Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 20, 2015 22:42:23 GMT -8
Couple of days ago, I went to close up my laptop and there was a disconcerting crunching sound, and four or five bits of black plastic appeared on my table. My Toshiba thereafter had to be coaxed into producing a viewable screen, and this morning it separated from the body in a rather definite manner. There are no repair depots handy, so a trip into Courtenay for a new machine was in order. As everyone knows, the weather was a bit wild today, and I figured I was taking a bit of a chance heading over to BC's version of the 'big island', but it had to be done. Even the Quinitsa was bucking against the swells in normally tranquil Baynes Sound.
Noticed while waiting at Buckley Bay on the return a large spool that appeared to be a part of the cable mechanism. Sorry, no pictures... it was blowing too inclemently to get out of my car. Even though I was the fourth car in my lane on the Quinitsa, spray hit my windshield. Shortly after leaving Gravelly Bay, the mighty Kahloke turned south east, on the storm route across Lambert Channel, and slammed rather alarmingly into a trough before levelling out and finding shelter in the lee of Hornby's west flank.
I felt some gratitude to the BC Ferries crews who get out in their rain gear on really nasty days, and to the captains and officers who find a way to get vessels from one side to the other- in particular on marginally seaworthy boats like the Kahloke... and keep communities connected.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Jul 1, 2015 22:06:55 GMT -8
Sometimes I'm not sure whether I'm getting more cynical about ferries, or if perhaps I'm just getting more realistic about what ferries are about... fan mentality be damned.
Recently, I had a medical procedure scheduled at St Joseph's hospital in Comox. As the crow flies, the hospital is about twelve miles from my cabin here on Hornby. I gave myself what I thought was a pretty reasonable time to get there. I ended up being fifteen minutes late; I left my place at 9:30, and got to St Joseph's just after 1:00, on a Wednesday before the start of the peak season. If you're talking straight land miles, I could have walked there in the same time.
I know there are those who say people in ferry dependent communities have an unreasonable attitude of entitlement. (I am not referring to Mr Horn's recent well placed criticism of the sunshine coast doofus who complained about parking for an excursion to a soccer game.) But sometimes I think it's just the opposite; here on Hornby, there seems to be a disposition to accepting the vagaries and inconveniences of ferry connections, and a sense of resignation that negotiating little 'perks' with BC Ferries is about all that can be expected. But people, especially aging people, need dependable connections to essential services, if communities are to thrive. If those connections aren't there, then perhaps we will all have to live in urban areas, and the small communities- which exist not only for those who live there but for the rest and relaxation of people seeking a respite from busier residences on their holidays- will atrophy. Guess it depends on what kind of society we value, and what we're willing to spend on things whose value is not necessarily apparent from a superficial glance. (Hi, Todd.)
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 8, 2015 18:42:50 GMT -8
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Aug 8, 2015 22:04:05 GMT -8
So that's why that picture showed up on the Hornby facebook page... I didn't read it, not ever having watched Mr Dressup as a kid.
Hornby is a very inclusive society, even for retired puppets.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Dec 7, 2017 23:05:58 GMT -8
Set a new personal record for hardiness this evening. An outdoor shower, with the temperature at +1. Have to admit... I cheated. This time of year, I put an electric heater into the tarp-enclosed space, at waist level. Pretty chilly below that, but so far, I at least haven't electrocuted myself.
It's a real production having a shower here. Heating water up on the stove, taking all my stuff outside, mixing hot and cold in the 18 lite shower jug, hoisting it up... but it's kind of cool thinking it's the 7th of December and I'm still roughing it. Or maybe it's just kind of stupid. Not sure.
I do know that when I go back to town and a shower involves taking my clothes off, turning a handle and having hot water just pour out of a wall... it does give me an appreciation for what I would otherwise take very much for granted. Kind of like when I have to dig out the outhouse, and deal with what in Surrey just gets flushed away with the turn of a similar handle. Our lives are pretty damned comfortable. Maybe too much so, at times.
But this is very much a period of transition for me. I'm planning on selling my Hornby property in the spring. I've determined that being a 'hermit' isn't what I aspire to, although it was five years ago. I like the fact that even when one enters the seventh decade of life, things keep unfolding and changing, new people come along, and life offers opportunities to explore. There will be some pain in letting go of a place where my daughters played as little kids, and where we laid on a blanket at Grassy Point watching the satellites and stars.
But running water and other 'mod cons' have their attractions, and this place has given me an appreciation for that... among other things.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 8, 2017 8:11:19 GMT -8
But this is very much a period of transition for me. I'm planning on selling my Hornby property in the spring. I've determined that being a 'hermit' isn't what I aspire to, although it was five years ago. I like the fact that even when one enters the seventh decade of life, things keep unfolding and changing, new people come along, and life offers opportunities to explore. There will be some pain in letting go of a place where my daughters played as little kids, and where we laid on a blanket at Grassy Point watching the satellites and stars. I've enjoyed following this season of your journey, with your Hornby-Hermit updates. Life has many transitions. I start my sixth decade soon (hey everyone, remember that the first decade is single digits...)
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Jul 4, 2018 20:12:47 GMT -8
A six hour commute, in total, between my cabin and Courtenay and back today, to attend to two hours of chores in town. Not out of the ordinary between the latter part of June and Labour Day. It's been like this for years, and promises to get worse, if BC Ferries really is planning on keeping the Kahloke in service here for twelve more years. I'm beginning to think that we need to contact Michael Avenatti to dig up some dirt on some NDP cabinet minister, since we can't kick around the Liberals anymore.
Sitting at Shingle Spit wondering why loading had ground to a halt with only ten or so cars on board, I was gnashing my teeth at the delay. A crewman walking by remarked, "people wonder why we're late, why we don't go faster... keys locked in car, dead batteries, missing children, people in the pub..."
The schedule and the financing are the main issue, but I guess sometimes the travelling public contributes as well, and not just though their numbers.
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Post by yak on Jul 10, 2018 22:17:01 GMT -8
Sitting at Shingle Spit wondering why loading had ground to a halt with only ten or so cars on board, I was gnashing my teeth at the delay. A crewman walking by remarked, "people wonder why we're late, why we don't go faster... keys locked in car, dead batteries, missing children, people in the pub..." The schedule and the financing are the main issue, but I guess sometimes the travelling public contributes as well, and not just though their numbers. You'd be amazed how often a foot passenger with a walker and three golf bags shows up to the booth at sales cutoff...
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Aug 14, 2018 17:11:22 GMT -8
I think the Hornby resident at the end of this dirt road got tired of wayward tourists.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Feb 7, 2019 23:14:05 GMT -8
I'm not on Hornby, and haven't been since about the tenth of December. But tonight I noticed an Environment Canada advisory about air quality for the Comox area... stagnant air, and the amount of wood smoke that people pump into it from inefficient wood stoves and fireplaces, and wet wood.
There have been times in weather situations like this where my neighborhood on Hornby has been enveloped in a disgusting pall of smoke that just doesn't move. There is a significant number of islanders who either have a hate on for utilities like BC Hydro or who feel that burning wood is a rural birthright. I often think that the carbon footprint of a lot of rural folks, due to their heat source as well as frequently poorly maintained pick up trucks and old cars, is vastly higher than the urban people they might look down on who live in my condo building in Surrey. It's not just the stoves and fireplaces; a lot of islanders feel they have a right to burn all sorts of damp tree parts and yard waste when burning restrictions come off in the fall.
I would wager that the air over Vancouver is better now than it was fifty years ago, despite far more people and vehicles. When I was a kid, so many people had burn drums in the alley, and I remember the beehive burners at mills along the Fraser, and so many other forms of industrial pollution. Now, it seems that cities are leading the way to a better environment, and some rural communities remain far too smug about their role in where we're headed.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Jun 30, 2019 19:11:18 GMT -8
So, (which is the first word I used to begin this thread nine years ago), I'm coming to the end of this particular little story. I move off Hornby for good, Wednesday morning, leaving my place to a young family from Victoria, who hopefully can make their own long lasting memories and cement family bonds, as we started doing thirty six years ago, when we bought this little half acre which had no sign of anyone having been here since this part of Hornby was logged, many decades before. Don't know how I'll feel when I drive away for the last time, but I doubt that the ferry ride will be the happiest I've ever taken. Spending the last seven years maintaining two homes on a one home income has finally forced a reckoning of reality, and there are positives in embarking on a new course rooted on the mainland. I don't think of myself as a 'hermit' anymore, even jokingly, so I guess that's progress. I'll miss the peace and quiet... walking the roads even now, with the summer hordes here, and sometimes hearing nothing but the birds and the wind in the trees. Going outside in the middle of the night, thanks to no plumbing, and hearing the slap of a seal's tail on the water. The sound of my late neighbour, a real hermit, chopping and sawing wood. S'mores around the firepit with my daughters, and then walking down to the beach to watch satellites and stars. The long wanders around Mt Geoffrey, and the rest of the trail network on this small but very accessible island. The friendliness of virtually everyone here. But, aside from dreadful illnesses and the loss of loved ones, life is rarely all bad, and new opportunities open up, even when one feels a loss. Meeting the new owners, and feeling their gratitude at what this meant for their family made this seem much more human than just a real estate transaction. And one can find beauty in nature and a lot of fulfillment... even in Surrey. Actually, Surrey gets a bit of a bad rap. I'm leaving at a good time. Hornby is packed, and ferry travel is a supreme pain. Three hours into Courtenay a few days ago, to visit a friend. I look forward to a fair bit of ferry travel this summer and fall; seeing places I've neglected because it was so easy to come here. Life unfolds as it will. Even at 63, one looks forward to what comes next.
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Post by Kahloke on Jun 30, 2019 20:19:32 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing your story, Neil. I'm sure it's a bittersweet moment leaving, as it will be for me and my cousins when we eventually sell the Orcas property. My dad lives there now, and while he is still around, and still wants to be there, we are holding on to it, but the reality, as you pointed out, is the financial burden of maintaining two properties on a limited income. You will, for sure, miss your Hornby retreat, but it sounds like you have some wonderful memories of time spent there.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 1, 2019 0:37:14 GMT -8
Life unfolds as it will. Even at 63, one looks forward to what comes next. The "Hornby Hermit" series has been fascinating to read and follow. Thanks for sharing that part of your life's journey with us.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,180
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Post by Neil on Jul 1, 2019 8:45:15 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing your story, Neil. I'm sure it's a bittersweet moment leaving, as it will be for me and my cousins when we eventually sell the Orcas property. My dad lives there now, and while he is still around, and still wants to be there, we are holding on to it, but the reality, as you pointed out, is the financial burden of maintaining two properties on a limited income. You will, for sure, miss your Hornby retreat, but it sounds like you have some wonderful memories of time spent there. Orcas is a special place for me too- for the opportunity to get to know family from past generations. I want to get back there again this fall.
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