On Thursday we were driving around and we stopped for gas at the station in Lantzville. Now, Lantzville is a small town, but I didn’t realize how small. First you have to understand that the gas station in Lantzville is full service only. You can’t pump your own gas. The station would need a different license for self service, and being a small gas station they haven’t sprung for the extra cost. They also are still using the same pumps that were installed in the 1970’s so pay at the pump isn’t available either. Anyway, the lady (Carmen) came out and filled the car while she and Marsha chatted. When the tank was full Marsha looked over at me. She doesn’t even have to say anything. When it comes to car stuff, if it involves money or getting smelly flammable liquids on your hands, it’s my job. I got out and went into the office.

Anyway, inside at the counter the lady and I chat while the debit card processed.
Her: “So, how are you doing?”
Me: “Oh fine. By the way, I’ll be bringing my car in for an oil change soon.”
Her: “Oh, OK.”
Me: “Yeah, I just discovered that it’s a couple thousand past when it was do. With the plays and such I’ve put on a lot more miles than I realized.”
Her: “Yes, that happens. Do you believe in alternative healing?”
OK now, this completely tripped me up. When you’re talking about cars, there’s pretty much only one way to do something. A broken part? Replace it. Low fluid? Fill it. Dirty oil? Change it. It’s one of the things I like about cars. Things are what you expect them to be. There’s no alternative way to fix a car. Putting crystals on the hood will just scratch the paint. It’ll have no effect on a bad starter motor. Herbs on the mirror may make it smell nice but it won’t run any better. The closest thing to alternative healing in a car is synthetic motor oil. And most of the time even that’s not really an improvement.
Me: “What?”
Her: “Alternative treatments, for your cancer.”
At this point she launches into a long discussion of alternative cancer therapies and the benefits of aboriginal and alternative therapies while I nod and smile and wonder how the heck she knew all about my illness. After going on for a while she writes down the name and phone number of one Ralph Ross. He’s in Courtney and, as you might have picked up from his name, is a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. Back in the car I asked Marsha if she’d been talking about me. She hadn’t. I thought that maybe Barbara said something but no, she hadn’t either. Maybe someone from the clinic mentioned something, or maybe the pharmacy. Or one of the people I work with, but I haven’t really told anyone in the office why I’ve been out.

Or maybe it’s just a small town and everyone knows everyone else’s business.

This week we had visitors. Our nephew Chris and his wife Liza stayed with us for a few days. The weather wasn’t the greatest. It rained a lot, but that gave us time for other activities. We shopped, ate, visited half a dozen grocery stores in search of Penguin Cookies, ate, went to Cathedral Grove between rainstorms, ate, wandered around Coombs, ate, and when that was done we ate some more. In between eating and visiting grocery stores we tried a good number of Vancouver Island craft beers, or Kraft beers, after a few...gallons...I wasn’t sure any more. It was a nice few days. The highlight? My discovery of fish tacos. OK I admit it, my vegetarian persona is on hiatus during the recovery phase.  This has allowed me to discover a couple of great dishes, among them fish tacos. Thin strips of deep fried halibut, lettuce, veggies, and salsa wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was wonderful. After I’m fully recovered I might have to keep sea food on my diet just so I can have fish tacos. Maybe next summer I think I want to try it with Northern or Walleye.

The big news though is that I’m doing well enough to go back to work next week. Even better, after talking with my boss they’re moving me to a new position. No more IT stress. I’ll be in Quality Control. This includes checking parts, testing completed robots prior to shipping, writing (and rewriting) manuals, process instructions, and other documentation, as well as a few other things. I’ll still be doing a bit of IT related stuff (more and more of our systems are computer controlled) but no more weekend calls because a server fried, no more all nighters fighting with a software upgrade, no more panicked calls because the whole company has lost a critical system and I’m responsible for fixing it. Nope, from now I’m on regular hours with a job I can put down at the end of the day and go home.

It’s a good thing.

Doug & Marsha

PIX: Love Victoria Humour, Victoria Harbour Seals are friendly, an arty shot from Cathedral Grove, and the creepiest mushroom you've ever seen.