taabru45
Enlightened Member
Doug was a bit of a fixture in the White Rock area, when I lived there in the mid 70s. It was a time when many of us baby boomers were just beginning to settle down, still with longish hair and some hippy values ruling a bit of the way we were living. It was'nt all 'free love' but there was a tolerence and acceptence of a lot of how people chose to live...I liked going to a seaside restraurant run by a fine but very dysfunctional family of a mother and a couple of daughters, it was called McBrides and was frequented by a lot of locals in the morning for breakfast, coffe and comradrie. They had good breakfasts, and you could always count on meeting a friend or two or more...there was a little bit of theater to it in that usually there were so many people who knew each other.
Well McBrides had the best fish and chips (fries) around, and many of the tourists stopped by in the afternoon for their fix...
Doug was often seen around town, frequently walking alond the railway tracks that ran between the road and the beach. You might feel like you know Doug....many people knew him as 'hop-a-long'...you see he had a bit of a limp and used cane. He usually had his long winterish coat on, with his slightly thinning straggely hair and beard framing his face, Often he carried a fishing pole over his shoulder. Many people thought of him as the residual bum, who never hesitated to ask you for a quarter....I really don't think too many people took him too seriously...or knew if he even had a place to live in...but Doug had a heart...he was a veteran who had a shrapnal piece damage his brain a bit....He used to have a couple of hundred acres on Vancouver Island, which would have made him at least significant in anyones books....and he gave the property to his kids years before, and embarked on the path I saw him on...
I was in McBrides one afternoon, it had a counter with stools, tables with chairs on the floor, red and white plastic tableclothes...there was the window out of the back wall where you could see the people working in the kitchen....
One day Doug walks in to a rather crowded with tourists McBrides....at this time not too many people knew who was sitting at the table next to them....Doug is in his usual atire includind the black gum boots he usually wears..............and he is carrying his fishing pole.......he walks to the back to where the window is, and says in a voice that is perfectly inocent and loud enough for everyone to hear........"Ruth (the mother and owner) I brought you a fish" as he reached into the pocket of his overcoat and retrieves a fish that was about a foot long.... Ruth tries to shush him up and politely says "No thanks Doug, not now"
Doug now gets insistent and says "Its ok Ruth I got it for you, I caught it this morning:"
I can't believe whats going on....theater at its finest.....and the patrons are unanimated, in shock, some with their forks half way to their mouth, of course.....with a piece of fish on it.......
I kind of lost track of what was going on after that...it was all too good.......too delicious......I think Ruth took the fish and thanked Doug....so he could feel comfortable leaving.....but to me it was just another great chapter in the unfolding adventures that happened at McBrides Restaurant....
I promise you the above is true, if you liked this I'll share another couple with you....Probably not too many people still around but friedships were made that lasted a lifetime...and memories too.... wouldn't that make a great book of short strories... :lol: :lol: Steffan
Well McBrides had the best fish and chips (fries) around, and many of the tourists stopped by in the afternoon for their fix...
Doug was often seen around town, frequently walking alond the railway tracks that ran between the road and the beach. You might feel like you know Doug....many people knew him as 'hop-a-long'...you see he had a bit of a limp and used cane. He usually had his long winterish coat on, with his slightly thinning straggely hair and beard framing his face, Often he carried a fishing pole over his shoulder. Many people thought of him as the residual bum, who never hesitated to ask you for a quarter....I really don't think too many people took him too seriously...or knew if he even had a place to live in...but Doug had a heart...he was a veteran who had a shrapnal piece damage his brain a bit....He used to have a couple of hundred acres on Vancouver Island, which would have made him at least significant in anyones books....and he gave the property to his kids years before, and embarked on the path I saw him on...
I was in McBrides one afternoon, it had a counter with stools, tables with chairs on the floor, red and white plastic tableclothes...there was the window out of the back wall where you could see the people working in the kitchen....
One day Doug walks in to a rather crowded with tourists McBrides....at this time not too many people knew who was sitting at the table next to them....Doug is in his usual atire includind the black gum boots he usually wears..............and he is carrying his fishing pole.......he walks to the back to where the window is, and says in a voice that is perfectly inocent and loud enough for everyone to hear........"Ruth (the mother and owner) I brought you a fish" as he reached into the pocket of his overcoat and retrieves a fish that was about a foot long.... Ruth tries to shush him up and politely says "No thanks Doug, not now"
Doug now gets insistent and says "Its ok Ruth I got it for you, I caught it this morning:"
I can't believe whats going on....theater at its finest.....and the patrons are unanimated, in shock, some with their forks half way to their mouth, of course.....with a piece of fish on it.......
I kind of lost track of what was going on after that...it was all too good.......too delicious......I think Ruth took the fish and thanked Doug....so he could feel comfortable leaving.....but to me it was just another great chapter in the unfolding adventures that happened at McBrides Restaurant....
I promise you the above is true, if you liked this I'll share another couple with you....Probably not too many people still around but friedships were made that lasted a lifetime...and memories too.... wouldn't that make a great book of short strories... :lol: :lol: Steffan
