April 6, 2011

Yes, the date was had!

It has been a tumultuous day – the wheelchair broke, the water was off so the building’s boilers could be fixed, an assistant went home with a blistering ear ache leaving me in bed waiting for the only one who come in - Nick, three promised cheques have yet to arrive, and yes, the date was had!

Let’s call him Fred. He is a welder and worked until 6am and so couldn’t get himself here by 11:00am. We talked back and forth a few times on the cells – I think I might have woken him up the first time. He got to the Yalla café about noon.

In the meantime Yalla was about 35 minutes late opening up. Helen and I stood about for awhile, then went for a short walk. Michel, one of the owners, broke his hip falling on ice on Feb. 19, and he still isn’t allowed to put weight on his leg. He and his wife/cook Helen had errands to run before they opened and so were late.

As I entered the café my new chair would not come out of the partial tilt I had it in to travel at higher speeds. It’s been quirky all along, and I suspect the controls have been messed up from the beginning! Anyway I was not in a good position for eating.

But it’s not bad. It turns out that Fred is a Shiite Muslim who escaped from Iraq after all his family were killed except himself and one brother by Sadam’s people. He was brought by the UN to Hamilton. His English is week, but Michel welcomed him in Arabic, translated when necessary, teased me and said many flattering things. Eventually we were both comfortable enough, and Helen, my assistant (who was the soul of discretion throughout it all) propped me up with a cushion and we four ate together, sharing food from each other’s plates. Fred paid and walked part of the way back with us.

We will likely have another date, and not need Michel.

I spent the rest of the day in bed so the tech could take my chair in for a major part replacement.

Throughout the day I noticed that the number of prison modular cubes waiting in the train yard has gone down dramatically this week. There are perhaps only a dozen left. Today I actually saw an oversized flatbed take one out of the yard, loop around to Horner Ave., and drive it to the back of the now almost finished prison assemblage.

It was fitting that I was landed back in bed to see this little drama. Until now most of the activity has happened in the dead of night, or occasionally in daylight, but not when I was present to witness it.

Mike and Kimberly are off to Whistler for eleven days, for pre-wedding planning, sampling and inspection of facilities. It leaves a BIG hole in my schedule and my life.

Today I realized that “sick” is now definitely done! I have entered fully into my commitment to live Third Cycle fully and powerfully, to unmistakenly turn Inclusion over to a future in good hands and to live my life as the miracle it is as I fulfill this chosen task. Fred, Michel, Helen, Mike, Kimberly, Nick and many, many more hold me respectfully, carefully and insistently in the precious chosen and created family that makes my amazing life both possible and worthwhile – (and I haven’t had Morphine in six days!)