The Joys in Life
Surviving in these dark times.
The 1970 Cadillac Coupe de Ville is 225 inches long (18.25 feet or 5.7 meters) and 79.8 inches wide (6.65 feet or 2 meters). Admittedly, that’s a little bit smaller than the Cybertruck pictured below. The Cybertruck has a length of approximately 19 feet 4 inches and a width of about 6 feet 8 inches. That says something about Elon Musk.
A lovely old Caddy like the one pictured has been parked behind the apartment building next door for a couple of weeks. What I discovered, though is that it wasn’t just some old guy’s vanity car, it’s actually the work truck for the painters working next door.
What the 472.0 cu in. V8 engine lacks in gas mileage is surely saved by spending $40,000 less than a new Ford F150. And the trunk is MASSIVE.
That makes me happy. And has real leather upholstery.
These days are dark, very dark. Between Trump destroying everything that I love about America, and Israel annihilating the people of Gaza, and Ukraine, and the apparently unstoppable destruction of our very climate, these are not happy times.
And the greed, the pure unfettered greed that surrounds us…
So I look for things that give me pleasure. Reading a good book. Learning new things. Writing articles and having people enjoy them.
On the bus, in cafés, and elsewhere I have been putting my phone away, and instead am just watching the people around me. Sometimes it’s strange people. Sometimes it’s a trio of Philipino women talking excitedly. Sometimes it’s a little kid that’s dead asleep, oblivious to everything around them, or another utterly excited that they’ve learned about the big button that opens the front door at the gym.
There’s a lot to say about our local bar, Barney’s, where there are regulars, and a friendly staff that makes us feel like part of that crowd. There’s the server at Brown’s in Lynn Valley who comped an entrée “because you’re such nice people.”
It’s the young couples on Granville Street downtown, on a Friday night, dressed to the nines, and chugging from a mickey of vodka to avoid paying bar prices at the club.
And, despite hating the traffic noise outside our windows, it delights me to see Ferraris, and Lamborghinis, and Maseratis and other lovely, loud, fast cars that I can only dream of ever owning. For all of their faults, these are the work of people with a passion for excellence. Well, except for the Maserati SUV, which is just kind of stupid.
And, finally, it’s wonderful after so many years in and out of Vancouver to have rediscovered Granville Island. I actually worked there, many decades ago, and I guess carried around that “ugh, place I worked at” attitude. Now I’m seeing it with fresh eyes and am amazed that no-one has managed to destroy it or sell it off to an American private equity company.
And then, tonight, it’s time for Eurovision, one of those things that North Americans fail to understand. Go Sweden!