This evening I went out to a belated birthday celebration. Jena had organized her group at The Tap & Barrel, a restaurant/bar in the Athletes Village area of False Creek. It was a nice time to celebrate Jena, reconnect with a couple of old acquaintances and make some new ones.
At the end of the evening I headed out the way I came, alone, in the direction of the Skytrain at Main Street. I decided to walk along the “seawall”, past the moorage of the Dragon Boats with Science World twinkling blue and red lights behind it. I paused and leaned against the post rained-on rail, taking in the reflection of lights of BC Place and the intermittent lights of traffic on the Cambie Bridge. I took in the calm on the waters of False Creek, the clearing sky and a quietness that is uncommon in a city centre, even with the blanket of night. Soon, though, I began to hear more. The traffic din grew a decibel louder. The chatter of voices arose. The hum around me ensued. I began to notice movement around me. The couple on a nearby dock, kissing and laughing as they were caught up in love, or simply lust. The barely noticeable body taking their black and white dog out for a long awaited rain break. The group of friends laughing at a new found memory. I looked to the time on my phone. It was twenty to midnight. A Skytrain shuttled past. Again my eyes looked towards Science World and the movement on the nearby roads. Behind me I heard the not-so-distant sound of police sirens wailing. A thought flitted through my mind: “Someone’s life is about to change.” I thought of how our lives move. How standing there; everything, everyone was inert in regards to my life and me to theirs. Much was happening around me but nothing dissected my life. Or did it? It made me wonder for a moment of the mechanics of chance; of how life goes. Or does not go. I looked up and saw the that the clouds were lessening from earlier in the day. I saw a few stars but did not feel like observing. I pulled out my phone once again. It is one minute to midnight. I tried to take a picture of Science World but the battery was so low it did not allow it. I headed to Main Street Station and caught a train downtown and subsequent bus home.
At the end of the evening I headed out the way I came, alone, in the direction of the Skytrain at Main Street. I decided to walk along the “seawall”, past the moorage of the Dragon Boats with Science World twinkling blue and red lights behind it. I paused and leaned against the post rained-on rail, taking in the reflection of lights of BC Place and the intermittent lights of traffic on the Cambie Bridge. I took in the calm on the waters of False Creek, the clearing sky and a quietness that is uncommon in a city centre, even with the blanket of night. Soon, though, I began to hear more. The traffic din grew a decibel louder. The chatter of voices arose. The hum around me ensued. I began to notice movement around me. The couple on a nearby dock, kissing and laughing as they were caught up in love, or simply lust. The barely noticeable body taking their black and white dog out for a long awaited rain break. The group of friends laughing at a new found memory. I looked to the time on my phone. It was twenty to midnight. A Skytrain shuttled past. Again my eyes looked towards Science World and the movement on the nearby roads. Behind me I heard the not-so-distant sound of police sirens wailing. A thought flitted through my mind: “Someone’s life is about to change.” I thought of how our lives move. How standing there; everything, everyone was inert in regards to my life and me to theirs. Much was happening around me but nothing dissected my life. Or did it? It made me wonder for a moment of the mechanics of chance; of how life goes. Or does not go. I looked up and saw the that the clouds were lessening from earlier in the day. I saw a few stars but did not feel like observing. I pulled out my phone once again. It is one minute to midnight. I tried to take a picture of Science World but the battery was so low it did not allow it. I headed to Main Street Station and caught a train downtown and subsequent bus home.
Wanders The World 
Please leave a reply