Tales to be Told (05.21.04)
"You can't know where you're going until you know
where you've been."
- apparently, everyone who's ever lived.
I think being a pack rat is a genetic. Something just
won't let me throw anything out. It probably doesn't help that I tend
to instantly attach sentimental value to anything that comes into my life.
Heck, I couldn't even throw away my first baseball rock
shirt. I tried but just couldn't let go of that ZZ Top logo with puffy
letters on the back saying "TV Dinners".
Another nasty side effect of being a pack rat is the
hyper sensitivity to change. And considering my attachment to Squamish,
life these days is never boring.
The latest twinge of change came when Mountain Burger
House erected it's new sign... which is absolutely great. It's refreshing
to see someone putting money into a downtown business and I wish them
nothing but the best. However it's just one more sign that the era has
ended. The era I speak of is back in the day of Squamish BB (before the
bid). It's 3 AM the bars are all closed but the night's not over yet.
Driving at this point is out of the question because you can't see your
keys so you'll need some greasy fuel for the long walk home. There was
only one place to go. Well, two, if you include 7-11 and their day-glow
nacho's, but for the more concerning grease jones, there was only Mountain
Burger House, with their 24 hours of burgers, fries, coffee, and whatever
else your boozy little heart desired. Oh the million Squamish stories
that could be told.
Now, ordinarily, unique artifacts and legends of a town
are preserved and displayed proudly in a museum. So how did we become
the only small town in BC not to have a museum? Some argue that Cleveland
Avenue is a museum. Other's were sure we had one just not sure where.
Oh sure there's the railway park but that's just one small slice of this
nutty Squamish pie. What of the adventures falling in the woods? Or our
proud days as Canada's premier hops producer. Not to mention Baldwin and
Cooper's community assisted ascent of the Chief, and even the beer stained
napkin where the first Test of Metal course was plotted out. The list
goes on and it should be more than just stories told by that crazy guy
in the corner who starts every sentence with "I remember when...."
Two weeks ago the Pique (can I say that word here?) had
an absolutely hilarious cover. It was a fat rich white guy, lighting a
dollar bill on fire about to drop it on a fuse. The fuse led directly
to piles of dynamite tightly wrapped around Squamish. Now there's the
nail on the head. Eye's on the future are very important but with the
amount of change coming our way, now more than ever we have to remember
what brought us here.
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