so why were we at the races?

I'm bouncing back and forth between BC and the UP this morning, which is fitting in that my hometown and Conrad's hometown are similar in ways and odd in that I'm in a hotel room in Makena, HI. A blog entry on BC just done, now to return to last Monday's teaser about us being at truck races last weekend.

Why? It's a simple reason, and one we're very proud of: Dan Beauchamp. Don't recognize the name? I hope one day you will for his accomplishments at racing (and beyond, too!), but we know him foremost as Conrad's nephew.

You've seen Dan's older brother and sister in law in this blog, and Dan has made an appearance, too. Conrad has been able to watch the races, but this time was my first opportunity. Making it more worthwhile was that the races were at Bark River, Dan's hometown venue, and his parents and other family were there.

You see, I still don't know anything about trucks, cars, buggies, whatever. It's not how I'm wired. Kind of the same way that I just don't get baseball, football, or hockey (but, surprisingly, I do get basketball, sort of). Anytime I go see such events live, though, it's different. There's an energy that sucks you in, and for the few hours we had at Bark River, it was the most fun thing we could possibly have been doing on a sunny August Sunday.

Dan made the podium that day, finishing third (after jumping out to an early lead but then suffering a spin coming out of a tight turn). Making us even more proud was how he was very publicly raining money for and awareness of the fight against a rare disease called Prader-Willi Syndrome. Dan's little cousin suffers from it, and it was genuinely touching to see all the racing fans wearing t-shirts from the information booth and then to have Dan share the podium with his cousin. After the local news interviewed him, there was time for a photo with his deservedly beaming Mom (Conrad's sister, Karen).

Some photos, then, of the day, the race site, Dan's truck in action, and the awards after. I hope we can get another visit to a race in - likely not this year given all that's going on with us, but one day again. And again. Oh no, am I mildly hooked on this? With Dan's growing success, I certainly have good reason!

my Terrace life (more or less) in 12 photos

Backing up once again - I'm way behind on blogging thanks to hectic days and nights and more travel since the reunion weekend. Right now? I'm on Maui. Conrad is presenting at a conference here this morning, so I've joined him for a few days. Badly needed ones, in fact. Don't laugh.

Anyway, while he's off doing engineer activities (and let me add that I am immensely proud that he has been invited to speak at this conference) for the morning, I'm going to catch up on blogging, shop a bit, then meet him at lunchtime for an afternoon of laziness on the beach our hotel overlooks.

So, backing up, as I said. The recent reunion weekend was the first time I'd been back in my hometown in 5 years. Much has changed, but I was still able to re-show Conrad a number of the significant Terrace landmarks in my twentyish years there.

We moved to Terrace from Calgary in January, 1976. Yes, I am that old. I was midway through kindergarten, and we lived in this house we rented on Loen. I think it was later that year we moved to a newly-built house on Scott and lived there for most of the rest of my years in the town. Dad, meanwhile, eventually bought and settled into a home on Thomas after he and Mum split up.

From kindergarten to grade 3, it was a walk (or bike ride) a few blocks east to E.T. Kenney Primary School. I can recall my teachers' names, the lay out of the school at the time, the really cool playground that was built partway through my time there.

From grades 4 to 7 it was Clarence Michiel Elementary School for us, located on the same big parcel of land as E.T. Kenney. More teacher names, few playground apparatuses (hey, spell check accepts that!), the weird folding three-speed bike I used to ride to school.

No photos of Skeena Junior Secondary, where we spent grades 8 to 10. Since I left Terrace the school district has torn down the old Skeena and rebuilt a shiny new one. The new building has no meaning to me, and while we did stop to take shots of The Bench from the clear space of Skeena's palying fields, I didn't want shots of the school. We did, however, take photos of the R.E.M. Lee Theatre, home to the Skeena theatre arts productions. Conrad and I share a bit of high school drama geek background, it seems.

Next to the R.E.M. Lee (and everyone used to call it the Rem-Lee Theatre - Jeph, you'll appreciate that if you read this) was the Senior Secondary: Caledonia. Home of the Kermodes. Not an attractive building, I admit, especially not from this shot of one end of it.

In grade 11, I started an after school job of shelving books at the Terrace Public Library.
And look what THAT has bloomed into. Funny to think of now - I think I would vehemently proclaim back then that I would never become a librarian.

In adult life I worked several years at Don Diego's. In fact, the renovated building was not my experience for most of my years there. But when Conrad and I first dropped round to say hello to Annalee and Dick, the kitchen was sooooo familiar. We had lunch with Annalee the next day, sitting up at Table A. Yes, I can still remember the table numbering. Maybe I should have stayed a few extra days just to pitch in a shift or two in the kitchen or out front.

I also worked part time as an assistant swim coach (on top of spending my own time paddling back and forth in the pool), and built a nice circle of friends and activities based on the Aquatic Centre. That, too, has been renovated in the time since I left. A 3-foot shallow end? Did we really swim in that? Wow.

It's not a big town, it's not a glamorous one. I see headlines mentioning Terrace in the Vancouver or Toronto papers only when a particularly heinous crime, horrible accident, or immense weather system warrant it. All in all, though, it was as good a place to come from as any, and I hope you never catch me disparaging my roots in the town undeservedly.

truck racing: a glimpse

Yes, you read that entry title correctly. Truck racing.

Now look, I'm not the most self-aware person around, I know, but I can recognize a few things about me:

1. I am a snob. A food snob. A culture snob. A Canadian snob. A west-coast snob. Snob snob snob snob snob. There, I said it.

2. I know bugger-all about cars, trucks, vans, motor vehicles. Four wheels? Check. Steering wheel? Check. If it's an automatic, I can drive it, in theory. It's my Dad's favourite joke to ask me after every vacation I take what type of car we rented. Invariably, my answer is a colour.

So how did we spend a few hours yesterday? At a typical all-American, small-town (though not necessarily) pursuit: off-road racing. Yes, I spent three or so hours at the Bark River course near Escanaba, MI, watching trucks and other vehicles vroom around a dirt track.

FREAKIN' FUN! No, I'm not being snarky.

I'll blog more tomorrow - I need to get to bed a little earlier tonight. I leave you with a photo that will explain why, perhaps. If you don't get it, stay tuned...

pork chop

After a weekend in the UP (yes, to be blogged later this week), a quiet night at home. dinner was a simple pork chop braised with onions and garlic in white wine and chicken broth. The braising liquid was seasoned with paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. I served the chop atop some broccoli rabe, topped it with some of the onions, then spooned over that some of the reduced braising liquid. Tasty!

reunion thoughts: the gentlemen

How funny - other than Dion, I don't have a lot of photos of the guys from the reunion, and perhaps I don't have too many more thoughts to share. Which sounds rather biting when it's not meant to. Nor is it indicative of me hanging out only with girls in high school. I think, rather, that some of the guys I might have spent time catching up with (Aaron, Adam, Harpal, a few others) weren't there. That left a small selection of other guys not yet mentioned.

Warning: Dion is in some of these photos. It's unavoidable. And I doubt he will mind. No matter - anyone who can lug a bottle of a nice Pinot Noir many thousands of miles to share only with us gets plenty of space in the blog.

Let's start with the person at the reunion I may have known the longest, Jack. Since kindergarten, in fact. Well, halfway through. My family moved from Calgary to Terrace in January of 1976, so I began school in the bigger city. Jack was in my class then, and through high school we often worked together on the annual, student council, and other activities. His wife Preet was with him, adding to the tally of stunning (well-educated, interesting) women in attendance. We hope to see him in the Lower Mainland again before too long.



I can't recall when I first met Ben. Now a successful furniture store owner, he was also on our plane to Vancouver the next day. It was then, even after catching up at the bar two nights in a row, that we really learned of his love and experience with travel. We hope he's having a great time right now in London and Morocco.


James was the only other person than Dion (and me, but I was manager, not a player) of the basketball team to put in an appearance. We didn't chat much, I am sorry to say. I was always fond of his family, too, and I hope they are well. Dion, for his part, was chagrined to find that James is now taller than Dion.

I think I've known Allan since about grade 2, both from school and church. Curiously, he's someone with whom I have a very tenuous Chicago connection: his older brother David moved here right about when I did, and we always intended to get together while he lived here. No such luck, but I did have lunch with Allan's mother on one occasion and with his father on another. In any case, Allan is another classmate whose great success adds to the lustre of the entire class. He has a degree, his own company, a terrific (and, it must be said, gorgeous) wife, children, and two years of living in Italy working on construction of a theme park under his belt. He, too, lives in the Lower Mainland - not far from Jack, it seems - and given especially how much Conrad enjoyed sitting chatting with Michelle, Allan's wife, while we were all flitting around from classmate to classmate, I hope we get a chance to see them back west one day again.



Finally, a shot of the spouses. Ever patient with all of us. I hope most of all that the loved ones we dragged to the event had a good time. I think it was overwhelming for Conrad the first night, but the second night he relaxed into it and now hopes we see a number of these new/old friends in years ahead.

reunion thoughts: the ladies

Gentlemen, sorry to tell you this, but the ladies outshone you all at the reunion. No, you didn't look badly - a few of you (forgive me, but I AM gay) looked just fine, truly. But golly, were the women from our high school grad class stunning. I'm sure they were beautiful girls - I might have been too busy looking at a phys ed teacher or two instead - but now? Now? WOW! You know, I'm what we jokingly refer to as pure, but even I could appreciate how lovely my former classmates were. Was it some maturity? Was it how evidently contented they all seemed? I don't know, but even I could delight in it.

For example, Michelle. Formerly Mishl, as I recall. I've known her since we were in grade 5 together and some later days waiting tables with her at Don Diego's. Michelle's Dad is my alltime favourite teacher (grade 7) to boot. She was radiant. We had a great chat, and she had even lengthier conversation with Conrad about common interests in woodworking. Yes, woodworking. Michelle was one of about 5 dozen classmates who sent me a capsule bio for a display at the reunion, and hers was one of the best. A "conventional" education/career in biology fieldwork and teaching balanced against a great passion and skill at cabinet-making. We talked some about that, and I really had to respect how she has incorporated both into her life.

Nadina, in the purple above (and I'm really kicking myself for having no photos of her in the green outfit she had on the night before because she looked FANTASTIC in that. Why yes, I am gay, I think we established that already), should have graduated in 1987. A year spent in foreign exchange knocked her back to our class, and I hope we made her feel welcome. In high school, I socialized a good bit with her friends from the class of '87 as well as with her sister, class of '89 (I believe). Before the reunion, my Mum asked if Naomi, Nadina's sister, would be there - she still (warmly) remembers a lunchtime episode wherein Naomi was too drunk to convincingly go to class, and we had to bring her back to my house. No drunk stories for Nadina, and I'm sure she's not broken up about that.

Oh look, Dion - again! Lots of pictures of him from the reunion, but let's focus on the woman with him: Shawnee (the other man in the photo is her husband - and here's where I embarrass myself - Craig/Greg). Shawnee was one of the brains in school. I think I can get away with saying that because supposedly I was one as well. Post-high school, Shawnee was known to me as the classmate who did skydiving. Not anymore, apparently. She now has a great job with a winery (I'm deeply envious of that) and a terrific family. She looks wonderful, all the more so when you know that only about three months ago she had a baby. I'm in awe of her, and I was thrilled to see her there.

Pam (in red, above). I'll get this out of the way now: it was grade 11 or 12 French class when, in my infinite wit and wisdom, I told Pam that she was pretty but that she had no chin. I rue those words. In my defense, Pam told me, when I asked her, that I wasn't attractive but that I was interesting looking. She then added that I have blue eyes.

[sigh]

Forgive me Pam, please, at last. Please. Because really, you were, to me, one of the best looking of our grad class, and to see you on the Friday night, I still hold to that opinion. Between her career as a school administrator and her family life, she's got a full plate and obviously balancing it all very well.

I didn't get enough time to talk with Laura (on the left in the photo with Conrad and Pam), someone I've known since about grade 4 when we were in Bluebacks together. She's married now, and that's all I know. Poor of me. I am sorry Laura, I wish I'd chatted more and found out more.

I've mentioned Becca before. Historically speaking, we've known each other since our Blueback days, around about grade 3. Back then she was very blonde, and her hair would turn green from the chlorine. Becca didn't simply have a huge hand in organizing this reunion. She was also a key person in grade 12 for organizing the grad activities, and after the all-night party at the reunion, we all headed for her mother's place for a big pancake breakfast. It's been especially rewarding re-connecting with her, and I hope that the distance from Bellingham to meeting up with us in Vancouver is not too great in the future. Becca, thank you.

Gina didn't attend the reunion, but she did show up at the bar for a different function on the Friday night. She glowed.Look at her! Her husband was a classmate as well - a rare case of intra-class romance that has held up over the decades. Good to see her.

I asked Dion over dinner on Sunday in Vancouver whom he thought were the most beautiful women among our former classmates. Rachael's name was quick to his tongue, and I agree, utterly. Curiously, Rachael is someone I'd seen within the last decade, quite by chance. At the time, she was working at Re-Bar in Victoria, a restaurant I've long liked. Now, with her chef husband, she is elsewhere in that city. I'll have to look her up when next I'm there. What struck me was how serene she was among all the goings-on. Serene, lovely.



The other woman in that last photo is Lee - I think I've known her since our days at Clarence Michiel as well. Another new-ish (three months or so) mother - a good year for babies in our class. And to look at her, you'd not know - she's in wonderful already. Because it was her first time apart from the baby, she stayed only for short periods of time. No matter - we got to say hello and see that each of us was doing well, living happily. I love that she lived a mile from Adam in London (she still lives there - our class has scattered a bit).

I have photos of the men, of course, but they'll have to wait - we have a jaunt up to the UP after work tomorrow, so some packing needs doing before bed time.

reunion thoughts: regular contacts

Not everyone at the reunion was such a long-lost contact. Were I still living in Terrace, I'm sure I'd see or hear from a number of my former classmates with some regularity. Just the same, though, in recent years at least, there have been a couple of classmates whom I've kept in touch with: Dion and Liza.

Sorry, they're not a couple. Dion is happily married, but he was flying solo at the reunion. Minna - his truly gorgeous and successful wife - could not join him. We missed her. Several people asked me and Conrad about her, and of course we could only say good things. We look forward to seeing her later this year, we hope.

But back to Dion. Here's someone Conrad and I think the world of. Dion is such great company, and I'm so proud of all the success he's had in his career and personal life. A great job with Kohler, a past in semi-pro rugby, a lovely home in a good Auckland neighbourhood, a great dog. All that, plus Minna. And as if that wasn't enough, he had a bottle of Central Otago Pinot Noir to share with us in his room before we came down to dinner on Saturday. I've known Dion since he moved to Terrace from New Zealand and was placed in my Grade 4 class. I can still recall our teacher, Mrs Hamilton, trying to break him of the habit of saying "nought" instead of "zero". How funny to think back on that.

In the last photo, he's had a very good time (wink, wink), but Conrad - I swear - was sober. Caught mid-laugh is all. In the second photo, Dion is with me and Steve, Liza's husband. Which brings us round to her quite nicely.

I've not known Liza quite so long as Dion, and she was still pronouncing her name "Lisa" when we first knew each other. I always thought she was sophisticated and worldly in our small town, and my impression didn't change when I met up with her in adult life over lunch in Toronto, back in about 2002. Or was it 2003? 2003, the summer of SARS, was when Conrad and I met up with her and Steve over dinner, and we hope to repeat that this fall when we're up there for a wedding. But Liza? Still beautiful, seems to be happy, both of which are delightful to me.

I do think it a bit funny that I have more photos of Steve than of Liza from the two evenings, though...

:-)

return dinner: mussels

We had NO groceries in the fridge when we got home Monday night. No, scratch that: Tuesday morning. 2:00 AM almost when we got in the door. Jewel may be open at that time, but we're decidedly not buying proteins from there, thank you. So then, it was off to Whole Foods on the way home from work yesterday, and a need to make up a reasonably quick dinner. Not long after we got home, I had a couple of bowls of mussels in a thick tomato, saffron, and basil sauce set out before us. Ah, for the days when we used to mop up meals like this with good, tasty bread.

A nice meal with a French rose and a handsome man out on the balcony!