Meet the Parents (vol. 1)

Had a great time at Mom & Dad's Saturday evening -- the centrepiece (for me) was the traditional family spaghetti dinner. It's a sauce formula going back a few generations, into the Italian realm of my heritage. I actually came off my cleansing diet a day early so I could prepare my stomach to recieve this supper. A good move!

Pictured are Bethy and I with my folks. Jim (Dad) is semi-retired after 30+ years working with and for the provincial government. Once Gordo took over things, he saw the writing on the wall and got out during the first round of early retirement buyouts. He now runs his own consulting firm, and plays a lot of golf. Dad is a longtime member at Gorge Vale, where he taught me to play -- hell, he's still teaching! Mom (Lynda) works at a local elementary school. She's officially an office assistant, but handles much more than that. The library and computer lab are her other areas of expertise. Mom is also the head honcho of the Girl Guides on South Vancouver Island. Her title is "area commissioner", though I like to call her "supreme chancellor". The truth lies somewhere in between.


My grandparents, Gramma Dodie and Grampa Jim (Mom's folks) also came over for spaghetti. It's Gramma's family who are the Italians (Mauro's the name). They moved all over when Grampa was in the BC Provincial Police, and later the RCMP. I can remember when Grampa was at the tail end of his career as an investigator in Ottawa. After that, they retired here to Victoria in the early 90's. They've been avid boaters as long as I can remember -- first sailors, switching to a powerboat when they moved west. They head out for weeks-long trips among the islands up and down the coast, quite an enviable lifestyle -- one they've earned through years of hard work. Both are in relatively good health, and we're glad they chose to retire here!


.. and look who was visiting from Calgary! It's Uncle Don, Dad's little bro. Don came out for some golf and visiting. Too cold in Alberta for golf now, so Don simply goes elsewhere. His wife is from the Phillipines, and they're planning to build a home there soon. So he has family on both sides of the Pacific, and they travel back and forth as time allows. I suspect Don is ready to pack up his things and plant himself over there full-time. He's ex-RCMP as well, and is now an insurance fraud investigator. So don't bullshit him I guess. This is the man responsible for my Flames fanaticism, so you can blame him. Me, I'm forever greatful -- if it weren't for his unsolicited intervention, I may be a Canucks fan today (shudder!). It was good to see Don again, he's an interesting and cool guy. Much louder than my dad -- their mom (Grandma Dot) tells me it's always been that way!

Note in the background of the last pic, a 5-year-old Steve flashing an early version of his brilliant smile. I didn't even plan that. Haven't changed that much, have I?