Not
a very long street, just off a major arterial, it is shaped like a
question mark. At the conclusion of the bulge it meanders into another
street. One half of the street backs onto a heavily wooded ravine, a
neighbourhood treasure, though few of the street's residents quite
recognize its value, nor make use of its propinquity. It cleanses the
air everyone breathes, it hosts birds and wildlife and presents a
treasury of wildflowers throughout the seasons. At
one time the street, part of a larger suburban community, shared a
small-town address. It has long since been subsumed into the greater
national capital of the country, through a wide-ranging amalgamation of
communities and even farms. The street and the houses on it were built
two and a half decades ago. The domiciles are comprised mostly of
single-family, detached dwellings, with a handful of semis verging on
the main thoroughfare. Many
of the residents are the original home purchasers. They would comprise
roughly 50% of the residents of the street. The semis appear to have
changed hands far more often than the detached homes. And those homes
that have been re-sold have often enjoyed a succession of owners. The
original home owners who moved into their houses when their children
were small have mostly bid farewell to now-grown children. The
street represents an amalgam of family types, and there is a
significant percentage at this time, of retired people, singly and in
couples who, though their houses are meant for family occupation, still
opt to remain in their too-large, but comfortable and familiar and
valued homes. It is a very quiet street, with little traffic other than
those who live there. The house fronts are diverse, and attractive. Most
residents take care of their homes, seeing them as their primary
investments. Furnaces have been replaced, and air conditioners, and also
windows. Kitchens and bathrooms have been remodelled, and people have
added decks and occasionally airy 'summer houses' to the backs of their
homes. One-third of the homes boast swimming pools, in-ground and
above-ground. Most
people take pride in their properties, and feel they must achieve lawns
that are weedless and smoothly green. Some painstakingly remove weeds
by hand in the spring, others hire lawn-care companies to spread
chemicals on their lawns. Invariably, the people who look after their
own gardens and lawns have superior gardens and lawns. Each house has a
large tree planted in front; maples, ash,crabapples, spruce or pine,
fully mature. This
is a community that is truly mixed, representing people from around the
world, come to Canada as immigrants, settled and making the most of
opportunities open to all its citizens in a free and open society noted
for its pluralism and dedication to fair representation. There are the
extroverts and the introverts, those who prefer not to mingle, others
who do. They are herewith loosely sketched:
This is the seventh part of the anatomy of The Street.
Crossing
the street again, another first-ownership family. A quiet,
conservative, but extremely personably-friendly family originally from
Hong Kong. And like so many Chinese from the island their given names
oddly British. They're Canadian to the core, however, an integral part
of the country's mixed-heritage pluralism. Two children in the family,
both girls. Their parents conscientious, hard-working people,
house-proud and content with their lives. Both parents employed by the
federal government, he as a scientist, she as a bookkeeper.
Highly
intelligent, cosmopolitan, they've raised their girls to reflect their
values, work ethic, and consuming interest in bettering themselves.
Highly educated, but not the least bit intellectual; a bit of a
conundrum there, but perhaps not. They're more motivated by
materialism. They like to travel, and occasionally do, as a family. Or
did, before the girls became fully mature and independent. Now the
parents travel to visit with their girls, one living in Florida as a
public affairs type, the other travelling the world on vacation
passenger liners, part of the 'entertainment' crew.
When the
girls were young and attending area schools, elementary and secondary,
they walked to and from school, later taking area buses. Their parents
still use the public transit system to arrive at their government
offices, leaving their vehicle in the garage. When other neighbourhood
children went out for Hallowe'en, the girls never joined them. They did
not, in fact, make friends with other girls close to their age in the
immediate neighbourhood. The older the girls became, the prettier they
were; polite and well spoken. A pleasure to greet them and speak with
them.
Both parents are short of stature, attractive people.
Careful about their weight, as behooves responsible middle-aged people.
They aren't interested in any leisure activities. They're either at
work, or at home, quietly doing things in their large and open interior,
closed to the outside world. They're not readers, watch a fair amount
of television. Don't appear to go out much, either to dine or to attend
theatres or cultural events of any kind. Their daughters were more involved in their quiet way. One imagined them engaged in
extracurricular events, but perhaps not.
In public the family is
outgoing and eager to express interest on the affairs of their
neighbours, and the neighbourhood. They will stand about for lengthy
periods of time good-naturedly sharing stories, opinions, generally
consolidating their status in the neighbourhood. They do miss the more
immediate presence of their daughters. Happy, however, to embark on
winter vacations to visit them, one in Florida, the other wherever she
happens to settle down temporarily between seasons. They're content
because their girls are satisfied with their lives.
Neither girl
yet attached, both still single, and comfortable that way. Their mother
too has a strong personality, independent, yet half of a domestic duo.
Both parents hold strong opinions that they don't at all mind sharing
with anyone who asks. And they've taken advantage of the current
downturn in the U.S. housing market to avail themselves of a purchase of
a condominium unit in Miami, at a really amazing price. It's rented
out, but any time they decide they'd like to retain it for their own
use, it could be arranged. They're proud to be property owners.
Although
they live directly opposite the ravine, just a tad down from the entry
point, neither has ever ventured into its cool green interior. It's
just not their ambiance. He has, however, taken lately to gardening. He
built a low 'stone' retaining wall in an oval pattern on the front
lawn, and planted some perennials, put in some spring bulbs; both
immensely pleased with the result. They had a mature Sunburst
Honeylocust on the front lawn, but hired an arborist two years ago to
cut it down. Affording them more sun for the little garden in front.
They're
meticulous people, mindful of the state of their home, their property.
They're Christian, though not overtly so. It's a private matter.
During the Christmas season they're one of a handful of families who
don't bother putting up colourful lights or other decorations to mark
the season. They're discreet about such things. One doesn't imagine a
cross word passing their lips, nor recrimination spoken one against the
other. Nothing very exciting about them. But nice people to have as
neighbours.
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