Walking Gently

For a couple of days I've noticed mild pain in my left hip when walking. I worry about  hip pain, joint pain and arthritis and being old and ... and... but I walk through it and today I realized that the pain is more than likely from the fall in Lynn Canyon so long ago. My finger is still is a yellow, brown, purple swollen being from that nasty and unwelcome surprise on an otherwise unforgettable day.

I walked around on the UBC campus today, which I have come to love. It was very alive with young people playing in some kind of tournament and their energy and radiant youth evoked many memories of times past on the campus. I did my undergrad at UBC and then a year of studies towards a masters. It has changed very much for the better as a pedestrian meadow.

•

Years ago I wrangled the donation of over a million dollars of prints from a local donor. It was a gift to enrich the learning of students at Emily Carr University of Art and Design where I worked and meeting the donor and visiting his home to pick up the prints was a very memorable experience. Because of his gift, I got to learn about and oversee the creation of an controlled and insurable environment for the work as well as a workable visual catalogue locator.

Through the donor I met a mosaic artist whose work and technique impressed me and as a result of my response to her work, I wound up in a documentary film about her that soon will air on the Knowledge Network here. So, tonight, the donor is hosting a dinner and screening in his home for several invited guests including me.

This is not something I would have accepted but a dear friend, Robin, the city's most respected art critic, is also invited so we are going together. We arranged to meet at my house at 6:30. I have rented a coop car so she can drink. I have warned her: I am clinging to her and sitting beside her at dinner. She is willing, bless her heart, to hold my hand.