Evening stroll along the Victoria Promenade...

Tonight almost didn't happen...

After a brilliant start to our day feeling just positively fabulous a two hour wait at the lab to have blood tests done nearly did me in. Although very entertaining because anywhere you put me, my dog and people who have to wait and can't get away from me and my dog time just flies.

But even though my mind didn't feel the time passing my body sure did and sitting is one of the hardest things on this old Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome body of mine so the walk home was quite difficult and try as I might I could not get myself into one odd pretzel position that was going to help my right hip get back into joint where it belonged and un squish my nerves to give me some relief.

But my dog so looks forward to his evening stroll and honestly talking to people and listening to people talk is an amazing distraction for me from the unrelenting pain. So I figured if I could stagger up I could at least stroll around.

And we were most certainly happy we did because the first person we met was Walter Bonaise...the Native American Indian "story teller" we met a week or so ago when I was out wandering around with my new friend Avi. He did not remember me, he says he never looks at peoples faces and it is a problem, but he is old so people just think he has dementia and don't get offended but actually he laughed and said "my brain is fine I just don't like looking at people's faces but I remember your dog".

So thankfully he remembered my dog and I needed to take a break so it was very exciting for me to be able to talk to this wonderful man who was voted "one of the most influential Edmontonians of all time. That is just kinda cool and he really is interesting.

He asked me a bit about myself and then he said "but where is your home" and I thought I was going to cry and I just honestly said "I don't really have a home anymore I just have places that I live that are right for right now" I think Ireland would be my home but then that would mean when I am not there that I feel homesick and I don't like that feeling so I think I just prefer to think that I just don't have a real home anywhere so then I can feel "at home" everywhere.

Walter told me a lot of stuff. He said he teaches all over Canada training doctors and nurses the proper way to talk to and be doctors to aboriginal people because they are very different and need to be treated in a different way. He said doctors these days are all about the academic pursuits and not about practical things like how to make a patient feel cared about and special.

He said they are so busy chasing the academic pursuits and accolades they either forget or never learn how to really connect with and be concerned about the people who are their patients. I found all of this very interesting with as much time I have spent in my life being "a professional patient".

He said doctors from Libya are the best and treat people with much kindness and respect and have very sharp, smart minds so they make excellent doctors. I told him my new doctor was only 37 but was from Egypt and he said that was very good and to keep him because he would take good care of me.

He turned 76 this year and loves his wife Doris of 51 years so much. He loves her as much as the first day he fell in love with her. He said everyday he spends with her he falls in love with her more. She doesn't like to walk the promenade but she travels with him when he teaches and lectures all around Canada.

He personally invited me to come and hear him lecture because he said it is not as important what you talk about but rather if you find people who actually want to listen. A story teller can only tell a story to someone who wants to hear a story.

Found that rather interesting and I find everything he says interesting and he was really rather interested in me so we chatted for a good long while until the lovely little Australian sheppard Knox came wandering on by and saw his buddy Laz so they immediately started to have a romp and play session and Knox's daddy talked with me and Walter for a bit and then they wandered off and Walter said he had to finish his walk or his beloved wife would worry about him.

He said his own parents were married for 60 years and he wanted to do everything he could to live another 9 years so he could be married to Doris as well for 60 years like his parents. I really think Walter loves Doris so much he is going to make it happen.

We then ran into the very feisty man Johnny who although he was walking with a cane he was speed walking so fast the cane just sort of was shoved out in front of him and made him look like he was ready to approach and attack but he was a lovely man who took the time to show Laz some sounds he could make with some grass between his thumbs and Laz was quite intrigued by the sound.

While we were watching and talking to Johnny two very lovely ladies wandered by Judy and Marlene and they honestly made my night...such fun gals to spend an hour or two having a good natter. We all came to the same conclusion that having a dog like Laz is like a dream come true and much easier to have to deal with and have with you all the time rather than a husband or a bunch of kids.

Although I don't think Walter Bonaise would agree because he really seems to love his wife and he never mentioned anything about having a dog.

Judy and Marlene seemed very delighted for me and Laz that he got his "pet therapy qualification" and is the first candidate for the new pet therapy program at this very awesome senior home we always go to visit. Judy lives here in Edmonton in one of the beautiful apartments overlooking the valley but although Marlene is from Edmonton originally she is just visiting and lives back in Toronto.

I told them many stories about my life and a lot of them about my children and they actually seemed to enjoy our time together and I hope we run into them again because they were so funny and so lovely and they just adored my dog.

So as it was getting dark I excused myself as my hip was quite literally wrecking me with pain so badly I didn't even know if I could make the short walk home but well when I put my mind to something we pushed on and now a handful of muscle relaxants, some nerve medicine and a few sleeping pills I will hope for the best when I wake up in the morning and start about our day with our morning stroll to the pharmacy.