Thunder & Inundation

At 7:45 yesterday morning, a tropical downpour drenched our island. The rain was so loud on the roof, I couldn’t hear the radio or little else. I haven’t seen rain like that here since the atmospheric river about four years ago. I was thrilled to see it and know that I didn’t have to water the gardens.

There’s been thunder all morning prior to the arrival of the storm, so I’d gone outside to bring all the chair cushions inside, thank goodness. It was so shocking because last night I’d checked the forecast and today was predicted to be another hot and sunny day. But what a thrill to see the little streams of water dribbling off everything, and to know that I’d have lots of time for reading during the day. At times I could feel vibrations from the thunder. It was incredible.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen lighting in daylight before. It’s so odd to see daylight briefly and suddenly get brighter. The drowning rain lasted eleven minutes and then settled into light rain. What a blessing it was to get so much rainfall. My rain barrels are full to the brim again. I went outside to check on them, and it was glorious to smell the wetness in such warm air, and while I was out there, more thunder had me and the land vibrating. What an amazing morning!

At 10:00, the rain had turned to angel piss, so Her Highness and I went for our morning walk. As we walked. I saw shadows, and by the time we were coming home, the sun was out and most of the sky was blue. I Zoomed briefly with David and then it was lunchtime for the brood.

On the drive home, I stopped to pick up a copy of The Sounder, our local newspaper. I normally wear reading glasses to read the paper, so I put a pair on and found myself struggling to read. I closed my left eye and read easily, then I closed my right eye and determined that something has gone wrong with my left eye. With my glasses on, I must hold the paper at arm’s length to be able to read it. I reckon it’s time for an eye check-up. It’s a sudden change.

I zoomed with Aidan at 14:00, and then Her Highness and I walked the Elder Cedar trail. Soon after returning, we had dinner and not long after finishing eating I Zoomed with Aidan and seven other stutterers and one speech language therapist. We were going over the presentation SPACE is going to use to inform doctors about how to best communicate with dysfluent people. It was a great session.

Then a bit of television before going to bed as I always do now, early. Four o’clock I’m awakened by my feline alarm clock, so early to bed is important.

Today, another day of mild wild fire smoke overhead, I’ll be doing chores much of the day in advance of going to Vancouver on the weekend. Plus, I’ll have reading time because I don’t have to water today, I’ll just be spot watering. 

Thunder!

I did chores around the house in the early morning—I’d risen at 5:00—and then Her Highness and I went for an early morning walk on our way to Nester’s to do some shopping. Our walk was inspiring. It felt a little Fall-like. The air was a crisp 17°, the dry grass gave Rollo Park a smell reminiscent of the hay smell of horse stalls.  Most of all, it was the position of the sun in the sky that made me feel like Summer was ending.

When we got home and everything was put away, I began watering, and I stuck to it until it was time for my Zoom session with Dr. Shoja. While I was watering near the fountain, a bird landed on my head! The birds are not afraid of me if I remain still. I plan to put a chair by the fountain this week and just sit there to watch all the birds.

The watering time passes easily. I don’t dread the task anymore at all. I have my route and I particularly like watering later in the morning after all the mosquitoes have gone to bed. I love my hoses that don’t tangle and my new nozzles that have multiple streams that make watering more efficient. Soon, I reckon, the weather will change. I hope the endless drought is soon to be over. But no end is yet in sight.

My session with Dr. S. was a good one even though, for the first time in ages, I had no agenda notes. I had lunch after our session and then I thought I’d take some sun, but I couldn’t abide being in the sun anymore. Instead, I came inside and fell asleep on the chaise for a while, and then Her Highness and I went to the Elder Cedar trail to walk.

Our evening was the usual. I renewed my subscription to Britbox and watched The Other Bennet Sister. I’ll be finishing the series tonight. I really liked it.

This morning there was a thin cloud cover in the sky when I got up, but it soon turned to blue skies. However, I was drawn outside by a lot of loud rolling thunder. It kept going for a long time and soon the sky was overcast again. There must be a thunderhead nearby. Perhaps the weather is changing. I hope so!

Today, we’ll walk with our friends, and I’ll be doing some SPACE work for Aidan. I’m Zooming with him this afternoon.

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Two things of interest happened this past week, things that taught me about my f’ing neurological condition. On Sunday, I went with Beth to Silva Bay for fish tacos. I am fluent with Beth, so we were chatting the whole way to the bay in the car. When we arrived, Kris was there and Steve came shortly thereafter (he had walked), and the four of us were soon laughing and sharing stories.

When Bonnie, Darcy and Sue arrived, I went mute. It confirmed what I already knew, but it was interesting to feel my voice disappear when the three women arrived. It was just too many people for my brain to handle.

And on Monday, when I drove Beth to Courtenay, we were talking all during our wait in the car for the ferry and while we were on the ferry. However, once we got onto the highway, my speech became dreadful. Highways give me the heebie jeebies because of all the speeding traffic I imagine. I was semi-fluent with Marsha and Beth in the White Spot because the place was packed and noisy. 

And yesterday, when I had my session with Dr. S., I couldn’t speak at all for the first ten minutes. The harder I tried, the more my head bobbed and jerked. My brain was misfiring, so I used the chat feature to communicate with her until (rough) speech slowly returned. It’s been ten years and I still get so bloody frustrated by my poor speech.

Driving Beth to Courtenay

It felt like the end of the world when I got up yesterday morning. Sheba and Fred had demanded I rise at 4:00 and it was as black as black can get. There was no moonlight, so it was impossible to see anything when I walked to the back gate to let Sheba out. It felt like the sun had died; I was grateful for the slow dawn that began at 5:30.

I had a lot of watering to do before Beth, Sheba and I left for Courtenay, and I had to take Her Highness for a walk. We departed from Pinecone Park just past eight to ensure that we were on the 8:45 ferry to Nanaimo. Once on the big island, we headed north, gasping along the way at the expansive landscape full of tall, majestic trees.

We gabbed and laughed the entire way. We arrived in Courtenay at 10:30 and found a public pathway beside the sea that was three blocks from the White Spot where we were meeting Marsha. Back in the seventies, all three of us were attached to the Arts Club Theatre: Marsha did graphics and managed season tickets, Beth was an actor who did shows with us, and I was a stage manager. Over lunch, we reminisced and laughed with great pleasure together. 

Beth (L), Marsha and moi. 

Marsha is a treasure. Her partner, Bill, was our boss. He created the most successful theatre company in the country. His fiscal history is impeccable; his artistry played perfectly to Vancouver audiences. Ours stage was the floor of an old gospel hall; the audience sat on chairs on risers sloping away from the stage area on two sides. I studied Bill and applied all I learned to the design and management of the theatre I built years on.

Marsha took Beth to catch the bus to Campbell River where she caught a ferry to Quadra Island to visit with her friends, David and Tara, and I easily found the coastal route south to Nanaimo. I am so glad I did that. I’d never seen the views before, and they were amazing in places where I could see the sea. It was sunny, beautiful and warm. Sheba slept in the back. We stopped in Union Bay to go for a walk and made our way to the ferry.

We only had to wait half an hour to get onto our vessel, and we were home at 15:00. I had the best time with Beth, but it was also wonderful to come home to solitude. I crashed onto the chaise once I had checked for thirsty plants, and I reflected on things done and said with Miss Beth. We had a great time. She loved the trees, the birds on my fountain, and the quiet. I did very little cooking, and I’m glad all our meals weren’t out. It was fun to get comfortable at home—dining in the garden and then watching a movie.

I video called Dianne when I got come, to talk with her about coming to stay at her place on Saturday for her daughter’s wedding in Dianne’s backyard. I’m glad I did because she is clear about my vulnerabilities. She makes me feel safe and when I feel safe, I feel good and I function well. There are going to be a lot of strangers, but there’s also going to be a small cadre of friends whom I’ve known for decades. And Sheba’s coming.

I dread leaving, but there’s no way I’d miss Ashlee’s wedding to Mr. Wonderful, Alex. I’m going to take a Lorazepam on Saturday as a neuro-psychiatric prophylactic. 

I’m back in my world, and that means I must water today. This is the time of year when I must water every day, but the bottles I’ve installed in places to seep water to some plants means I don’t have to water some pants twice a day—my many Hydrangeas and Strawberries, one Skimmia and a Flowering Plum tree.

At 11:00, I see Dr. Shoja.

As Beth has witnessed, I pooh-poohed counselling as I grew up. For one thing, I was very self-reliant and felt well adjusted. I carried trouble about being so badly adopted. My discomfort I felt about my past seeped into my conversations. I think that’s why Beth, and others, felt that I would benefit from counselling services. I tried it a couple of times and hated both tries.

And now, here I am in my eleventh year with Dr. S. I can see her for life. I think I get this expensive therapy for free because of my condition, obviously, but I think it’s also because the trauma was neglect and now I live alone and have no family support. She soothes me because she remembers what we talk about and that means she listens. And well. And she advises, if asked. And she’s truly understanding of my feelings.

A huge benefit of having her in my life, is that I don’t talk about my past and my pains with my friends. I needed someone to talk to when my breakdown happened because I had a BIG recovery challenge. What a life I have lived since then! 

I’m going to be eighty next year. When puberty hit and I discovered that I was gay, my migraines started and they ate up many of my weekends. I can’t help but believe it was because I had to be with Don and/or Connie. I never had a migraine on a weekday. I was a sickly kid.  My angst and shame may have contributed to my preponderance of illnesses. I’ve had three heart attacks, asthma since puberty, and AIDS. Early on in life I had every reason to believe I would not live long.

I had two friends whose work made me think of them as very healthy and strong. Mike was an engineer who travelled the globe project managing the building of pulp and paper mills; Bob was a geologist who worked in Tanzania. And they were very sporty. They both died a decade ago, and Mr. Sicky is still ticking. Go figure.

As anyone who knows me knows, I make decisions easily and quickly. Moving here was a decision veryquickly taken.

One day I was having people over for dinner. I had a lot to do in the kitchen to be ready AND to be rested before the arrival of my guests. I always made dessert the day before the dinner, and I prepared everything for the evening. I prepared all the ingredients and measured all the spices so that I could cook comfortably. My plan was to conserve energy for conversation and to prevent fatigue. 

On this day, I was making a complex meal of several courses. It was a show-off meal. And I was resenting having to take time to fucking vacuum the big rug and hall runner and to do a quick clean-up of the bathroom. And suddenly, I had an epiphany. I decided that henceforth, I would never do that again. Guests would live in my home that’s always in pretty good repair, and my focus would stay on food.

I’d vacuum the morning after the dinner, making the vacuuming for me and not for my guests. When I went into grade seven, I was told that I was in the ‘accelerated program,’ and that I was going to take math at UBC. My counsellor told me my academic career would be in math.

After three months, I got out of the programs. I got a lot of side-eye from a couple of my teachers, but I was clear about where my interests lay: theatre, literature, and visual art. I believe that is when “I” was born. It was the first time I took responsibility for about how I was going to live my life. It was the first time I stood up for myself. I was eleven.

When I changed to vacuuming for me, that was a second awakening of the need to have a certain amount of “me first.” I was extremely frightened socially, and very insecure because of my secret: that I was a homo. I wanted to blend in with the furniture. Speaking up for myself was a sign of growth.

Now, my “me first” attitude is my all day every-day existence. I live a precautionary life, defined by needs created by my neurological condition. 

Departure Day

Sunday! My day! It was another awesome day!

I was up early and had a spa before I set to watering the garden. It was a thorough watering because today we go to Courtenay together where we’ll meet Marsha for brunch and then Beth will catch a bus to Campbell River where she’ll catch a ferry to Quadra Island to visit friends.

Beth took this photo of me watering in my garden.

I watered forever and then Beth and I took Her Highness for a walk, and then we all went to Silva Bay for fish tacos. Kris was there when we arrived, Steve came shortly after (he'd walked), and Sue and Bonnie and their daughter, Darcy, came shortly after that, and we had a truly lovely time chatting together. 

The musical guests of the day were fabulous. When the gentleman singing sang a Stan Rogers song (acapella) that was quintessentially Canadian, everything in the park stopped. Everyone stopped what they were doing and paid strict attention to the singer and when he finished the song, we all erupted in joyous applause. It was magical.

Then I took Beth to see the grave of our friend, Patsy, and then we came home and Beth had a nap while I hung up laundry and worked on this post. While Beth slept, I walked Sheba, and then, when Beth was back on her feet, we ordered a pizza from Woodfire, fetched it and some wine at the liquor store, and we came home to eat and watch a movie.

A tree growing through a rock at Sandwell Beach..

When I was ready for bed, I went into the bedroom to see Fred clinging to the wire mesh bug screen on the open window by my bed. I soon discovered why, there were at least three bats flying back and forth in the front yard, very close to the house, and poor Freddy was mad with desire to catch one. And while all this was happening, a big, beautiful buck and doe were walking around my front yard looking with envy at my Apple tree.

We’re catching the 8:45 ferry to Nanaimo this morning, and then we go to Courtenay to meet Marsha. I’ll be driving home with Her Highness on the coast road and not the highway. Adventure!