A Gift From The Heat Wave.

Today has been hot...part of a heat wave that Vancouver is going through right now.
I went downtown this mid-afternoon. On these trips I usually include a trip to the
water...but decided to head home after the reason for my trip was done...with the heat pushing me to do so. Close to 9 p.m. tonight...I went for a neighbourhood walk. It was still very warm. Through the years in Canada...as I've walked the evening streets...I've always wondered where the people were. In Georgetown...Guyana...where I spent my teenage years...you always knew where the people were...you could hear them through your window as they went by...or gathered nearby to socialize...
you could hear their laughter...or teasing...or swearing...or giving and receiving verbal abuse. Added to this were traffic sounds...with the braying of donkeys...and the clatter of the wheels of the carts they were pulling. All in all...making for a vital street life...which when absent from your life...you really notice. Tonight...on my walk I was reminded of all this...as I passed families hanging out in their front yards or steps or verandahs. One man sitting on his steps actually nodded a hello my way. I cannot remember having experienced this before...in Canada...perhaps it's just that I've lived in the wrong neighbourhoods. The heat might make some people uncomfortable but I welcomed this wonderful gift of the heat wave we're in...and headed home feeling hopeful.............Quester.