Saturday, August 18, 2007
Reflection
My plans were to head to the Island after work yesterday in anticipation of my “uncle”/godfather’s sixtieth birthday BBQ which is taking place this evening. I knew it would be a short weekend, but any chance to spend time with my family is a chance I’ll take. I’ve taken the trip home on a Friday afternoon so often that it’s become routine.
I climbed onto the 257 Horseshoe Bay Express around 3:45 at the corner of Georgia and Burrard. Being a summer Friday, the bus was already packed so I knew it wouldn’t be a fun ride to Horseshoe Bay. As it rumbled towards the Stanley Park causeway, instead of speeding up, the bus started slowing down. And then it stopped completely just like all the other vehicles. Upon looking out the window, we saw that those in front of us were stopped and getting out of their cars to inspect something.
As it turns out, a bus and small car had collided head-on just metres into the Stanley Park causeway. All the cars waiting alongside of us began u-turning, one-by-one, and heading back downtown and presumably to the Second Narrows Bridge. Most of us passengers lingered, trying to decide whether we should wait, turn around and go home or find another way to get to Horseshoe Bay. The thought occurred to me to just walk back to my apartment, but then I realized I’d be missing out on puppy searching with my aunt and the BBQ with my mom, and I knew that I had to find a way to Horseshoe Bay.
There were two guys in their early 20s (who actually knew each other but weren’t travelling together) from Nanaimo that were also headed to the ferries. The circumstances forged a “united bond” between myself, Robin and Joel, and we decided to figure out a way there together. Truth be told, had I been forced to find a way to Horseshe Bay on my own, I probably would’ve given up.
The bus driver told us he’d turn around and take us to the seabus so we could find a bus to Park Royal and then to Horseshoe Bay. Traffic was thick downtown so the driver suggested we get out at Burrard and take the skytrain to Waterfront Station. We scurried underground and onto the train only to find that, at the moment we boarded, the skytrain broke down. By now we, along with the others who were headed the same way, were starting to find humour in the situation. Our only choice was to haul ass to Waterfront on foot.
From there, I am so happy to say that the rest of the trip was seamless. A bit of a wait at the seabus didn’t put us off, but found connecting buses to Park Royal and then on to Horseshoe Bay quite easily, and got to board the ferry as soon as we arrived at the terminal. Tom Selleck was on the ferry? Yes, that is a question. I had a quick drive home with my mom and Bruce Cockburn and took time to reflect on the hours between the time I left work and the time I got home.
True, it was high-stress, somewhat tiring and made me wonder if it was worth it to go home for a quick weekend. However, the truth of the matter is that it was worth it. I am lucky enough to actually be at home with my family. I am lucky that I actually got to eat dinner with new friends on the ferry. I am lucky that I got to have a warm shower and a cosy bed to climb into when I fell tired. A bus driver somewhere probably suffered a sleepless night knowing that a collision she was involved in ended another life. A family somewhere had to hear the news that their grandmother wouldn’t be eating dinner with them that night. I know it’s cliche of me to reflect in such a way, but there’s nothing unreal about the humility and vulnerability it causes you to feel.
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We need to cherish every moment, be it with family, friends or even your own solitude. It can all leave in a blink of an eye…