How does the song go? "Our bags are packed, we're ready to go..." Wow. Here it is early o'clock on the day we're leaving (cooling rapidly) BC and heading south to (really hot) Mazalan. Yet another whirlwind has whisked us through our summer months at home. This year we had two months longer than normal which was fantastic. We've had more time to see to home projects, visit with friends and family, and generally relax into a more domestic scene. Heck, we even had time to take in a movie and go for a few hikes. Kathy and our friend Holly actually took on a section of the Juan de Fuca trail and there's talk of doing more next year. For those of you who are wondering, I can assure you almost every spare hour was spent on a little project about the history of women in the VPD. Yes, I'm pleased to report there is an end in sight.
Before I go further, let me take a moment to ask you to pause... and to think about the service our First Responders provide us. Men and women who, without hesitation, step forward to protect us and to help provide us with a better world to live in. They go to work every day... every day, knowing they may not come home at the end of their shift. We all watch TV and we all watch the 'doings' south of our border and in the rest of the world... and, I think, we become somewhat numb to the horrors of the violence our species can unleash. But that doesn't make it right, and it doesn't make it OK. There is no place for violence in our world and we must never step back from the challenge of defining it and ending it. Members of the law enforcement family lost a brother this week. Constable John Davidson of the Abbotsford Police Department was a long serving police officer both here and in the UK. He was married and raised a family while serving his communities. He was loved by all who knew him. He was a good man and he did not deserve to have the rest of his life snatched away from him. Law enforcement officers in BC and across Canada, are in a state of shock and steeped in grief. This kind of violence is not supposed to happen in Canada and even though we train for it every day... John's death has rocked the policing family to it's very roots. Our serving members will recover; they always do. But the scars from this week will not fade, nor will the resolve to continue to serve and to continue to protect you and I from violent and mentally unbalanced human beings who live within our communities. Please remember John Davidson and his family in your prayers. And please be safe out there.
We lock the door and walk away from our home this morning, and we head to Sidney where my sister will be putting up with us... er I mean putting us up... for the afternoon and over-night. Then, at sparrow-fart, early o'clock, whatever you want to call it, we'll be up, coffee'd and out the door to a large taxi (yes we have a lot of gear; two suitcases, two carry-ons and two rather large cardboard boxes filled with... stuff for the boat of course). Our flight leaves at 0630 and takes us all the way to Vancouver where we switch planes and head south directly to Maz. We'll be bunking in to our favourite bungalows a few blocks from the marina. We'll be down to the boat on Saturday morning, bright and early (before the temperature soars to 90) to open up SSpirit and see how she's doing. We'll let you know what we find.
For now, know we are packed and ready; just have to water the plants and disconnect the car battery. Poor Rikki and Lucy sit in the driveway shivering.. wondering why on earth they aren't already in Yuma like previous years. And, yes, I admit it. We're looking forward to our winter in the Sea. We have big plans for all the places and people we hope to see. But, as always, we acknowledge our plans are still ... written in sand, below high water mark... we will see what we will see.
We were able to catch up with quite a few folks this summer. For those of you we missed, please know we were thinking of you.. just ran out of time. Our thoughts are also with our friends and their friends who were victims of the terrible forest fires this past year. And, we are also growing more and more concerned about the state of our oceans, particularly our own Georgia Straight and our resident Orca population. I'll write more about that later.
We hope you are all well, safe and warm. Take good care. I'll write again once we're in Mazatlan and settled in. Adios for now me amigas y amigos. CJ
Posted by: Carolyn (via Kathy's Google mail profile)
