This week my good friend Ty or (Mr. Tee Y) as the Ugandans called him - came to visit. Ty and I got tight in youth group because we laughed at the same stupid stuff while managing to still take things deep. If you've ever seen our grad videos, you know the stupid I speak of. Ty had never been to the Island which is why he asked "which airport do I fly into - Vancouver or Victoria" and "how long does it take to drive across the island, 1hr?" His ignorance made the prospects of us having a swell time much higher.
We only had 2 days so the pressure was on. Its a curious thing how when entertaining guests we're willing to do all sorts of amazing things we don't ever seem to do on our own, when its just us. We started by canoeing in the Ocean. As we set out Ty asked if I had ever done this before (not that he was nervous). I said yes because I had been canoeing just not exactly here, in the unpredictable and often dangerous Ocean. 2 hours later we rowed back in having been entertained by a curious sea lion, passing jelly fish and splendid views. We also managed to talk about our women and how lucky they are. I mean we. We arrived home just as the kids were getting back from school. Ty is one of the few truly gifted 20 something with kids that I know and so it took all of 3 min before they loved him as their own. We decided to take this energy on the road and found ourselves swimming, sliding, and chicken fighting in the local pool until supper time. After the kids were in bed we spent the rest of the night laughing ourselves sick at old grad videos and stories from days gone by.
The next (and last) day Ty came with me on a lawn consultation (what a professional) and then by some small miracle we were able to borrow a full set of hockey equipment and play drop in hockey at Fuller Lake arena. I name the arena because rumor has it the Russians will be using it as their Olympic practice facility next month. Greatest player in the world practicing at my local rink. Anyways, hockey is one sport Ty and I had never played together so it was awesome. He's a magician out there with his passes which explains how even I was able to score, conveniently in the final minute. In the afternoon we met Angie's family at EVE's Park, an undiscovered jewel just east of Crofton. There we witnessed 300+ year old Douglas Firs still stretching for the heavens. After, we spent the rest of the day drinking coffee, honey brown and re-watching our stupidity. Later that night we watched Blood Diamond, Ty's favorite movie. Angie and I had never seen it before. WOW best describes Dicaprio's performance and the film's message. Conflict free diamonds folks, when buying, always make sure.
Ty left the next morning having recieved a full Island Experience. Aquaintances are dime a dozen in this world but great friends are hard to find. Thanks for the visit buddy. See you in the Spring.
John
The paradox of insular language
3 years ago
