A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

My sister's birthday is tomorrow. I guess it'd be hard to forget as it falls on that quintessential, North-American spring celebration of large rodents called Groundhog Day. At this point, my sister has seen many of them. Alas, I fear my baby sister is no a baby anymore! Strangely, the seven years of difference used to seem expansive. Now, however, it hardly seems so. For another year and a half we'll both be celebrating birthdays in our fourties. Then in July of 2009, I'll be leading the way forward into the next glorious battle of the war with the calendar.

I'm thinking about age not only due to Laurie's special day. At the moment, I'm typing this in the main library on the Burnaby campus of BCIT. It's interesting looking around and seeing all the kids. I guess I now consider anyone under thirty to be a kid. Some in this room are more recently out of high school and are still all lanky and acned. I can't help but wonder if simply being around younger people can affect one's attitude. I love the atmosphere in a college library now. I'm not so sure I used to when I, myself, had to prepare for projects and examinations. My, how times change!

The only picture I could think of that relates to today's topic, is this marmot we saw in a park just across the river from this apartment in 2005.

Labels: flora and fauna, Laurie

Although we can appreciate the various types of life on the planet, I think we can only love other mammals.

I am often surprised by the things on my 'D' drive. When Windows Vista arrives later this year, I'll probably replace my drives with a shiny new big one. I haven't done a fresh install for years and years.



This fellow was a resident at the Vancouver Aquarium. He wasn't a chameleon. To get this colour, I'd have had to be wearing my 1970's, mint-green leisure suit. I found this lizard among the photos taken when my sister visited Vancouver in 2003. Laurie, it's time to start planning another trip out here, isn't it?

Labels: Laurie, Vancouver

Hum ... I'm not the top of the class in mathematics. Let me see, though. I think this is a rather big birthday, isn't it Laurie?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Dear sister, we haven't changed much since 1969, have we?

Labels: Laurie

I found this final photo with the others of this week. Sitting on this ancient snowmobile are my sister, Laurie and cousin, Marti. Because I found this photo, I researched a bit about old snowmobiles on the Internet. It seems as if there were once many manufacturers.

I can even remember an old Diablo Rouge the neighbours, the Nielsens, had. It was like a Gravely with a seat and worked perfectly well pulling flying saucers around the abandoned railroad tracks and fields of Wendell flat. David was a daredevil too. It's a wonder we survived childhood.


This photo must've been taken on a winter on either side of yesterday's
dog days of summer. Still 1970's.

Labels: Laurie

Nowadays, my sister and I don't email often enough. I did, however, find this letter on my backup CD. It is proof that I used to write, back when the postal service was the only option. I'll include it here as it was at an interesting time of change in my life and in my sister's too.

I had quit working in Taif, Saudi Arabia about 6 months prior to this letter. I had immediately flown to Sri Lanka via Athens. After finding that a student visa wasn't going to work out for Jay, I reluctantly landed in Boston. My dad in New Hampshire had readied a Plymouth station wagon and we drove out west.

The destination was my friends, the Thomases who were living in Kent, Washington at the time. My father flew home. I stayed in Kent and searched for an apartment and lived for about three months practically on a runway at SeaTac. In this letter I was making arrangements to return to the other coast of Saudi Arabia and teach young Saudis in the Navy there.

---

Carriage House Apt# C1
3606 South 180th Street
Seattle, WA 98188
Telephone: (206) 241-7274

December 1, 1987


Dear Laurie,

I've never written a letter to Iowa before although I know that sounds rather ‘corny’. Aren't I just so funny?

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. And I'm sure you had a safe trip driving out there. How is everything?

For Thanksgiving I went with the gang down to Ocean Shores, WA. Did I tell you about it before? Joel, Lynne, their baby, Bret and his girlfriend spent the four-day weekend in a rented beach house. It was great. The weather was traditional Pacific Northwest. That means it was rather gray and it rained once. We all enjoyed ourselves. I think I ate and drank a little too much though.

I sent in my passport and other materials for the job in Saudi Arabia. I have been wondering if I'm making the right choice. But I'm not getting any younger and I'll have to get this traveling out of my system soon. This job sounds interesting because it is in a different part of the country. The city of Dammam is on the east coast, and not too far from Kuwait. Don't you think it might be fun watching all the boats going up and down the Persian Gulf? (Everyone I've told thinks I'm nuts.) But why not? I have had almost four months out here as vacation.

It will be a week's time before I hear anything about the job. It takes at least that long before the paperwork can be processed at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC. I'll be sure to keep you informed as soon as anything becomes definite. (And I have your phone number to call before I leave.)

You have got to sit down and write a letter to me and explain everything that is happening. (Neither of us can afford the telephone at this time!)

Dad sent a letter and told me how happy he was that you are getting this chance to go to Iowa. Isn't it funny, you never know how people are going to act. Even his life sounds as crazy as the rest of us. I think it will be good if he gets a chance to visit someplace far away. He has always had the right answers for everything. Maybe this will make him more open to new ideas.

I just wanted to send my greetings and remind you that I can write to you.

Your bro,

Labels: Bret, file archives, Joel, Laurie

We just went through the photos from the recent trip. Digital cameras are so flexible. Although there were over seven hundred files, the only ones we'll print are those which are to be mailed off to people. For example, whenever we rented a 3-wheel to see a historical or cultural site, we generally took a picture and copied down the driver's address. We promised to send a copy. Non-emailing relatives also need to view hardcopy prints.

Those pictures were among those which will appear on paper today. I just uploaded them in bulk to London Drugs Photo Station. Rather than having them mailed to the apartment, I chose to have them completed at my neighbourhood branch. They'll most likely be done in a few hours and the system will send me an email confirmation that they're ready to pick up.

If one still shoots on film, then we'll have to shout, "Dinosaur!" Laurie, are you listening?

Labels: camera, Laurie, Sri Lanka 2004

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY,
LAURIE

I'll never forget your birthday 'cause it's also Groundhog Day!
You are pretty old now, aren't you?

Labels: Laurie

This is Elizabeth and Chris.

They are my niece and nephew.

Labels: Laurie

Laurie, you should recognize this scene. Doesn't it seem a long time ago that you were visiting?

This apartment is on the tenth floor overlooking the Fraser River in New Westminster. There is still some industry up river, so barges with logs and working tugs regularly pass by. The apartment faces south, but for this picture, I was looking down river. Can you see the river-boat casino that's parked at the New Westminster Quay? Behind that, you should be able to see the Alex Fraser Bridge. The river splits into a north and south branch almost within view. The Fraser's waters enter the Strait of Georgia about 18 kilometers from here.

I took the picture just seconds ago:

Labels: balcony, Fraser River, Laurie, Quay

Laurie, if your modem is quick enough you can see a video of the Vancouver Aquarium. The day after you left I got my missing card from them in the mail.

Labels: Laurie