Visits with Mom

Visits With Mom

            Some of the times I remember from before we moved to Saskatchewan are when Kim still lived in Agassiz. I remember that one of Kim’s friends owned a pizza parlor, don’t know if this was a boyfriend or not, but the guy was really kind. He would give us free pizza when we came by. There was also a restaurant nearby this pizza place that I recall eating at several times. I recall the eatery having great poutine!

One of her boyfriends during this time was a gentleman named Guy. I have some great memories of times we spent with this man, he seemed like a keeper. He would take us out to his mother’s cabin quite often. Nearby the cabin was a creek that was pretty shallow. We would wade in this creek hunting fool’s gold, of which there was plenty. Lots of herons hung out around the cabin as well, a gangly, but beautiful bird. Alvin and I would hunt the wide array of lizards and garter snakes that also used the cabin for shelter. We had an aquarium to put them in, and they seemed to leave each other alone for the most part while in the aquarium, only a few lizards managed to “disappear” while inside, hope the snakes appreciated the easy meals. I recall both Alvin and I being bitten by a couple of lizards (which believe it or not actually hurts), but that was not enough to deter us, only encouraged us to be more careful and innovate new catching techniques. A bat got inside the cabin one time and boy did Kim scream! It was our mission to assist Guy in getting this crazy bat out of the cabin, not sure how we accomplished this though. One time when Guy and Kim went for a walk and left us at the cabin, we heard Kim scream at the top of her lungs. When the two of them hurriedly ran back to the cabin, they informed us that they had been swarmed by bats. Then one day we were supposed to go out to the cabin and Kim told us that they had broken up. 

This isn’t a boyfriend, but was far easier to get along with. Our favorite pet that Kim had was Anne, or Annie. She was a green budgie we used to play with and loved. We’d let her fly around the apartment once in a while, then one day we went there and Kim no longer had the bird. The bird was replaced by a cat. Kim has owned many cats in her lifetime.

I believe it was around this time that we went up north to visit our grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins for Christmas. Only recall two things about this trip. One is homemade nuts and bolts, not sure why that one sticks in my mind. As well as Uncle Garth threatening to tan my hide so hard I wouldn’t be able to sit for a week, which scared the crap out of me, not really sure what I had done.

Another boyfriend was a man named Mike, I believe she was with him briefly twice. He had a motorcycle that we went for a few rides on, that made him cool. Don’t remember anything about him besides his sweet ride.

At some point Kim lived in a house across from our old babysitter Mrs. Fersten. This house had blackberry and blueberry bushes growing behind it. It also had a large garbage heap in back. It was in this heap that while walking through in sandals, I ended up with a nail going straight up into my left foot. I still have a lump of scar tissue on the bottom of my foot that aches at times. I saw a rather massive rat with a disgustingly long tail climbing in this pile at one point. It was at this time that Jim whom I mention in the next paragraph, allowed us to watch his pirated version of Jurassic Park, which gave me nightmares for a week. We also set up a lemonade stand out front of this house, but I seem to recall drinking more than we sold.

A boyfriend that Kim was on again off again with was Jim. He fathered my half-brother Devin. We had our good times with him, one of Kim’s longer relationships. He would take us fishing on an island along the Fraser River. We would camp on this island. It was here that I would disobey Kim’s instructions and go swimming for hours without my t-shirt on. With my fare skin this was a terrible idea, but Alvin had darker skin and never had to worry about wearing a shirt so why should I? Well I learned the hard way. My back was a dark shade of red, and had massive blisters all over. We had to cut the tags off of every shirt I brought along, they were too painful. She rubbed aloe vera on my back and basically I got a much deserved “I told you so”. Lesson learned. We caught many a fish in this river. I though I was doing well with my twenty-four pounder, until Alvin outdid me and caught the largest catch of the month on that island, a thirty pounder. I was so jealous! Although he ended up in jail a few years after Kim broke up with him, his mother is a very nice woman, she treats Devin very well.

I believe Ben was her next boyfriend. He left her to go to college. He would play video games with us and Devin, and I know it was hard on Devin when he left as they were close. He had the complete Louis L’Amour collection as well, which made him cooler in my books. He brought us to his work one day and we all got free hats, which made us proud as punch. I recall being upset when Kim informed us that he had left her to go to college. 

Many of her boyfriends we never met, just heard about on the phone. So I know that there were several others, I just don’t know their names. 

I also recall one summer where she didn’t have a boyfriend. She was living in apartments in Chilliwack, BC at this time. Her best friend and smoke buddy in the same building would come by all the time to smoke. Her son Travis was pining for Kim, and eventually for a short time they would date. At some point in this summer my acid reflux acted up badly and Kim took me to the hospital. Travis came along, but took Devin and Alvin home. I was so mad when I got home and found out I had missed a huge gunfight outside the apartment building. The police had had a shootout with a few men. What an event to miss out on! A real live gunfight! Alvin and I enjoyed the fact that Kim allowed us to watch Bay Watch, as we were not permitted to watch this show at home, the women were too scantily dressed for kids our age to be viewing. At some point Devin got into my candy dish (I always saved my candy in a dish so it lasted a long time, that way I had some when I wanted it). There was candy scattered all over the bedroom floor, and he was not allowed sugar with his ADHD, so he went crazy! We had to find many a creative hiding place for my candy tin that summer, yet Devin is highly intelligent and would find it no matter what. I also recall Aunty Karen coming with our cousins for a visit. Don’t remember much about that, but it was an enjoyable time.

The final boyfriend I recall was Kevin. She would eventually become engaged with him, before it got broken off. Alvin will know more about him as he lived with them for a time while they were dating. I recall a couple trips into the mountains though in his big truck. He seemed like a nice guy to me, but I didn’t really know him well.

            I couldn’t go one summer as I had to see a specialist about my Osgoods disease in my knees, so we went during Christmas instead. I recall that this house was the same one she was living in the previous summer that we had visited. Good friends of Kim’s lived in the house next to her. I believe it was the same place as when she started dating Kevin. Alvin had a massive crush on their daughter, and they spent time hanging out. Kim kept teasing him about it. This is the same family that took us for a visit to a haunted house. This house used to be owned by a devil worshipping cult, until it was raided and everyone was forced to leave the property. This was a really cool trip. Everyone was super afraid of the house, except Alvin and I who kept making jokes as we didn’t believe in haunted houses. We kept scaring everyone. It showed many signs of people having left in a hurry, including old food crusted on the table. We took a painting from this house and a hand-painted banner. Kim and her friends were afraid of the painting as they kept getting “bad vibes” from it, so we ended up getting rid of the painting. My banner though was so cool, that I refused to throw it out and took it home to Saskatchewan. I may still have it buried in a box somewhere downstairs.