The Squamidian Report – Nov. 25 / 17
Issue #809
Hi All,
The other morning we picked up a couple of coffees 'to go' and just for
the fun of it drove out to the waterfront to watch the ocean and the
mountains and basically take in the surroundings. Some of you have been
there so you may know where I mean. It was a blustery day with the
winds howling in off the water, creating white caps and rolling waves
that crashed against the shoreline throwing up walls of water. Shannon
Falls was roaring and it was just as well that the gondola was closed
for maintenance because if they weren't they'd have been closed due to
the weather. What caught our eye was the tug boat and the smaller
one-man tender that were working the log booms. Across the mouth of the
Mamquam Blind Channel from us is a log sorting and staging area where
they bring countless loads of prime log to be readied for shipment to
the far East so they can be turned into item that we purchase back.
Kinda makes you shake you head in frustration when you see valleys and
mountain sides being clear cut in order send the logs off-shore rather
than being turned into lumber and furniture etc here but thats politics
I guess. Shamefully, thats the way its done these days. But, I digress.
We were watching the tug shoving logs into booms so they can be towed
to where they are loaded for shipping. We were also watching the small,
one-man boat that was out in the waves rounding up logs that had tried
to escaped.
This little boat has just enough room for one person standing in a
little wheel house. The boat rolls from side to side as it maneuvers,
rolling over to wild angles yet never quite going all the way over. It
must have a good heavy ballast under its belly and must be water tight.
It would roll and spin as it got behind the loose logs and push them
together. Then when it had half a dozen or so bunched up it would push
the whole lot back to the sorting area and then head back out into the
open water for another go at it. Quite a wild ride during a wild wind
storm. Probably fun as long as you could keep your cookies down under
those conditions. After a while we had finished our coffees and so we
headed home.
*
Don't you just hate it when you are half way through
your dinner and all of a sudden you become aware of something
malfunctioning in your dental layout? I know I do and while it doesn't
happen very often it happened one afternoon this week. Everything was
fine and then there was a solid thing jamming around in there. Turned
out it was the metal cap of a crown that had been installed
decades ago. Bummer! So, the next morning I phoned the dentist office
and because it was an 'emergency' they were able to fit me in the next
day. Mind you, it wasn't really and emergency as it wasn't bothering
me, just needed to be fixed as soon as possible to avoid any damage to
the part of the tooth that the cap was protecting. Then about noon of
the day I called they called back to say they had a cancellation and
that I could come in that afternoon if I wanted. Sure. The sooner the
better just to get it repaired and over with.
I had salvaged the delinquent crown and hoped they could just clean it
up and glue it back on. Turned out they could. Even though it was
probably older than the dentist it was in relatively good shape as was
the tooth underneath. Its just that the old glue had given out as
apparently glue does after a being in service for longer than it was
intended for. I was in and out in half an hour with the old crown glued
back on and all was well. Apparently dental glue only lasts for so long
and 25 or 30 years is way past its expected functional life span. Based
on current experience this crown should now be good again until I'm
well into my nineties.
And now our count down is at 5, next week will be 4, then 3, then 2,
then 1 meaning just 1 more to go. Then zero, the last one. Now, I am
still thinking about this but it does seem inevitable, has to happen at
some point. I know of only a very few who will even notice so that
makes making a decision easier. There was a time when it was easy to do
because there was lots to write about. Seems everything to say has been
said. There was a time when reader participation was a lot of fun and
indicated reader interest. That has slipped away. Fifteen and a half
years and well over 800 issues and now here we are. When our count down
reaches 1, that one will be our Christmas issue. Perhaps we can get
some participation and interest going for one.
doug
****
Have a good one..
the doug
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