(Copyright @SEC2011. All rights reserved. This story and all stories on this blog may not be reproduced in any manner, without the expressed permission of the author.)
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(a story of my Grandfather coming to Vancouver ....)
Gregor - A New Life
Gregor was the last child of four siblings born in Kiev, Russia, in 1901. In 1902, prior to the birth of Olga, the family migrated to ruralSaskatchewan, Canada. The family grew by another seven children in Canada. They had set up their home on acreage with the assistance of the Black Cossacks. With eleven children, Papa had lots of help on the "Farm". They tended to the livestock and the cultivation of their small and organic gardens. Though each child attended grades 1 thru 5 at the small church in town, they all came home to help out on the Farm. Papa and Mama had a good life; far better than what was happening inRussia.
One blistering summer day in 1916, Gregor was sitting on the back porch, taking a break from their chores with his siblings. While he was drinking his water, and the beads of sweat rolled down his back, he muttered, "Is this all there is?" He thought about the last few years of working so hard on the farm, through rain, sleet, snow (and lots of that) to this blistering mid-summer heat. Although he didn't mind the physical challenges, he felt stunted and wondered what else was out there in the world to explore. When he went back to work after his break, he thought about what he could do with his life and the plan started to form.
A week later, as every morning, Gregor was awoken by the sound of the 5:15 am train pulling its whistle as it crossed a nearby junction. He lay there, listening to his brothers sleeping. He looked around memorizing the dark room, his brothers' frames, and the way the morning light was softly creeping into their room.
Gregor could smell that the coffee pot was brewing. He got out of bed and dressed for his day. He had packed before bed, a small backpack with his few possessions; some clothing, his Jewish Bible, a rolled cap and an extra pair of boots. Down the wooden stairs he went, with his packback in hand. He left it in the hallway, and went into the scrubbed clean kitchen. There at the large wooden table were his parents and his two older brothers, drinking their coffee and eating their oats before heading out for the chores of the day. The younger ones would head out to the garden in a few hours.
The clock showed 5:45. Papa and his older sons got up, putting on wide-brimmed hats, rolling a handkerchief up to tie around their necks and an extra button up shirt to help keep the sun off their bodies. Gregor hung back, as Papa and his brothers left, and he turned to his mother. Mama's eyes narrowed, wondering what Gregor was doing. Gregor stepped forward, and hugged his mother. "Mama ... I .... " he started to say. Mama knew. She hugged him close and let him go. "May God speed you, Gregor." she whispered. She turned away to hide her tears from him.
Gregor walked down the hall with a lump in his throat, picked up his backpack and went out the front door. He walked down the dirt and gravel lane towards the train line, not looking back, as he had no courage to do so. He did not see his mother walking onto the front porch, watching her son walk out of their lives, and into his own life.
Gregor walked towards the train line. Finally after a good 40 minutes, he finally arrived at the train line. He had no idea which side of the train tracks went east or which went west. He stood thinking. Looking down the line each way, there was no train in sight, yet. He decided he would take whichever train arrived first, and fate was left in the train's route. The heat was starting to rise, and the world was bright. Down the train line, he could see finally, a train approaching. He had to move over to the other line. He had no idea where he was going, except that he was going to the last stop. Thankfully, the train was not going full speed as it had livestock on it. As it rumbled past him, he started to run with the train, getting ready to jump on.
Jump!
Hanging on for dear life!
He climbed into the carrier for cows. For four days and nights the train travelled across the Canadian landscape, stopping only to change the driver. The air had changed from the scorching heat of the prairies, to the cooler air of the Rockies, and then, inching slowly into the moist heated air of British Columbia. The train pulled to a long stop in Abbotsford, releasing most of its cattle to farmers and auctioneers there. Onward the train resumed, until it found its last stop in Vancouver.
When the train stopped, the young teenager that had started the trip, emerged into the light of the city, no longer a boy. As Gregor looked around, his startling bright blue eyes caught sight of his new life ahead of him.
On the corner of Main and Terminal, was a newspaper shack selling the daily papers to the businessmen that walked by. Gregor spoke to the man in the newspaper shack about a job. Gregor explained that he had just arrived to Vancouver with no place to stay or a job, and any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. The newspaper vendor told him that there was at another location of the newspaper vendors on Granville Street. The man suggested that he should go by and speak to the owner. The man also gave him directions to a rooming house, close to the Granville Street newspaper shack, on West Georgia Street.
First things first. Gregor needed to find a job, in order to pay for a room. The money he had in an envelope between the pages of his Jewish Bible was only $7 that he had saved by not tithing the Church on Sundays. He figured God would understand that he needed it to start his life. The owner of the newspaper shack on Granville happily gave Gregor the morning job, as he hated getting up so early. Gregor was thrilled to know he would soon replenish his money stash. Confidently, Gregor went to Mrs. Ruby's Rooming House on West Georgia and secured a small room with a single cot that was in a very clean house. There was no charge for use of the indoor bathroom, but there was a charge for food, if required.
That evening after a filling and delicious stew dinner made by Mrs. Ruby, Gregor went to his room. The white cotton sheets were stiff but smelled like they had been dried on the clothesline. Gregor lay there, happy and excited and bone tired. He had not slept much since leaving the Farm. The light in the room was fading into a soft orangey glow as the sun set. He closed his eyes, and softly said out loud, "Good night, Mama."
Gregor's new life had started.
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Stolen
A reflection on a lost time
Today is a cool October day,
One that would have been perfect
For a stolen afternoon.
Perhaps a drive to our favourite beach,
Where we would talk, laugh and hold hands,
To enjoy some stolen time.
Or maybe, to have found ourselves in a large white bed,
Rolling under the covers until the clock has found five,
Having enjoyed more stolen time.
A few years ago, during a stolen afternoon,
When the sun was shining and the breeze was brisk,
I remember how you stole my heart.
Our stolen moments suddenly ceased.
As those times were now reclaimed by the other,
Who originally had her heart stolen, before me.
Sadly, on this cool October day, I reminisce.
I miss our stolen love.
I miss my stolen heart.
(inspired by Wraith ~ someone I still miss, 2011)
Words from A Far
From across an ocean and over the land, words touch a heart.
He knew his words
Would have an impact,
Deliberate and
Arousing.
He knew his words
Would find their mark.
Deliberately and
Sensual.
Like a predator with his prey,
He was
Deliberate and
Decisive.
He didn’t know his words
Had found their way into my heart,
Open and
Loving.
He didn’t know his words
Mad
Giving and
Wanting.
He knew his last words
Would have a lasting impact,
Deliberate and
Final.
(inspired & written with ElitfromNorth in mind, March 2011)
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