Tuesday, June 27, 2006

a rolling stone gathers no moss...but maybe moss is underrated.

1. Catherine Street , Trenton, Ontario
2. Cliff Avenue
3. Menzies Street
4. Graham Island, Haida Gwaii
5. Barclay + Broughton
6. Langara Island, Haida Gwaii
7. Bute + Comox
8. Motor Yacht Double Haven, Singapore
9. Above the Atelier Gallery on Granville
10. 7th + Arbutus
11. Dundarave
12. Bellevue
13. Motor Yacht Caprice, St. Maarten
14. Sailing Yacht Flying Magic, Antigua
15. Lake Ponchatrain, New Orleans
16.Nova Spirit, through the Panama
17. Marda Loop, Calgary
18. Wells Gray Park
19. Menzies
20. 53rd and Granville
21. 7th + Dunbar
22. Lakewood + Venables
23. Chester Street
24. Menzies

i was having lunch the other day with one of my oldest and bestest friends, miss nikki b; co- resident of address # five on the list. we were dining at the lotus, and over our omlettes trying to determine who rivalled who for the most addresses, in the shortest amount of time. the crazy thing is that we decided she might have me beat!

my wanderlust has served me well in some ways. my life is full of long time friendships, and untradable memories. i've gotten to spend substantial time on three continents, and have had the opportunity to experience some pretty diverse lifestyles and living conditions; from a few blocks off east hastings to the 14th most expensive mega yacht on the planet.

in other ways, my transient tendancies have kind of taken their toll. when a friend recently came home from Europe a little while ago, it brought to mind, some unique memories of days that have come me in the course of living abroad and the various backpacking trips in between. what seemed like a month's worth of living in a day... watching schindler's list in prague amongst oldies with first hand experience of the story being told; waking up in my bunk and noticing my port hole being very much under water and us seriously listing to port, somewhere off the coast of cuba; driving along a freeway in Spain and having the car burst into flames, the seats slowly melting, and then the whole thing eventually exploding, as my new friend and i waited for the fire department to arrive, him running back to get my passport and journal from the glove compartment. similar episodes indelibly scribed within that i've yet to say outloud to anyone.

i take comfort in knowing that the fall will, God willing, bring some good blocks of time, for the first time ever... to explore some ways to express what's going on below. to distill some of the questions that nag at me, that i've yet to find the right phrases for. i'm curious to know what might come. and at the same time can't wait to be done with much of it...to kind of address it, and be done with it, in hopes that it will create new space within. ever had the feeling that you have about ten years you need desperately to debrief?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

kimberley, you are one of my Travelling Heroes. Id really like to hear more about your adventures. Like, why Clearwater? and so on.

kimberley francis said...

you're a sweet one, koala. and a bit of an action hero there, girl.
i checked out dave's slides today, and wow, snow! hah... i didn't get above the alpine meadow!

well, clearwater because:
i found myself with a bit of a broken heart, my brother jeff who was living there at the time driving logging trucks, first talked me into coming for a visit and then dared me to apply for a job at the wells gray guest ranch on a whim. his best friend put in a good word for me, i found out later. i did the night audit shift, which left my days free for suntanning, making bearbells, and hiking around with my workmates.

those days were out of the wild west; we'd re-enact a cowboy heist even, and line dance most nights till the wee hours, in the saloon.

one of the most bizarre memories of that summer though was when the bridge washed out and all the tourists (many of them german and suisse) were trapped at the ranch for a week or so. the rooms were double booked since people couldn't get out. connections back to europe were missed, but everyone kept a really upbeat outlook, many of them sporting speedos while their laundry airdried from every porch. it was memorable. :)

it also expanded my horizons to the world of entrepreneurialism and after selling a few hundred bearbells to the info centre that summer, i had the courage i needed to launch the line of kids hats. the seasonal gig also made me eligible for a business start up grant and some valuable coaching.

it's amazing where a broken heart can lead you sometimes :)

god works in mysterious ways.

Matthew Francis said...

Hey Kim,

Maybe Good ole' Eliot said it best:

"We shall not cease from exploration/
And the end of all our exploring/
Will be to arrive where we started/
And know know the place for the first time."

Mira-cle said...

I was so amazed that we got to have fries and drinks after our hike at none other than the Wells Gray Guest Ranch where you worked. It was like you were there with us, somehow, in that eternity where space and time are remembered mystically.

I so much admire you, Kimberley. I am praying for you. And hoping to see you soon, also! When will you be visiting Pender? Just let me know so that I can pick you up at the ferry.

Love in Christ,
Mira

Mira-cle said...

P.S. Thank you for taking care of my Matthew when he was over there last week, as a G12 orphan.

kimberley francis said...

it was my delight. he's a keeper, mira. :)