MY MORNING WALK AND A LOOK AHEAD

POST #7

I had a restless night last night and I can't really work out why. The only things on my "to do" list for today was to write this blog and put the garbage out. Nothing in other words, that would disturb my sleep in the feather bed, but by 4am, sleep was no more. So as I write these words, waiting for the coffee to brew, my head is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to add one more item to my "to do" list which is to make sure I have an afternoon nap.
So Queen Myrtle and I were out for our regular morning stroll this morning and while she was finding the perfect pooping location, I was thinking about what to write today. As we rounded the corner past a local business, a worker was out in the yard driving a forklift, which automatically made me think of a time long since past, when for a while I myself was a forklift driver. The year was 1978 and I had a job working at a trucking depot in Adelaide Australia. I had been there at this point for a few months, and so I already had the opportunity to use the forklift on many occasions, and by now considered myself somewhat of an expert. I'm not sure how expert anyone can be at the age of 22, but that's another story. Anyhow, with all the dexterity of an expert I picked up a crate about one foot square and about twenty or so feet long which contained the main rotor blade for a helicopter. It needed to be moved out to the main street which entailed going through the opening of a chained link fence which surrounded the depot. One of the traits of being an expert forklift driver is the ability to continue driving while at the same time lifting the load. As I approached the opening in the fence while lifting the load, I was at the same time calculating in my head whether I would have the crate high enough in time to clear the top of the fence. It was all looking so good and I was feeling so confident. And then just as the crate arrived at the fence line, the left end of it grazed the top of the fence and the crate slid sideways. Oh shit!!! I stopped the forklift right away, but the crate continued to tilt precariously down and to the left. What made matters even worse was that my boss's Mercedes Benz was parked just off to the left and the crate was now perfectly lined up like a long arrow ready to shoot right through the car's back window. If it goes, then I may as well go collect my final pay and start looking for another job. As I sat there sweating bullets, luck was on my side in the form of a fellow employee who happened to see my dilemma and come with another forklift to help save the day. Lesson learned? Confidence is great but overconfidence can have some very unintended consequences. This time though, I was lucky.
Myrtle and I continued on our stroll as the morning sun broke the horizon which was a pleasant change from the previous overcast days. We walked past the site of "The Number 1 Esplanade Coal Mine" which in the late 1800's according to the sign had "over 1000 men and 150 horses and mules employed there". On May 3rd 1887, an explosion in the mine killed 150 of those miners. It would have been a very sad day for the local community I'm sure. Yet today, except for the signage, there is no indication that a coal mine once existed there.
Shortly after we passed this spot Myrtle found the perfect spot to have her morning poop and then have her human servant scoop it up in a bag and then we were on our merry way.
Too soon though, these Myrtle walks will be coming to an end as my time here in Nanaimo winds down. By this time next week I will be in Dawson City and Myrtle will be a pleasant memory. Maybe sometime in the future I will have the opportunity to take care of her once more.
We arrived back home and once inside, Myrtle received her after walk liver treats, and I put the coffee on so that I could try and rid myself of the fog in my head from my restless night's sleep.
As I write these words, the coffee has performed it's magic, and even though Myrtle is now snoozing in her favourite place next to the bay window, I am already planning our lunchtime walk, which is the long walk of three we do each day. And with the sun shining brightly, I think today will be an especially long one as I want to take advantage of the mild weather, because next week in the Yukon, it will be anything but mild.
And so the journey continues.

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer