FINDING COMMON GROUND

 POST #476

I debated back and forth on what to talk about for my final post for October.  There is no shortage of topics to cover, however nowadays we can't get through a day without the word Covid raising its ugly head.

This blog is primarily focused on house and pet sitting, so one might ask why I would want to talk about Covid today?

Here's the main reason for me.  In recent times, it appears that society is now becoming divided on the lines of the jabbed versus the un-jabbed.  As if there weren't enough issues already to divide us, we now have this elephant in the room. Finding  common ground seems to be more and more difficult to do these days.

On a more personal note, I have had communications with friends and family regarding this issue, as I fall into the unjabbed class, unlike all of them.  Or is it now the unwashed class?  I'm not so sure.  

Not only in my personal life, I am also seeing it in the house sitting business.  Recent ads posted on the website I use to find my next sit, are now adding the caveat that the applicant must have proof of vaccination.  Obviously, for those particular ads, I may as well not waste my time in applying.  In addition to that, I have had a few recent cancellations once the owner finds out my status.  I do find this rather curious though.  Logic would suggest, that if the vaccines were so safe and effective, then the vaccinated individual shouldn't have any concern about the unvaccinated.  If you're protected, then what's the problem?

In one respect, I find this totally understandable.  After all, for the better part of two years, we have been bombarded with only one side of this story.  And it doesn't seem to matter which media you choose.   There certainly is another side to the story, and the magazine featured above did a very good job recently of covering that side.  There are plenty of very qualified people around the world that are speaking out about their concerns regarding these shots, and I and many others are more than convinced that not getting the jab is the sensible choice.  But we are now the outcasts in this society, and even though I can see the tide shifting ever so slightly, it appears that this Covid vaccine steam roller is just going to continue rolling over any narrative that doesn't fit.  With mask mandates back in place, and vaccine passports just two days away, it appears that the agenda continues, full steam ahead.   And now they're talking about 5 to 11 year olds as the next in line for the jab.  This truly seems like madness to me.

But this is the crazy world we live in, here in late October of 2021.  Aside from writing this blog today, in order to get this off of my chest, there is really nothing else that I can do to shift the debate, or to change people's minds.  Besides, that's not for me to do anyway.  People have to make up their own minds on a variety of matters on a daily basis, and this is just one more of those issues to make a decision on.

So fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, I will have to continue down this path.  It has caused friction and separation with some, but at the same time there has been a upside with others.  

The bottom line?  In spite of it all, I am still here, able to spend another day on planet earth.  Each day seems even more precious than the last one.  And in this current world, that  says a lot.  If one takes the time to notice, there is always something marvelous to appreciate.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

 

 

 

THE THOUGHTFUL WANDERER TURNS 10 TODAY

 POST # 475

                                                         Say what???

  That's right, Eunice.  It was ten years ago today, that this thing called "The Thoughtful Wanderer" began.  At that time, you would have just been a young pup,  and a fellow wanderer, navigating the streets of Mexico City, possibly wondering where your next meal would be coming from. Now, you live on easy street, here in Nanaimo, BC.

I, on the other hand, had just arrived in Lake Oswego, Oregon to begin another house sit, my second one since I had sold my sailboat.  The place in Lake Oswego had been a referral from my previous location on Orcas Island, so it had been a very smooth transition from one location to the next.

I'm not exactly sure why I chose October 21, 2011 to begin this blog, but I am sure glad that I did start.  It has been a wonderful way to recall all of the many amazing places, and even more amazing animals (which includes some human ones) that I have had the great good fortune to get to know over the past decade. 

As I sit here now, that starting date feels like it was much longer ago.  Time can be a bit funny in that regard. 

Today, I find myself back at a place that I did a sit back in late 2011.  Back then, I only had Myrtle the bonehead, but now, in addition to Eunice, there is also a furball named Apollo.

This is only a short engagement, so I will barely have any time to get to know these two, prior to moving on to my next sit.  But a short time is better than no time at all, so the three of us will try and make the most of it.

 

Finishing off where it all began, here is a link to my original post.

 

http://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2011/10/thoughtful-wanderer-begins.html

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

WAS OCTOBER 12th MY FINAL FLIGHT ?

 POST # 474*

I debated whether or not I should attach a "?" at the end of today's blog post title.  After all, none of us really know what our future holds.  So for that reason, there is a question mark.  However, the more I think about it, the more that I feel that October 12th really was my last flight.  From my point of view, it seems pretty straight forward.  As of October 30th in Canada, no jab, "no flight for you."  I don't have any plans to fly anywhere prior to that date, and I also have no plans of ever getting the jab, so unless the legislation changes, I guess I won't be flying anywhere after that date.  

The owners arrived home on the 11th, and seeing as I had a ride to the airport that day (with the owner's father), I chose to take advantage of a free lift.  Of course, that meant that I would be at the airport for more than 24 hours, but hey, it wouldn't be the first time.  I found a good bench outside, and a semi-comfortable floor inside to nap upon, and the time went by faster than expected.

Outdoor sleeping spot

                                                        Dramatic sunset on October 11th

                                                           Final photo of Charlie just prior to leaving

                                                    And the final photo of Goo and Twain

Of course, I'll miss these three furballs, as I do with all of the others that I have cared for over the years, but it is the nature of the work that I do.  I feel fortunate to have met them at all.  And by now, I'm sure that they have totally forgotten me.

It was a very enjoyable location to spend some time, but one flight later, I am now back in British Columbia.  The flight was only about four and a half hours long, but it seemed to take forever.  Being stuck in a middle seat didn't help.  

Over the decades, I have been on too many flights to recall, some very long and some short.  I loved flying so much that I even got my pilot's license back in 1991.  But nowadays,  it just isn't the same as it used to be.  So perhaps, if October 12th does end up being my final flight, maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

* Many flights over the years were upon a 747, so I find it an odd thing that this post is 474.

                                                          

FROM PART TIME TO FULL TIME

 POST # 473

Onboard the Phillip Law

 

Having completed the sale of my sailboat a couple of days earlier, I met up with the new owners at the gate of the marina, to hand over the keys, and go over any other details that we hadn't covered earlier.  In spite of the fact that I only received 20% of what I had purchased the boat for, six years earlier, I was happy that the transaction was now complete.  The new owners were a couple of young brothers from Quebec, and they were keen to get onboard their new boat.  It was now time for me to leave the marina and the sailboat that had been my home, and be on my way.

Why mention this history now?  Well the date that I left the marina was October 1st, 2011.  As of six days ago, I have been house/pet sitting full time now for an entire decade.  That was the day that I shifted from being a part time sitter to a full time sitter.

I absolutely loved living on my sailboat, however during my final year at the marina, I worked out that I had probably spent only about two months out of the twelve, onboard.  The remainder of the year was at a variety of locations around Vancouver doing exactly what I do now, that is, house/pet sitting.  I could keep the boat, and continue to pay the monthly moorage fees, but it seemed like a waste of money, as I was hardly ever there.  I had no idea at the time what it was going to be like to be intentionally homeless, but there was only one way to find out.

I was headed to Orcas Island in Washington State.  This would be the very first house sit acquired through the house sitting service called Housecarers.  If memory serves, I believe that it was for three weeks duration, and I had the pleasure of not only being in a wonderful location, but I had the company of Oscar and Felix the cats (you can view them on the right side of the page if you scroll down).  It would be the start of a regular sit on Orcas over many subsequent years.

My house sit history goes all the way back to 1986.  At the time, I was living in Los Angeles of all places, and working as a handy man at a college that my sister Rosie was attending.  The President of the college, lived in a mansion of a house on Arbor street, just off of Orange Grove boulevard in Pasadena, very near the Wrigley mansion. Kathryn owned a Russian wolf hound named Shauna.  I house sat for Kathryn on a couple of occasions, the last of which found me chasing Shauna down Orange Grove boulevard heading towards the Pasadena freeway.  I spent a very stressed day and night driving around Pasadena, prior to having Shauna return home about 5am then next morning.  Who knows what adventures she had been on during her time away, but I was very grateful to have her back home. Kathryn was arriving home later that same day.  Perhaps I learned an early lesson in dog sitting all those years ago.

Fast forward to Dawson City in the Yukon.  This is where my house/pet sitting really began to take off.  As one can imagine, there are plenty of Dawsonites that love to head south during the winter months, and so the opportunities for me were numerous.  Prior to moving from Dawson in 2004, I put together a folder of referrals from many of my clients, and this would prove to be a wise decision for my future house sit career.

I moved to Vancouver in late 2004.  One day while on lunch break at Granville Island where I worked operating an Aquabus ferry, I came across an ad on the bulletin board, advertising for a cat sitter.  Long story short, that became the first of many regular clients that I helped out during my time in Vancouver.  At some point I stumbled across Housecarers which matched people like me, with people who were looking for a sitter.  I actually disregarded the website at first, and forgot all about it.  Somehow, months later, there it was again.  I decided to join back in 2011, and I've been a member since that time.  Occasionally I make a wise decision, and joining Housecarers certainly fits the bill.

This past year and a half or so, has been slim pickings to say the least, however, slowly but surely the house sit gigs are starting to appear again on the Housecarers website. 

I do love this lifestyle, and I really can't imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life.  The rewards are too numerous to mention.  Not only do I have the opportunity to visit a variety of wonderful locations, but more important than the location, are the wonderful critters, that I have come to know and love along this journey.  Plus, there are some very special people (they know who they are) that I have met along this journey. 

I'm pretty darn sure that I won't get another decade under my belt, but if that were to happen, then I would be very happy indeed spending it doing just what I have been doing since October 1st, 2011.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer