July 4

Happy Birthday to the United Mistakes of America. I didn’t realize it was Independence Day down south until I typed it out at the top of the page. I can’t help but wish my American friends the very best on this most tumultuous of birthdays. I also would like to hope for their best in the future. A future very much clouded by viruses both human and microscopic. Viruses we can only guess at what they will do. Will 2020 go down in the history books as a turning point in human history? Or merely a bump in the continuing road of consumerism and consumption. Happy birthday to the self-proclaimed greatest country on earth.

Now that’s over with I can write about my day.

A day that started off like too many others; late… I slept in; I thought my 9:00 am tour was canceled. I was a dumbass and didn’t double check when I went to bed. We stayed out late last night enjoying live music and the company of friends. I rolled over and snuggled in tight with my babe, we held each other, willing the morning to stay away. Relenting we arose to greet the day. Then chaos struck. I checked my computer to see where my eleven am trip was. I had a 9:00 am tour! It was 830.

Late for my boat tour! I scrambled to get to the dock, it was not the greatest way to start the day. I jumped on my time machine and raced down Highway 97 toward the bridge. I poured on the throttle and maneuvered through traffic. A speeding ticket would not help me get there on time. I edged my machine willing myself to get to the boat. In my sights appeared the back end of an RCMP truck. My reaction was immediate and the nose of my bike dove quickly as I grabbed the brakes.

Breathe!

I slowed myself and relegated myself to arrive when I did, I would have to make it up to my awaiting guests.

At the dock, I pulled the cover off and threw my bag into Serendipity. I had a big day ahead and was excited to be out on the water. I pulled my vessel away from its moorage and set off. The lake was getting busy already, even at 9 in the morning. It was a beautiful day and it was clear the city was ready to erupt, ready to explode with energy, people wanted to get out. The weather lately has kept them hemmed up much more than Covid has. I brought my boat up onto plane and cruised across the lake to pick up my guests waiting patiently on their dock.

I kept my distance from the people on the boat. Immediately I got the joy of taking people on the water. The kids were very excited to get on the tube. Pure joy filled the boat as we flew the kids over the water. Parent and child connected with their eyes in a shared joy and exhilaration; mixed with a trace of fear. We had a thrilling hour pulling them across the lake and back. It was a memorable experience which we will get to repeat all week. They are coming back.

In my rush to leave I failed to bring lunch, a further reason to berate myself for being a dumbass. I knew I couldn’t make it until 3:00 pm so I texted my wife: 911, I had a tour until 1 pm and then another one at 1 pm with no time to eat. She showed up with a burger and fries at the boat at 1:00. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I owe her big time!

Rob met me at the dock, we cleaned the boat then switched places. The lake was busy, boats cruised everywhere, the launch was packed. The beach was also packed. The manager from the restaurant was on the dock delivering a pizza. He shook his head at the beach. No social distancing there, he sighed. I smiled, he was right. The beach is busy, the lake is busy. The streets are busy. Summer in the Okanagan is here and it’s busy.

Busy is a good thing for my tour boat. For tourism, it is a boon, a much-needed respite from the doom that pervaded over our valley for the last three months. Will there be a price to pay? Will we be faced with an outbreak like they have down south? Or have we dodged the bullet by what we did in the last three months.

I sit on my deck at home and listen to a cacophony of birds chirping in the trees. It’s like I am seated in the middle of a sanctuary, the clarity of the sky and the sounds in the air fill me with confidence in nature. We are in a healthy ecosystem; we will survive and we will thrive.