The Squamidian Report – March 17 / 07
Issue # 251
Also in this issue:
Hi-lights From Our Trip By Vivyan
A Note From Lorne
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We were hit by another Pineapple Express. You know, one of those very wet storms that come at us from the open Pacific near Hawaii and pump incredible amounts of rain onto the coast. Pretty well everywhere on or near the coast received anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of rain in one day. That’s why the Trans Canada highway was closed east of Hope, that much rain tends to create mudslides. Mudslides knock out highways. Then the sun came out and we had several nice days.
On one of those days we were working away at installing hydro and tech conduits and vaults in the subdivision we’ve being doing when all of a sudden a water main blew up. The mains we had installed on the site are all that ‘blue brute’ stuff, tough as nails and very durable. But many sections of town here still have that old AC pipe (asbestos concrete) and that stuff is very brittle. It can withstand fairly high pressure but it can’t take any movement or flexing. We had run both sani and storm lines and had crossed under the AC main out at the road. That meant the material under the main had been disturbed. With machines and trucks moving around on the surface, the main let go.
At first there was just a wet spot on the surface that got wetter very quickly. Then water started shooting up out of the ground. I had to scramble to cut a ditch that would control and drain the water away and into a low area until we could find and turn off the valve. Once the water was off we dug up the area and exposed the pipe. Luckily the break was a clean fracture and we were able to fix it easily with a saddle clamp affair. If the pipe had shattered, we would probably still be there trying to repair it.
So we got off pretty easy. Had we not been able to shut off the water it would have been a nightmare. Had the main not fractured cleanly it would have been a nightmare and had the Muni not had the right repair clamp handy it would have been, well, an nightmare. The break happened about 3 in the afternoon. Had the main blown a couple hours later after we had left for the day, it would have been a disaster. Such is life in construction.
And speaking of life in construction, there are many construction zones along the highway here and the speed limit is posted at 50k through them for the safety of everyone. Life is made both miserable and dangerous for the people working those locations by the idiot drivers who don’t seem to think the speed limits apply to them. Their need to get to where they are going seems to out weight everything else. I was going through one such site on my way to work. There were flag people at each end of it and the roadway was narrow and lined with those bright orange pylons. About half way through, the moron following behind me couldn’t handle poking along at a few clicks above the limit any longer and pulled out and passed. He didn’t seem to care about the construction workers along the road, or the oncoming traffic or anything, just his need to get to where he (or she) was going. That kind of thing just gets me steaming! And how come there is never a cop around when one’s presence is needed?
doug
****
We had a wonderful holiday! We left home before 4:30a.m. on February 21st and arrived back about 5:30a.m. on March 1st. I enjoyed myself from start to finish, even the long hold-ups were interesting. We were about an hour late arriving in Vancouver but it was great to see Doug smiling a greeting. It makes it easy when you have someone waiting who can take you where you want to go and it wasn’t long before we were on our way. Traffic in Vancouver was like Toronto but the drivers are more courteous. At one area four lanes of traffic had to merge into one. There were no horns blaring nor brakes screaming nor drivers yelling. Each car allowed one car to move in front of it. We only saw one car push its way in out of turn. We had a great drive to just south of Squamish where Doug stopped at a nice restaurant. We had a window table and could look out on Shannon Falls, which is one spectacular place. It was then on to Doug & Sue’s beautiful home in Garibaldi Highlands. We had an early night by their time as it is 3 hours behind Kitchener. We even managed to stay in bed until about 6:00a.m. their time as we didn’t want to interfere with Sue getting off to work around 5:30.
Thursday morning we went to the eagle viewing area. Ryan met us there. We were lucky and saw the odd one. With Doug’s telescope we could watch one in a tree and I would swear he looked right into my eyes. From there we went out onto the Spit which separates the Squamish River from the salt of the ocean. We were looking for seals but didn’t see any. After stopping in downtown Squamish for some lunch where we all had “the usual” (that’s what the menu called it) we headed up the Garibaldi Park road hoping to get to the lookout. Doug told you about us having to come to a stop short of the lookout and having to back down for about 2 kilometres. It was sheer down on one side and the other side up. It wasn’t even scary after the first few minutes – actually it was a thrill.
Sue took Friday off work so we all headed to Whistler for breakfast at “Function Junction”. The food is great and “too much”. We then drove into the downtown and walked around. It’s quite a place but I’m glad I’m not heading for the 2010 Olympics. Friday evening Doug and Warren played at a little place in Squamish. It was fun to see them on their home ground. Across the street was a big tent set up for a program on the Saturday as it was a special week-end in Squamish. We walked over to the tent because Ryan was there setting up the sound system. He had brought a truck load of equipment from Whistler. Of course he demonstrated for us.
On Saturday we went to the train museum where the engine that pulled the Royal train in 1939 is on display. It was interesting to go through. There were also a lot of other train cars. There was an art exhibit in the building where the engine is displayed and Ryan had done the lighting for it. Saturday evening Doug and Sue had a party for us (a great way to celebrate a birthday). We had a great visit with Warren and Janice as well as some of Doug’s friends. On Sunday we went to their church and enjoyed their dynamic minister and friendly congregation. When we came out of the church there was a yard full of robins (a touch of spring). We were busy, as usual Sunday afternoon then Cindy took us out for dinner. Emily was able to join us but Ryan was working.
By Monday we were playing out and the weather wasn’t good so we took things a little easier. Tuesday was beautiful so we went to Whistler for breakfast again. Then Doug took us up through Pemberton, which is in a beautiful flat valley – so strange to see barns with horses and cattle and fields in B.C. Apparently they grow the best potatoes in this valley. We even found time to have a couple of games of euchre with Sue. Wednesday morning we left Doug’s place at 10:00a.m. to allow for stops on the highway, we were lucky and only had 1 short stop. Doug had time then to take us for a drive through Stanley Park so we could see all the destruction. It looked like it had been run over by a hurricane.
It was hard to say good-bye to Doug and Sue but they expect to stop in Kitchener in July (on their way to Nova Scotia). We were late leaving Vancouver and then found out in Calgary that we were going to be held up a lot longer. A young man with a cell phone let me call Carol & Al to let them know we’d be late arriving in Hamilton. I guess Doug phoned also as he was following us on computer. We got in after 4:00a.m. so thank goodness Carol & Al were waiting for us. We got home after 5:00a.m. to a joyous welcome from Teddy and finally into our own beds. We couldn’t keep that pace up too long but it sure was wonderful while it lasted. I’m still getting rested up.
Thanks Doug and Sue.
**
Note
from Lorne;
After reading Greg’s history of cars he owned I made a summary of my own, as far as memory will permit. I may have forgotten some and some may be out of order.
31 Durant, 29 Desoto, 31 Chev, 33 Plymouth, 39 Plymouth, 35 Dodge, 38 Willys cab over, 36 Chev, 41 Hudson, 49 Austin, 46 Ford, 51 Ford ½ ton, 49 Mercury, 53 Meteor, 60 Ford Galaxy, 56 Ford, 67 Beaumont, 70 Dodge, 75 Dodge, 78 Chrysler, 84 Ford, 92 Mercury, 94 Mercury, 98 Mercury & 06 Mercury.
The 31 Durant was shared with my father. I paid for the car ($80), my dad for the license ($4). I broke several axils on that one. The 31 Chev, while being driven by Vivyan’s brother Clarence, was struck side ways by another car at the corner of Cedar and Weber and rolled on its side. The 33 Plymouth Coupe, wire wheels, spare mounted on fender well, etc. we drove to B.C. & back in 1947. There was no pavement in northern Ontario & the prairies. I bought the coupe in 1942 for $290 and sold it in 1948 for $475. The ’38 Willys was a cab over engine panel truck – kept braking axels. The ’41 Hudson had its distributor near the lower part of the engine which meant flooding out in wet or cold weather. It wouldn’t run if it became cloudy or if anyone even ate ice cream near the car. The ’49 Austin kept burning out the clutch and exhaust valves. The ’51 ½ ton truck was a real work horse. Beth Lowry now has the ’98 Mercury. Starting with the ’70 Dodge all the cars were purchased new. Generally cars have become more reliable over the years but less interesting with less character.
****
Hello everyone!
I’m sitting here wondering when my stomach will
shrink back to normal. We just got home from eating supper at the Mandarin
Chinese restaurant. It’s the third time we’ve eaten there since it opened about
a year ago. I had made myself forget how much I over eat when I go to this
place just so I could go back and pig out once again. I’m glad we only do this
a couple of times a year at most. It’s a fairly costly buffet but they have so
many different dishes that there truly is something there for every taste.
Tonight was a bonus for us. As we were walked to our table by the young server,
she said “and you are both seniors?” and as Carole attempted to answer her she
turned and walked on ahead of us. She quickly seated us and walked away. I said
to Carole not to worry about correcting the girl’s misconception of our ages
and be thankful for small financial favours. When you’re a pensioner, every
little bit helps! LOL! We spent the following hour and a half sampling every
dish that appealed to us. There are probably 100 different dishes to choose
from and that doesn’t include the fancy deserts and baked goods they offer as
well. If you’re not in the mood for Chinese food, they also have different
BBQ’d dishes and a huge Prime Rib roast that they’ll cut to your
specifications. I’d recommend this eatery to anyone with a “yen” (pun intended)
for oriental food. It’ll probably take a few days for me to get back to normal
but it’s an experience that is definitely worth the mild discomfort overeating
causes. I don’t think there is a better Chinese buffet anywhere.
*
Well, ‘tis time for the wearin’ of the green once again
and at least for today March 17th everyone on earth is Irish. Now
that brings to mind some real strange mixtures but in light of possibly
offending some of the overly liberal Liberals among us I’ll refrain from
expressing my thoughts literally. St Patrick’s Day is a fun time here in
Kitchener and I’m sure in many other Canadian cities. However there is no place
on earth more exciting on this day than that of Ireland itself. Carole assures
me that Ireland not Disneyland for at least one day is “The Happiest Place on
Earth”!
Happy St Paddy’s
Day to you all!
*
With the weather getting much warmer than it has
been for a while, we decided to get outside the other day and wash the windows.
With bucket in hand and a tee shirt on I spent an hour or so cleaning the
winter grime off the glass on the house. Carole spent a few minutes sitting on
the front porch enjoying the sunshine. It sure was nice to be out in the
sunshine without a heavy coat on. I managed to clean all but the two front
second story windows. The snow on the roof I use to reach them is still too
deep and slippery to attempt to stand on. I’m sure it’ll only take another week
or so before all that snow is gone and the windows will once again be
accessible. I’m amazed at how quickly the snow is disappearing. Only two days
ago the front lawn was covered by at least 2 feet of the white stuff. Today
it’s almost all green. They say we’ll get a little more snow in the next few
days but hopefully not enough to push us back into winter. Since March came in like
a lion let’s hope it’s true to form and wives tale and goes out like a lamb! I
for one would really like to have spring in full bloom within the next couple
of weeks. They can even skip the “April Showers” thing this year. Let’s get on
with the warm weather and get summer into full swing ASAP. In fact, as we
enjoyed the warmth of the day and washed the windows there were two
convertibles and two motorcycles that passed by the house. It’s a little early
for me but give us another 10 degrees increase in temp and I just might dig out
the bike for a quick spin. Anyway, I’m sure we’re all looking forward to this
coming spring/summer’s good weather and the sooner the better.
Keep your fingers crossed for a quick thaw and no
flooding and we’ll be into sunny days before you know it.
That’s all for this week folks.
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking
to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg.
Something To Think About>
Chinese Proverb Say: Crowded elevator smell different
to midget!
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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