maybe because today was a lonely day on the path near the end of Boucherie. (And it seems that loneliness is the only reason that a complete stranger would engage in more than a smile & a brief hello in my experience on this path...) That's where I park my little truck & pick up the path at Rotary beach, where begins the most scenic off-leash dog park - a beach all of their own overlooking Lake Okanagan towards the mountains on the Mission side.
Today the path was pretty much my own, maybe because the angry sky threatened rain & the cool air coming in off the water didn't appeal to many. Today the waves crashed against the rocky shoreline & the park along the way was visited by only one brave Dad cheering on his little guy as he swung across the monkey bars. The Cove Resort was not bustling with happy tourists & children using the water park. One teenage boy threw rocks against the incoming tide in a futile effort to skip the stones. The boats, left to brave the cold in the small marina, lurched & creaked against the force of the waves against the docks. As I rounded the corner of the resort into the quiet park on the other side, I could see a small group of bundled seniors engaged in a raucous game of Boules & I nearly collided with a Grandpa emerging out of the bushes. I chuckled to myself that he must not know there is a fully equipped toilet only footsteps away... The lush green grass carpet of Gellatly Nut Farm now lay covered in nuts from the presiding winds. Soon shoppers & pickers would be gathering to harvest the spoils. The pastures along the road are now full of horses eating the lush green grasses, their owners possibly too engaged in the frenzy of fall activities for a crisp Sunday ride. It is here that I walk along a busy little stretch of road with Shaquille in a tight heal, for a while, to make the circle complete back to The Cove. There, my circle forms its way back to the parking lot where I am parked. It is, on that corner, where The Cove starts & my trail converge, that I first met Jim.
This day the sun was shining in all of its glory, not a cloud to be seen, the sky a full burst of blue. I had my ear buds in & was just a' walkin' to a favorite Country playlist. You couldn't miss him though on his shiny red scooter smiling & waving me over in his direction. I pulled one ear bud from my ear & walked near him to see if he needed help with something. It actually wasn't me he was interested in at all, at first, but my four-legged friend, Shaquille. This was the beginning of my "30 Minutes With Jim MacKlean MacDonald."
He was drawn to Shaquille because of his fluffy white coat. He promptly told me how he & his wife had Yorkie show dogs for 25 years & did all of their own grooming. (Good thing Shaq didn't look too bad that day...) They had travelled all around to attend shows and they had started a sort of club for Yorkie owners here in Kelowna back in the day. After his bit on his love of dogs, with no apparent need for an appropriate segway, he told me of the movie he had watched just the night before, Pal Joey. But as he went on about it, I realized he was indeed still on track, as the movie was an old musical & featured Frank Sinatra & Rita Hayworth...and a brilliant little white dog, that was in his opinion, the real star of the show. Speaking of Rita & Frank must have made him think of his wife. It was at this point that he told me of his wife & how she was now in a care home. He has a small condo close by the care residence so that he can "scooter" over every day to see her. He told me of his macular degeneration & how he can see close up but loses sight of things far away. Life could always be worse though, didn't I know, there are so many worse off than him - he sees plenty of sadness in his wife's care home. But, once he sported clear vision & was a driver instructor in Calgary - his wife is a Calgarian (in his words.) I thought maybe he was not sure-footed either, because of the scooter, but no sooner had the thought crossed my mind, than he burst up onto his feet - still on the Frank Sinatra track, I guess - & told me of their involvement, too, in Scottish dancing. They had been very involved in such a club & teachers of that genre of dance. Oh, & he still dances to this day - one has to stay fit, you know! Scottish dancing, of course! I knew I recognized that accent from somewhere. I commented on it & he was off! Telling me of his last trip to Scotland & the Italian fellow he had met there who was doing stem cell research. He didn't know how he felt about that & he marvelled at the wonder of creation & now shared his faith & love of Jesus with me. He told me how it is not his job to lead people to Jesus but just to sew seed, to love unconditionally (like dogs do - back to dogs!) and to enjoy the wonderful life we are given.
At this point, you are not going to believe it, but a cavalcade of black Escalades like I have never seen before whisked by. And in hot pursuit was an unmarked SUV with a flashing light that pulled over the most unassuming small car. This threw me and every other passer-by, on the path, off of our game. Everyone, that is, but Jim. He could, of course, not see what was happening. He did not take a breath. He had now dug out his binoculars & was preparing to show me a bird's nest high up on the hill that he had been keeping his eye on. A small group of folks had gathered around us & we were all talking about what could possibly be going on. Jim became quite interested when someone speculated that the prime minister was rumoured to be in town to speak at Quail's Gate later in the day. This got him onto the subject of politics and this is where I knew I had to bow out. He had found a new talking companion, now, anyway, in a young man that had stopped in all the commotion.
I did quickly explain to him that I would like to write a little blog about him & asked if I could include a photo of him. He was more than cooperative. I promised that I would carry a copy of it with me & give it to him the next time we cross paths. ...and he was off..."so your a writer are you, well you should look up Dorothy Brotherton, she's quite a local writer you know, writes a real worthwhile column..." I assured Jim that I would look her up, (& I will) I said my good-byes & my prayers, as Jim told me he had to cross Boucherie to get back up to his place & I now knew of his poor distance vision.
I haven't seen Jim since - maybe he's a fair-weather scooter. But, I do know this: Never again, will I see just an old man on a scooter. I will see an old man on a scooter that represents an entire life filled with scores of stories. And if I but pause to listen, my life will be fuller for it. I do look forward to our next encounter and another "30 Minutes with Jim MacKlean MacDonald!"
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