Gathering the Tribe

Thursday, June 12

After a couple of nights tenting it on my daughter in laws' Moms' property near the river, I have moved into digs at the Chilliwack  Travelodge.
Spent yesterday riding down to Bellingham with my two sons to be fitted out for wedding suits. As expected, I answered the border guard truthfully, which resulted in us being pulled over and our documents scrutinized.  Apparently you cannot tell the US border guards that you were hasselled for hitchiking in the states over 35 years ago without further investigation.

Gord driving us to Bellingham for the suit sizing....

 I guess being a boomer opens up the profiling computer to all sorts of questions about potential terrorism threats.  I have heard horror stories about the powers that the border control officers have, and also the far reaching impact of what I would characterize as misdemeanors and youthful indiscretions impacting one's ability to travel in North America.  Thanks, Mr. Harper, for sharing....

Unloaded about 6 months of hair and beard so that I would not overly embarass my family by appearing to be completely bushed.  Had a good conversations with the barber, who will also be DJ' ing at the wedding.  Now I know what a good barber can do with my hair and beard.  Funny how I had   thought "wham, bang, thank you man" was the norm, and that 8 minute haircuts did the trick.

Had a great time at a barbecue hosted by Gord's mom last night: good food and met the bridal party.  The bride and groom have  worked hard for their wedding day, and it looks like the weather will be great as well.

Post Wedding Practice Barbeque for Natalie and Gord...

 My Son the Groom...

 Gordon and a very good friend, mentor, and former teacher.  I am eternally gratefully for the attention, support and direction which this school teacher gave to Gord in his formative years.  He recognized all that is good with Gord and help to channel his energies, enthusiasm and creativity into worthwhile activities and interests.

Gord and his best man, who will be getting married next month.  I don't remember what finally made me quit smoking....


Talked to my niece in Armstrong, and she and her family are making their way to the wedding today.  I am looking forward to seeing all of them again. They are working hard to have a loving family, and my little grand nephew is a good candidate for my bike gang, although the age difference puts him out of the running for a couple more years.

I  understand that my sisters' bike is not running properly, so she and her husband are riding over in my nephews' truck.  I was looking forward to riding with them, and we will have to see about developing Plan  B.

My daughter and her band are having vehicle troubles in Clearwater, so I am hoping that they are able to make it to Kamloops and find a rental rig so that they can get to Chiliwack this evening.

We have not had that many opportunities to celebrate and get together in the past few years, and I am really looking forward to seeing my Family in one place.  I understand that there will be a chance of Family Pics after the wedding tomorrow, and I treasure those kind of shots.  Often times folks complain  about being photographed, but we need to remember that is where the albums, slide-shows and memories come from.  My son created a slide show for his wedding that brought tears to me: there were pictures that his Mom had kept which brought forward a flood of memories and emotions about being a Dad and trying my best to make up for not being there for my kids..photos sometimes serve to remind us that not all of the times are bad, and those points in one's life need to be acknowledged too.

When I am able to, I want to get at our family tree, and I also want to get at the boxes of still photos that  were given to me by my Mom.  I still have rolls of super 8 movies, as well as other media that I believe need to be sorted and become part of my children's heritage.  I know that this generation views  the world differently, both figuratively as well as technically, but I think that capturing snippets of time, space and emotion is part of understanding who we are, where we have been, and how life events weave the tapestry that we call Life.