(Cenotaph, Victory Square, Vancouver, BC)
I got a late start to the day and arrived after the ceremonies were finished.
I hadn't been feeling well for the past week. Coughing mainly and some small headaches, and I never get headaches. I went to work anyway and drew the ire of many who were distancing themselves for want of catching the H1N1 flu which I did not have symptoms.
About a week ago I went to my camera meeting and sat beside someone who was coughing continuously. I knew I should have changed tables but I am usually able to fight off the germs. So I took it like a man and said nothing. Everything was fine for a few days, then it hit.
Today was the first day that I have felt like venturing out. I haven't had an appetite and I am glad to have lost a few pounds in the interim. I decided to go downtown and check out some electronic stuff
I notice another young person begging for money. How nice it must be to be able to just sit there with your sign and hope that we would part willingly with our hard earned money.
We are standing on the corner of Granville & Robson, one of the main intersections in Vancouver and this is what I noticed
Here is a closer crop. He is also asking for some "spare change". It was hard to take his photo as he kept looking at me. When he noticed the camera he moved on to the other side of the street
I turned my self 90 degrees around and saw this
When I exited the store, he came up to the door with his hat extended towards me and asked for any "spare change" too
It's a shame that all these able bodied people are all begging in the streets asking for a handout and expect that some of us will actually throw our spare change into their hats. These street people are no longer lurking in the alleys but rather boldly venturing out into the main tourist areas of the city. Some of them are very aggressive and there have been cases where they have been physical to non contributors.
Today felt very chilly and I was thinking to myself that if felt like it would be cold enough for snow and sure enough it started to hail a bit.
Today, the weather was forecast to be the best it had been for weeks and tomorrow another rain system will be blowing in. My original thought was to take my bike out for a short ride, but as I was still not feeling well I decided against it. I also strained my throttle wrist somehow and I cannot put much pressure on it without hurting. I think I am coming down with Jack Reep Syndrome, and it is causing me some concern.
Just in case we have any readers down in Key West, FL, I mention that today our high temperature was 7C (45F) and proud of it.
Armistice Day... and we Germans feel a little left out. Do we have the right to mourn our ancestors, since we were 'the enemy'? Everybody has lost somebody, a friend, a family member, and they need to be acknowledged and remembered. Today, our current Chancellor Angela Merkel has become the first German leader ever to attend a service in France on Remembrance Day. This is a sign of acceptance and tolerance of the free world, and marks today's friendship with former rival France.
ReplyDeleteBob, take care of yourself and be better soon. Chicken soup and hot tea, lots of it. Cheers, S.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're feeling better to venture out. Take care.
Mike
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteSONJAM makes a good point about armistice day, nobody ever gives the German people any thought, myself included and I lived in West Germany for 3 happy years. It is a delicate balance to let bygones be bygones but at the same time remembering the slaughter and sacrifice that was made so we can enjoy a free World.
So you've had a bit of a spill on the bike then....got any cool scars??
Cheers,
Dave...
SonjaM:
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about this before. I just thought everyone observed Remembrance Day.
Send a few more xox's. I think I'm feeling better already. Not quite normal but nearly
Mike:
I'm not one to get sick, but not sick enough to stay home. If I had H1N1 symptoms I would have stayed home, but I didn't, but try telling that to the people at work.
Dave:
No spills lately, just sprained my throttle wrist somehow. Can't take much weight without hurting. I think I stressed it last week moving my bikes around in the carport
Dear Bobskoot:
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your wrist. As we get older, it doesn't take much to knock a joint out of whack. Perhaps aching joints are part of the other symptoms you are experiencing.
There must be something in the air. I had an attack of bursitis and tendonitis that kept me off the bike for 5 days. I actually went in for x-rays.
I have been avoiding anyone with any kind of cold symptoms. The flu has hit all around us, and everyone is treating any flu symptoms as if they were H1N1.
By the way, I found some of your statements to be positively Republican. For example: "I notice another young person begging for money. How nice it must be to be able to just sit there with your sign and hope that we would part willingly with our hard earned money."
My sign reads, "Will write for sex, cash, or rum."
Fondest regards,
Jsack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Jack "r":
ReplyDeleteI think I also get bursitis once or twice a year. Sometimes so bad I can hardly walk, but driving is okay. I have a supply of celebrex which takes a day or so to take affect. Sort of like walking on razor blades or pins or crushed glass. sometimes in the mornings my joints have to get 'warmed' up before I get full range. I wished that I was a young as you.
I think the flu is getting worse. I get reports everywhere that half the staff is away sick, but so far our office is okay.
I also never thought about the German people and rememberance day and I lived there for around 10 years...
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I stood in the street with a cup if people would give me money - maybe worth a try.
Hope you're feeling better - I thought you had been absent for a couple of days.
I also never thought about the German people and rememberance day and I lived there for around 10 years...
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I stood in the street with a cup if people would give me money - maybe worth a try.
Hope you're feeling better - I thought you had been absent for a couple of days.
Bev:
ReplyDeleteIn all your travels I never noticed anyone standing around looking for handouts. If you come to Vancouver we have these people everywhere, and also the squeegie boys. It would be a way for you to supplement your spending money when you come to visit
I'm not quite 100%, but getting closer