Vancouver Island, BC
Last night I dreamed of Smugglers Cove
The seabirds all were wheeling
Out on the riptide past Discovery Isle
Where killer whales come stealing
Where killer whales come stealing
Ian Tyson wrote a tribute to his father called Smuggler’s Cove. In the song, Tyson remembers his father secretly buying glittery plastic jewelry from Woolworth’s Five and Dime Store and burying it in the sand at Smuggler’s Cove. With some direction from their dad, Tyson and his sister would “discover” the hidden pirate treasure.
Tyson described his father as “hard to live with, a colourful old guy”, but anybody who sparks a child’s imagination with a treasure hunt can’t be all bad.
Father took me by the hand
Down through the rocks and driftwood
And pirate gold from the five and dime
He caused me to discover
All in a morning’s wonder
My siblings and I are visiting our cousins on Vancouver Island, not far from Smuggler’s Cove, this weekend. We expect to uncover treasure while we are there.
Left to right, Wells sisters Eva, Grace, Hazel, Phyllis, Alma, and Patricia (Mom), in about 1939. Progeny and spouses of Grace, Phyllis, and Pat are together this weekend.
The ability to inspire a child’s imagination is a gift not all parents are capable of giving. The Wells sisters in the photograph above, all had the ability.
There wasn’t a drive-thru restaurant within 50 miles of the farm where I grew up, but I had seen one on TV. I thought it would be pretty cool to drive right up in a car and order whatever I wanted. I mentioned it to Mom one day, she paused and said, “Maybe someday”.
“Someday” seemed a long way off to a seven-year-old. The next day my friend Dean was over for a visit. We were riding our bikes around the yard, doing what seven-year-olds do. At lunch time, Mom came to the door and waved us over. She said to stay on our bikes and come around to the window at the side of the house, which we did. As we rolled up, Mom appeared at the open window wearing an apron and a cap, carrying a notebook, with a pencil stuck in her hair.
“Welcome to A&W! What would you boys like for lunch?”
Dean, maybe thinking this is what we did every day, didn’t hesitate, “Cheese Whiz sandwich, please”.
I started giggling, a) because Mom looked ridiculous, and b) because I had never heard of Cheese Whiz.
Russell and Brad Paton, Dean and Wayne Guest 1961
“Sorry, young fella, we are fresh out of Cheese Whiz, we have Velveeta. Will that do?
“Yes”
“Do you want Kool-Aid with that?
“Yes, please”.
“And how about you, sir?”
Going with the flow I said,
“Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich.” “Can I have Kool-Aid too?”
“May I” and “Please?”, the waitress reverted to “Mom” momentarily.
“May I please have Kool-Aid?”
Mom jotted down our order on the notepad, returned the pencil to her hair, and disappeared.
“OK, coming right up”, she said from the shadows.
Our bicycles had no place to set a tray, but waitress Mom delivered our order on one anyway. She set it on a hay bale picnic table and gave us each a marshmallow Wagon Wheel…
… “on the house.”
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