other side:
Passed off as a loonie, people here pay with what they can...
It's a start, and it gives me the time to do my prospecting, work on developing a few other revenue streams because, in the end, this won't cut it, but I'm thinking positive, it's a start...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
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This weekend, May-days in Kaslo. Kaslo, tiny town of a thousand people besieged on every side by tourists looking to absorb the summer's fun - the weather, spectacular, the views, even better...
The Garage Sales, as well spectacular, but I'm getting older and I'm needing less and less and buying things on spec...well...
I find an antique chamber-pot. $5.00. I don't need, but I know someone who will use.
"Royal Tudor Ware, Barker Bros. LTD, England"
And an antique (I suspect reproduction, abundant similar to be found on the web) golfer piggy-bank, $8.00.
User presses lever, golfer swings, knocks coin into hole. Novel. But in too fine a condition to be original.
Other finds, too many to list, gold pans, decrepit and worn and rusted through, mining equipment, a proper farmer-hoarder, with his finds categorized into neat outdoor sheds, thousands of items, tens of thousands more in reserve and not for sale, a perfectly preserved or restored antique humpbacked chest, freshly painted, a 60 year old woman with all the make up in the world, sheer black lace blouse, nipples visible, erect, it's morning after all, the days adventures will continue...