The gods use us mortals as footballs.
Ohhh- shock, horror and mortification this week! You know how it is when you are sitting in a parking lot and all you can hear is bass? You look around expecting to a carful of “youths” probably wearing hoodies, windows down and a total lack of respect for all about them? Yes, I’m getting old and judgmental- well that was my experience on Wednesday afternoon. Having finished the Grind I was sat in my car, in a National Park, trying to work out where that continued bass pounding was coming from. After five frustrating minutes I realized that yes, I was the anti-social, hoodie wearing individual. And as if that wasn’t bad enough I don’t even have good taste in music! I had the bass up for 80’s pop music and was subjecting everyone to a bit of Kylie and Jason! Luckily, I’m a baseball cap under my hoodie kinda of girl, so managed to completely conceal my face. I can only apologize to any youths in Vancouver who end up with a bad name now.
This weekend has seen a diverse range of activities, starting with a trip to the Museum of Anthropology. I was surprised at how calm I remained, despite driving through all the downtown traffic, and playing games of lane switch and stop/start for about two miles. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the same can be said of the queue I caused when I arrived at the parking garage. The ticket machine was out of order, thus someone was issuing tickets and taking payment as you arrived. While I was ready with my debit card, the cashier wasn’t. Quite a queue can build up on eight minutes, and people can get a little stressed when this tails back out of the garage onto the main road and leads to a blocked intersection. Sorry. Although I refuse to take responsibility for the intersection- that was someone else with as little thought as me.
The MOA is mainly dedicated to the art and culture of the aboriginal peoples of the Pacific Northwest, particular the Haida who originate from the islands off the Lower Mainland. Whilst the museum is starting to enlarge its collections and has a large display of European pottery the main artifacts and exhibits are carvings and totem poles. These totem poles change in use and appearance depending on which group of people created then, or the area in which they originated. Each culture having a distinct use for the totem pole, and a distinct and different way of carving. One thing the poles did all have in common was their purpose in relating a family history or a story. All of which linked to the mythical or the gods and the creation of the family. The poles changing with each generation as new stories, histories and family connections are made.
This theme of gods and creation is carried through the museum to one of the more well known and famous pieces of sculpture depicting the story of the Raven and the Clam. This is one part of the Haida belief system, as the second time in as many days as I have come across it- one of those things that you have never heard of before and three people tell you in a short space of time. The Haida believe that all members are born into either the Eagles or the Raven people and they have a part of the creation story to tell. In this cedar work of art the Raven is tricking tiny people into climbing out of the safety their clam shell and thus turning into full sized humans who have to contend with the harsh realities of the world. The squirming people arrive into a world of snow and have to rely on the Raven to steal the sun from the gods and turn it into rivers and animals. A definite nod the long dark winters and cold, snowy conditions these people would have endured for much of the year up in the north of the islands.
It is possibly also worth mentioning, if only for the benefit of my sister- see I do care, that the museum itself was designed by Arthur Erickson. It really is an amazing space that allows visible access to parts of the collection not currently on display, includes immense doors carved to depict aboriginal myths, and has acres of square glass walk ways that allow you see the outside sculptures and collections from inside. Not being a big architecture buff I’ll leave it there. Suffice to big thank you to the very nice lady who provided me with all this information whilst I was at the museum.
I did make a few stops on my way home, the first being at Pacific Spirit Regional Park. This is a lot larger than Stanley Park, if in my opinion not as pretty and dramatic in backdrop and appearance. It did however have the added advantage of having a lot less people and some pleasant trails to enjoy as the leaves on the trees changed color. Maybe one of its most enjoyable features was the lack of interference; there were no benches and trams running round the park, although I have a feeling that bikes can become prevalent in the summer months as a lot of work seems to have gone into preparing trails and tracks for them.
The last stop for the day was also very short. I did finally make it to Kits Beach, and I have to say it wasn’t the vibrant and social space for people watching I was expecting. Having thought I could grab a Starbucks and watch as people wandered by I was a little disappointed to find I was one of three customers and the only person on the beach. Maybe it was due to the fact that the tide was in, and it was 4:45 pm on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of October- I really ought to pick my time better. However, as I wasn’t prepared to sit still on a windswept patch of sand I guess I can’t really complain that other people were also less than eager.
I’ll just have to plan next week’s endeavors slightly more carefully.
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