HAVE YOU HUGGED A PEST TODAY? ....a wikimedia pest

Friday, June 30, 2006

My Early Childhood Continued:

Please visit my Home Page Here: http://carl-baydala-wants-you-to-know.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-home-page_115336233019581745.html

This is a recent picture I took of modern day Steveston
You can also take a look at this:
http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3919

My Early Childhood Continued: Right Here....

As far back as I can remember they called me Butch, except when a couple of the Japanese kids called me 'Banana' because that is what Baydala sounded like to them. My sister, her three children, and my father to this day affectionately call me Banana. I only started using the name Carl when I started school. My mother tells me that one time somebody came to the door and asked for Carl, and she did not know who they wanted. I stuttered a lot too and all through my school years I was terrified to talk in class. This self consciousness continued through high school and even into university.

One time when there was a solar eclipse a friend and myself looked directly into the sun. I remember I had a good right eye and almost perfect vision, but I used the right one to look at the ball of fire. Eventually I lost sight of this eye because of this incident. Later on I would have to wear glasses because of this and I did not like to wear glasses either. I used to put them in my back pocket and just sit on them.

We had to walk to school and I remember the metal lunch kits that we had and how the food smelled inside. In the fifties we had to recite the Lords Prayer and we used ball pens and we learned the McLean Method of writing. My teacher used to send me home sometimes because I had dirty hands. We sat in wooden desks that had holes to place ink in and I remember writing with quill pens. I played marbles a lot and collected them too. I remember how neat it was to get 'steelies' and 'cobs' or the big marbles. I remember buying new bags of marbles and just breaking them open and feeling and looking at the glass marbles. Later on I would collect baseball cards too. They came in the packages of gum and I remember how that smelled too. I remember going down to the store and loading up on different kinds of candy as well. I remember popsicles were 6 cents each and I liked licorice and ice cream bars and later on I was a big fan of MacIntosh toffee. And, at Halloween time I remember my sister and I going around with our empty pillow cases and loading up. It was fun to come home and just check out the loot. I liked it best when people gave me chocolate bars. And, I remember getting money from my parents to buy firecrackers and bombs and ladyfingers. The sparklers were always fun too. And, you had to have a punk going to light your firecrackers of course.

Christmas time was neat too. My sister believed in Santa Claus and I did not. Probably the most exciting time in my life was when my sister and I got brand new bikes. Mine was blue and hers was red. I was just so happy, I never thought it would happen. It was Ukrainian Christmas over at my father's parents house. I remember the cabbage rolls and perogies. I was a very big eater and could fill my plate two or three times and finish it all. I remember my Ukrainian grandmother used to give me a quarter for kissing her on the cheek. My father's mother and dad were very faithful Catholics. My grandfather, Daniel Baydala fought in the Austro-Hungarian Army and he owned a couple of pieces of land right near the dyke by the Middle Arm of the Fraser River. He was considered to be a pioneer and we even have a street named after us in Richmond.

My mother was born in Sointula, B. C., which is on Malcom Island, just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Both of her parents were born there also. They are of Finnish descent, with some Swedish background as well. They were a fishing family and my Finnish grandfather built a gillnetter for my father and mother after they were married. And, incidentally, my mother and father were involved in a shipwreck just off the mouth of the Fraser River. They were clinging to remnants of their boat and had to be rescued.

I like winter too. I remember the cold days and waiting for the snow. All the fields would freeze up and the big ditches too. You could skate on the ditches also. Sometimes really big icicles formed on the roof edges of our house in the colder winters and I used to break them off. I remember one time we had lots of snow and my father let me and my sister tie a sled to the back of the car. He towed us all the way up Steveston Highway. And, Richmond was famous for fog too, being so low and all. I remember the thick fogs and having to look out the side of the car windows to try and figure out where you were going. There were many beehives along the river in those days-places where they burned sawdust or wood parts at the sawmills. I guess this caused pollution and allowed the fog to form. That is what someone told me later anyhow. And, I remember another time I heard a loud screech right in front of the house. A car went right through the stop sign and landed in the big ditch on the north side of the house. I walked over and saw a car sitting in the ditch, with a lifeless-looking body inside.....

Copyright: Carl Baydala 2006

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

" When The Going Get's Tough....Jump "

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Surrey Central

No connection to story below
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Sometimes being a courier is not such a pleasant thing.
It was a very warm day in Vancouver by the way and I made it out to Mission and Abbotsford and back into Vancouver.
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Check out this web site here to see where Mission and Abbotsford are in relation to Vancouver: Here
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But, my feelings were hurt today. I had just dropped an important delivery in a building where one of our long standing customers is located. After that I went down the elevator and into the lobby area. I just wanted to sit down and make a quick call to a fellow driver to make a meet to pass him a delivery. I was very tired from the hot day and I just wanted to sit down and make the call. Now, they have just renovated this lobby area and spent quite a bit of money I suppose in the process. And, they had some nice chairs to sit on which caught my eye. I headed over and sat down, commenting politely to the security guard in the process.

" Couriers are not allowed to sit down here" she said.

I did not bother to explain to her that I just wanted to make a quick call and that I was tired. I could tell she would not be interested in that. Rather, I asked:

" Are those orders?" And, she replied:
" Yes they are."

I let her know in no uncertain terms that I felt insulted and I left with my feelings quite hurt I can assure you.
A couple of things. First, I do not have any grudge with a building manager not wanting a bunch of biker couriers, for example taking up valuable space in the middle of a downtown office structure. Or, any group of couriers or loiterers for that matter. I have been in any number of equally well-appointed buildings and no one has given me the bums rush,so to speak. I have even sat down and had a telephone conversation with a fellow driver during the morning hours in pleasant surroundings in a similar building. There were no other patrons in the lobby.
And, there were no others with me today. I think the security guard could have handled this more delicately, taking note of the fact, for example, that the lobby was empty and perhaps enquiring as if I just needed to make a quick phone call or the like. But, her manner was that of discrimination and a blanket condemnation of couriers.

I was hurt and insulted.

Now, I had time after this incident to ask a fellow driver their opinion on the matter. This person did not think it was such a big deal. Now, in the grand scheme of things, it is not a big deal. I just think it could have been handled differently and if that was the case, then I would not be submitting this entry here today for your consideration and possible feedback. Sometimes it is tough to keep professional particularly when you see the constant erosion of things that we as couriers count on. The increased volume of traffic and ever more traffic lights and the incessant construction in our City is bad enough but the City is only making matters worse by constantly taking away our loading areas in front of buildings that we count on. They are turning them into no stopping areas or bus zones. We are losing valuable real estate and things that we count on to make our job easier.
And, there are more and more buildings locking their bathrooms as well. This is a very big nuisance for couriers who just need to pop in and out and not to start to make enquiries to secretaries as the status of the bathroom key. We are too busy for that kind of nonsense, sometimes. If I may make a generalization, however, it is still the classier buildings which do not follow this practice of locking bathrooms and their buildings are 'courier friendly' in the process.

So, you see, the stress just keeps building up and the screw gets tighter on the courier .Sometimes I think the City is going to come to a grinding halt one day due to the increasing heavy use of our infrastrucure. Can you say critical mass? The way I see things the City will come to a complete standstill at just about retirement time for me, in about 3 or 4 years. I am not planning on going down with the ship.
This should be right around the time when the 2010 Winter Olympics hit Vancouver and surrounding areas.

As my pal Richard Nixon said one time: " when the going gets tough, the tough get going " I do not think Richard Nixon was ever in the courier business. I say: " When the going gets tough, it's time to jump."

Monday, June 26, 2006

My Early Childhood











This is a picture of Steveston today


I have so many things to say, so I'd better get going. I will probably break this segment up because I have a lot of information on my early childhood.



My Home Page and Blog Organization Here


Village of Steveston Here

My Early Childhood Right Here....

I was born in the City of Vancouver on February 5, 1949 at St. Vincents Hospital. My mother says I was an easy birth; I just popped out she says. I have a sister named Connie and she is just a bit older than me. Well, my early days were spent in the village of Steveston, which is located on the southwest corner of the Richmond Delta, a flat, fertile piece of land formed from the sediment of the Fraser River. It was a fishing community, a mixture of various European peoples and many Japanese. We lived in a small house right on Steveston Highway. The Steves, the people for whom the village was named after lived just down the street next to the dyke in a big house. Mrs. Steves was also my Cubs leader or 'Akela' " We'll dib, dib, dib, and we'll dob, dob, dob " ( do our best ). Ha ha ha. I just remembered that right now. I remember one time when she accidentally slammed a car door on my finger and a bunch of puss came pouring out. The King family lived in another larger house right across the street. Mrs. King was having so many children it was hard to keep track of them all. Bert, her husband became manager of the Coca Cola Company in Vancouver. I remember when they got a fancy new Ford in their driveway. I was friends with some of the kids and I got free drinks that Bert would bring home from work. I remember one time the whole family left for a trip back to Ontario. I could only dream of such a thing happening to me - going on a trip to a far away place.




This is a picture of the King's house today. Our little house across the street was torn down long ago. The big ditch is gone and so are the big fields I used to play in. It is all just houses and pavement now.

My father was a fisherman and also sold real estate too. Later on he would be first mate on a packer and sailed extensively up the B.C. coast. He knows every nook and cranny of the B.C. coast line and is also very knowledgeable about history and the lives of important political and business people. He taught himself by reading and holds very strong opinions about certain things. He was a very proud veteran of World War Two and was President of the local veterans club. He also drank a lot of beer and spent much time in the beer parlour. My sister and I called him 'pops' and we were always going down to the beer parlour to get money off of him. He would also talk later about serving with the 'Yanks' up in Alaska. My mother was a housewife; she got involved in a lot of practical things and sometimes got into arguments with my father about certain things. I remember her smashing dishes she got so mad sometimes.

I was a very happy young child and I spent most of my time fishing down at the docks or just wandering around by the dyke and exploring the tidal marsh lands. I loved watching the ducks and geese fly over. The sound of geese honking is a special sound and their formations and order impressed me. One of my hobbies was collecting empty shot gun shells that the hunters left behind after shooting ducks and geese. I liked to walk along the dyke and just check for mallard ducks and pheasants and anything else that ran in front of me. It was pleasant walking in the rain and watching the ducks swimming in the big ditch next to the dyke. I also walked in the wide open farm fields looking for birds and watching pheasants scurrying off quickly. In the winter the fields would freeze over and we went ice skating.

We had a garden in the back yard and my mother was always growing things. We had a clothes line, a big metal stove in the kitchen, a phone that you had to crank to work and a coal shed as well. I remember we had a washing machine with a ringer on it and a scrub board for cleaning clothes. Our milk was delivered by a milk man driving a van. We also had a garage in the back that bordered on a lane. I remember when my mother was learning how to drive. It was a standard vehicle with the gear handle on the steering wheel. She backed right up and crashed into the wall of the garage.

A big ditch surrounded our house and it was filled with frogs and also muskrat which I trapped one time. I used to dig up worms from the back yard and just spend all of my time fishing down at the docks where the gillnetters and seiners were tied up. I always walked, back and forth. I remember walking along the dyke from cannery to cannery and checking things out. It was neat to watch the gillnetters and seiners being unloaded and walking inside the canneries and watching the Japanese ladies cutting up the fresh salmon.

I caught mostly bullheads and chub. The best time to fish was in the evening when the tide was coming in because the fish got progressively bigger the higher the tide became. Sometimes I took an empty pail with me to put my live chub in. I brought the fish home and built a little lake for them to swim around in. It was fun having your own fish right in the back yard. They lasted a while and then they died of course.

I remember taking trips to downtown Vancouver. We had to walk all the way to Railway Avenue where we caught the tram. The station was named Branscombe, if i recall. I remember sitting on the very hard straw seats. Downtown Vancouver was always exciting. We used to line up at the White Lunch which was self serve. And, we always seemed to go to the Woodwards Department store too. One of the things I remember was the lights at the main intersections. Georgia and Granville, for example had lights that allowed you to walk kitty corner. In fact, all the car traffic was stopped while pedestrians had the complete right of way.

It was fun when we had a car too. Going to the drive in movies was always a treat. Hooking the speakers on the windows was neat and I always liked the cartoons. And, going to get popcorn during the intermission was a big deal. The many trips to the beaches were great too. We went to all of them, the ones in Stanley Park and Jericho and Spanish Banks. And, it seems like we spent a lot of time at the beaches by the Fraser River as well. I was always swimming under water with my eyes wide open, in the river or in the ocean....But, not all is fun and games when it comes to living near the water either. When I was very young, under five years old, I recall an incident when we are at a beach on the southern shore of the Delta and I was swimming alone. I waded into the water and fell down a drop off. I was literally drowning, I was spinning over and over and I remember that right now as vividly as it occurred then...and at the last instance before I completely drowned, I was saved...

Significant Events in 1949:

Carl Baydala is born on February 5, 1949 at Vancouver, B.C. Canada

March 31 - The former British colony of Newfoundland joins Canada as its 10th province.

April 4 - North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, DC.

June 8 - George Orwell's book Nineteen Eighty-Four is published

August 29 - Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, code named "Joe 1." Its design imitated the American plutonium bomb that was droped on Nagasaki in 1945.

October 1 - Birth of the People's Republic of China

See Here for a complete list of events in 1949:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949

Copyright: Carl Baydala 2006

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Sowing the Race Track Seeds

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Sowing the Race Track Seeds
















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It was another beautiful, sunny day in Vancouver. I got an oil change today because it was time. I had a young girl serving me at the fast lube joint. It is good to see young women becoming involved in jobs like this. I could tell that she was fairly green though and Iknew it was her job to try and sell me some extra services. All I wanted was an oil change because my vehicle was 100 per cent up to date as far as servicing was concerned.
This was a very professional lube joint that I went to and I know that some are not. She recommended I put 10 30 weight oil in my unit as that would not hurt it, but I told her I am sticking to 5 30 as my manual suggests. And, I stuck to my guns even though she had an argument against it. I could tell she was full of training but I stuck to my principles nevertheless. There was a bit of a psychological battle going on, but I think I won in the end and the lube job proceeded without incident after that. Except that she said at the end that oil changes were needed at every 5,000 kilometres while I told her that my Toyota only required it at every 8000 kilometres. And, once again I stuck to my guns about that. I wonder if she appreciated my position on these matters and in fact I asked her at the end if she gets picky guys like me in there. We get a few she says.
Anyhow, a couple of days ago a friend sent me kind of a chain letter with some points to follow. And, one of those points was: when you give, give more than someone expects and give cheerfully. So, I said OK to myself, I will think about it. After the oil change I headed out for the races and on the way I noticed a group of kids at a gas station holding a car wash. I didn't even think about it. I just drove in. I wanted my car washed because it was a beautiful sunny day. The vehicle was grubby looking anyway. And, besides, I just did not have time to do it. I usually wash my car myself because this is such an important job to do. You cannnot just let anybody wash the unit now can you? So I drive in and ask the kids holding the car wash as to what organization they were involved in. They said they were Christians and they were raising money for work that they were going to do with native children somewhere in B. C. I thought that was a find idea and also considered the fact that I was confronting a bunch of Christians. I cannot tell these kids that I am atheist now can I? After some more thought, I said that was a fine thing. I did not want to break out into an argument or joke around and say I was an atheist, I just wanted the unit washed and that was that.
So, a whole pile of kids just got going and proceeded to wash my car. Now, I said to myself. This is what Christians do all the time. They give to charity, they tithe and all that kind of thing. I decided that I wanted to challenge these Christians. Let's test this God stuff out. And, don't tell them I am atheist to boot.
It was a very fast job they did and it did not look half bad. I walked around and did a quick inspection on their work and while I was doing so I was thinking about how much I should pay them. I thought I would impress them a bit and since it was by donation I pulled out my wad of bills and peeled off a twenty for them. They were all very impressed and they were all smiling. Well, I felt good too. Giving to a good cause and besides getting my car all dressed up too. I wished them all luck in their endeavors and left the gas station.
Then I headed out in the sunshine with my shiny, freshly washed car and cranked up the tunes.
I got to the track- http://fraserdowns.com/ and bought a Meadowlands form. Usually I buy it early and do my homework, but not today because I have been disappointed with the track as it has been underperforming. I handicappped 4 races according to my system. I would bet altogether about 66 dollars. Actually, I lost the first three races and decided I had had enough. The track was still not good for me. But, I bet Race number 8 which I had done the work on and drove home. I would get the results on my computer when I got home. Maybe, just maybe giving more and giving to Christians even would pay off for me. After all, have I ever spent 20 bucks to get my car washed? Not likely. And, what about the chain letter? Any truth to that? Well, anyway, to make a long story short I jumped on the computer and checked the results at the Meadowlands web site. http://www.thebigm.com/ And, sure enough one of my system bets paid off. You will notice that on the photo I supplied to you that the winning triactor combination is the one at the very bottom of the ticket Once you are at the Meadowlands web site highlight 'live racing' and then go to 'results'. After that go to the tab showing the days of the week and press the arrow to the left until you find the week of 6/18 - 6/24 and then press 'Saturday', and finally, scroll down to Race number 8 to see how the horses finished, their odds, and the payoffs, etc. For my one dollar triactor I made about 426 dollars. And, that is all I bet with my system. Just triactors. Please note that the money I won comes from a different pool than the Meadowlands one. Canadians bet through the Woodbine Racetrack for certain out of country tracks and sometimes the payoffs are greater than the host track and sometimes they are lesser, as in this particular case.
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The bottom line is I won today and the Christians don't even know that I am an atheist.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Happy 80th Birthday Gladys


Please visit my Home Page Here: http://carl-baydala-wants-you-to-know.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-home-page_115336233019581745.html











This is The Chief on her 80th Birthday. She does not like to pose for pictures much so this is the best we could do. Gladys is very witty and likes to joke around. She is also very intelligent and practical. She was a very pretty young woman and had beautiful legs, so she tells me. She is in pretty good shape don't you think? She is very independent-minded and tends to speak her mind. And, don't get on her bad side either because she holds a grudge for a very long time. Are you going to wish her a Happy Birthday?

Copyright: Carl Baydala 2006

Monday, June 19, 2006

Another gorgeous day in Vancouver

Downtown Vancouver

Please visit my Home Page Here:http://carl-baydala-wants-you-to-know.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-home-page_115336233019581745.html

I took this picture today while working. Vancouver is such a beautiful city really. I was actually born in the City of Vancouver and I am very proud of that fact. There has been a lot of immigration into the City over the last couple of decades or so and I am one of the few remaining originals here, or so it seems. Because, when I tell people that they are amazed and surprised. I guess just about everyone I bump into is an immigrant. I will try to take as many shots as I can and then post them so that you will be able to see how pretty and diversified Vancouver and its environs really are. This photo is the Canadian Fishing Company and it is in downtown Vancouver. It was an absolutely gorgeous day today, the temperature was just perfect and nice little puffy clouds were off in the horizon. There was a 'just right' breeze coming off the water and with my windows rolled down and the CD going i was in heaven once again. I just recently bought some of those 5 dollar Wal Mart specials, you know old songs from the sixties which the youth generation know absolutely nothing about. There are always a couple of gems on these discs. Like, it seems as if I am playing the Shirelles over and over again the sound is so great Remember the tune Soldier Boy? God it is awesome listening to music like this. Here are the lyrics, you might remember them if you were around listening in 1962:

Soldier boy
Oh, my little soldier boy
I'll be true to you

You were my first love
And you'll be my last love
I will never make you blue
I'll be true to you
In the whole world
You can love but one girl
Let me be that one girl
For I'll be true to you

continued below...







Wherever you go
My heart will follow
I love you so
I'll be true to you
Take my love with you
To any port or foreign shore
Darling you must feel for sure
I'll be true to you

Soldier boy
Oh, my little soldier boy
I'll be true to you

Here is the video by the Shirelles in 1962:



Such memories of a less chaotic period. Happy music. Love songs. Tons of them. Anyway, right after I took this picture I got kind of busy at work so I could not stop and take any more pictures. I headed straight south toward the airport after this scene here. I went over the Arthur Laing Bridge in south Vancouver on the bridge that leads you into Richmond, a southern suburb of Vancouver. I wished I could have stopped on the bridge and taken a breathtaking shot for you, but as you can see I could not. If I was a tourist in our city I would have taken many good shots today, but I am not a tourist as you know. I am a humble servant, a courier doing his work and serving his customers. My primary duty lies here of course. But, I will try and sneak in as many pictures as I possibly can. Hopefully thousands of them. That is all for now...

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

The Heart of the Matter

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The Heart of the Matter
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This is the baby that controls everything I do during my working day. This little Blackberry is really a marvelous piece of equipment. It is compact and easy to use. My pickup addresses and proofs of deliveries are registered here along with many other functions. For example, I can talk directly to my dispatcher or fellow drivers and it is crystal clear sound. It is also a cell phone, so that you can talk to customers directly should the need arise. And, for total management control it also has GPS capability which means that my dispatcher knows my whereabouts at all times via the use of a city map on his computer monitor. And, for customers using our services via the internet they know instantly when their deliveries have been completed. Soon we will be installing an email function on our systems for a more complete communication between ourselves. The courier business is a case in point of the modern technological world and this little Blackberry is instrumental in servicing our customers' needs. And, our customers know and appreciate that we are doing everything we can to get their deliveries done in a timely and professional manner.

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