SHOULD I BE WORRIED?

 POST # 436

"Who knows what 2020 will hold in store?"

I wrote those words exactly one year ago today, and I certainly couldn't have anticipated then, just how 2020 would turn out.  At this time last year, I had a full house sitting calendar booked up for the entire year of 2020 and beyond, and then come March my calendar became a blank slate due to Covid.  So much for making plans.

So as the sign above states, "Should I be worried?"  Well, no.  Worry never solved any problem that I am aware of, so I will just continue to live the moments as they present themselves, and try to appreciate the fact that for an old fart, I still am able to enjoy each day.  Things could always be worse.

Who knows what 2021 will hold in store?  I guess we are all about to find out soon enough.  In the meantime, I'll keep posting a blog four times per month, and just try and be an observer of life.  All of the big issues are certainly out of my control, however I can still watch the play unfold as it will do without any assistance on my behalf.

 

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE BUDGET INN PATRICIA HOTEL Est. 1913 ( A HISTORY)

 POST # 435

On the corner of East Hastings and Dunlevy sits one of Vancouver's hidden treasures, The Patricia Hotel.  The hotel's foundation has resided here in the heart of Strathcona - the city's first neighbourhood - since 1910.  Originally designed as a doctor's office, construction began in 1910, but the owner passed away before completion - as did the intentions for the building.  Shortly thereafter, the building was converted into The Patricia Hotel, which opened in 1913 with a total of 180 rooms and a communal bathroom on each of its five floors.

Much of the hotel's history spawns from its pub which opened in 1914.  Although currently known as Pat's Pub and Brewhouse, it originally opened as The Patricia Cafe.  When alcohol prohibition came into effect in 1917, the hotel like many others in the city converted its bar into a cabaret which featured live music & dancing.  In an attempt to recover lost alcohol sales through a cover charge, The Patricia Cabaret's manager recruited some of the most influential jazz musicians of the time to form the venue's house band.  Most notable of these was Oscar Holden, Ada "Bricktop" Smith and Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton who lived upstairs in The Patricia Hotel while he played in the Cabaret downstairs.

Oscar Holden stayed on at the Patricia Hotel for quite a few years, leading the ten piece orchestra that went on to make the Patricia Cabaret one of the finest cabarets in all of Canada.  Eventually Jelly Roll Morton left the Patricia to tour down the coast before landing back in Vancouver several years later.  Ada "Bricktop" Smith moved on to Harlem, where she helped get Duke Ellington his first major gig, before she landed in Paris and opened her own club, "Chea Bricktop".  John Steinbeck got thrown out of her club, Cole Porter wrote "Miss Otis Regrets" for her, T.S. Elliot wrote a poem about her and F. Scott Fitzgerald has said his biggest claim to fame was that he discovered Bricktop before Cole Porter did.  Before all that though, Bricktop was famous for her voice and was singing at the Patricia.

To this day the Pub's original wood floor and exposed brick walls serve as a reminder of the rich history captured within during those early years as well as in the years since.

Beneath the main floor of The Patricia Hotel exists an expansive basement thick with its own history.  In addition to housing a boxing ring that played host to many big ticket matches right up until the 1950's, the basement's showers and change rooms were used by both soccer and baseball teams who played in Oppenheimer Park as well as by migrant workers who worked night shift in nearby Japantown and Chinatown.

The Patricia Hotel has had only a few owners throughout the course of its expansive lifetime.  The current owner took over in 1984, closing the hotel shortly after for extensive renovations that fitted each room with a private washroom.  As such, many of the hotel's smaller rooms have maintained the historic style of separate vanity and shower facility.  The owner also preserved the historic style in the common areas of the hotel including the high-ceilinged lobby, the lobby's lacquered wood steps and the detail in the wood runners of the upstairs hallways.

 

 

For the history buffs.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED

POST # 434

 

                                                             RUFUS

The other day I was looking back through my blog posts in search of something in particular.  I never found what I was looking for, however I did come across something that I had written many years ago.  In light of everything that is going on these days, I was again reminded that it is easy to lose sight of what many of us take for granted on a day to day basis.

What I wrote was, "As long as I have food in my belly, and a roof over my head, I really don't have anything to complain about."
 

So here I sit on a cold, grey day, in my warm hotel room, having just finished eating a late breakfast and I am reminded of the words that I wrote years ago.  If I need another reminder of my extreme good fortune, I receive it each day when I walk out the front door of the hotel and head down East Hastings street.  Hundreds upon hundreds of homeless people somehow manage to get through yet another day out there.  Rufus, featured above, no doubt has a more comfortable life than any of the folks living outdoors on East Hastings.

It's so easy to take for granted most of the privileges that we have, and then complain about our own lot in life.  I am as guilty of this as the next person, so it was good to come across my words from years past, so that I can once again re-learn not to take anything for granted. Like for instance, this tree on a sunny day.

 

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

MY DAILY WALK

 POST # 433

With the aid of my new boots, mentioned in my last post, I decided to add a few photos I have collected during my recent daily walks.  I encountered these characters a few days ago, while walking along Sunset Beach. The 2020 version of the three amigos.  They were helping to put smiles on plenty of faces as they continued their journey along the beach.

In rather stark contrast to the three amigos, there is a lone gentleman tucked in behind the large umbrella.  He is an interesting character to be sure.  This photo was taken only a few minutes walk from where the marina is that I used to live on board my sailboat.  What's interesting to me is that he has been roaming around this same neck of the woods for the better part of fifteen years.  He dresses all in black, and as you can see, everything he owns is also black.  The only thing that has changed in all the years is that he seems to have acquired more stuff.  He appears healthy and robust.  I wonder what his story is?  Maybe one day I will stop, and engage him in a conversation, if he allows me to do that.

There are plenty of other people to see along my daily journey, however it's not only people that catch my eye.  Have a look at this wonderful creation that nature has provided.

There is something quite precious, and maybe a bit awe inspiring to stand at the foot of a large cedar tree, and gaze upwards.  Large cedars like this one are few and far between, and I wonder how this one managed to escape being chopped down so many years ago?  I walk past it every day, and I always stop for a few moments to enjoy being in its presence.  If you want to feel humble try doing this every once in a while. 

There are plenty of different walks to go on, however I seem to have settled into one in particular, which takes me about an hour and twenty minutes.  This walk comes to a conclusion back at the beach where the three amigos were found the other day.  This past week has been sunny, so I have tried to time my walk to get to the beach prior to sunset.  

This photo was taken at 4pm, a couple of days ago, and it was the last I have seen of the sun since that time.  It's hard to believe that the location is a beach in Canada in December.  It could just as easily have been taken on a beach in the tropics.  

 In spite of the cloud and drizzle outside, it's time again to put on my walking boots, and head out the door.  My daily walk is a joyful exercise, no matter what the weather is like.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer