4 - Friday, August 16, 1991 - North Shore News The case of the vanishing lady of Caulfeild Cove THE EXPLANATION must be rational. But it made me think of ghosts. And, oddly, youth. Trevor Lautens GARDEN OF BIASES Let’s start with the youth and work forward — to The Curious Case of the Vanishing Lady at Caulfeild Cove. If, in fact, the case was curious. ¥f, in fact, the lady vanished. But let us return, as advertised above, to youth. At, L believe, age 15, I became fascinated with ghosts. Also clairvoyance, telepathy, pseudopods, spiritualism, even ouija boards — one of which, possibly navigated with subtlety by my mother, correctly foretold my term average at school to the first decimal point, its one great and measurable triumph. ! read of the early investigations of Sir Oliver Lodge into this sort of stuff, which is called psychical research. And of the extreme skepticism of the great magician Harry Houdini, who exposed some spiritual mediums as frauds and scoffed at the rest. It enhanced this passion that it ran into an earlier passion — for the Sherlock Holmes books. Their creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, had tumed to spiritualism for some ray of hope and comfort after the unbearable loss of a son in the First World War. In Grade 11, asked by my ca- reer counsellor precisely what employment 1 aspired to, I replied: ‘‘Psychica} researcher.”” This good man, named Harley Bears, stared at me, and, when [ explained what it meant, gently suggested that it might not be the easiest field in which to get a job. Such youthful fixations die their own natural death, which brings me up to one Sunday last month. July 21, to be exact. My young son Dan and old dog Sam and | were taking a walk along the west side of Caulfeild Cove, starting from the monu- ment to Francis Caulfeild himself. There are a couple of irails from the monument that lead through a heavily-treed area to the open bosom of rocks where the Cove’s admirers darken their pelts on sunny days. I noticed the woman and her dog quite casually. There was no one else in sight. She was no more than 40 yards (metric translation: 40 metres) away, as the crow flies, and in the direction in which we were walking — which, because of ihe meandering trail feading back through the heavily-treed part, might mean a walk of twice that distance. Even that is a generous estimate. Because of the trees, we wouldn't be out of each other’s sight longer than 60 seconds, allowing for the slow advance of a 2%-year-old boy, a 12-year-old dog, and a daddy who isn’t so swift any more either. Anyway, when | first saw her, the woman was on her feet and seemed to have just arrived at a spot on the rocks on the other side of this waoded area. She slipped off, over her head, some outer covering. Ai that distance I'd have said she was older rather than younger, and stim. 1 believe she put down a mat or something to Ke ou. Her dog was un- distinguished. In these times of heightened fear of assault, I'm always glad to have one of my children with me, a signal that the guy is okay, non-threatening. | thought about that, then and later. Anyway, the three of us moved from the open rock back to the trail through the treed area. The only significant thing that hap- pened was that a man passed us coming the other way — from the area where the woman was. He would have had to pass within a few yards (i.e., metres) of her. “‘Hello,’’ he said. “Good morning,’’ I said. I recall this startlingly original conversation because Dan, who asks questions about everything, asked who the man was. And why I'd spoken to him. I explained he was a neighbor, trying to convey the idea that he was a friendly man who probably lived near by. Which may only have puzzled Dan, since the man did not not belong to the circle of neighbors in his small world. While discussing this important matter, we came out of the woods and into the open area of gorgeous rocks. The woman was gone. The dog was gone. It struck me as remarkable. True, any sprightly human be- ing, in the brief time she was out of my sight — as mentioned, 60 seconds at most ~- could have changed her mind, grabbed her things, and with purposeful strides have disappeared toward the eye of the cove, the same direction in which we were heading. Or, alternatively, gone up the slope to the road above — Pilot House Road. Not the sort of thing you’d choose to do in beach footwear, but certainly possible. But the sensation of surprise remained. We strolled past where she had been, and ! stared at it. We walked on another couple of hundred steps, fingered, came back. But she didn’t. The lady had vanished. Not literally, of course. She must have taken one of the iwo courses described above. That is the rational, reasonable explanation. Yet it seemed unlike- ly. But infinitely more likely than this one: I'd seen a ghost. Mind you, there is one other possibility. The woman was a fairy, and had magically transformed herself and her dog into that man who had passed us by on the trail, NEWS photo Nei Lucente EVERY SUNDAY throughout the summer Lonsdale Quay Is presenting efternocn concerts. Last Sunday, Grizzly Frank (on harmonica) and Glad Hand Cam (banjo) entertained the crowd with songs and stories. SFU presenting arts seminars for caltural organizations SIMON FRASER University’s professional development pro- gram is attempting to find cre- ative solutions to the difficult challenges facing cultural organizations in the °90s. The School for Contem- porary Arts program Arts and Cultural Administration in Context will be presented in six days of seminars and panel discussions, Aug. 19 to 24, at SFU Harbour Centre campus. The program is directed at the needs of junior and mid- dle-level managers of cultural organizations. lt’s an opportunity for man- agers to explore the practical implications of changing eco- nomic, political and social en- vironments, and to upgrade their knowledge and skills in strategic planning, managerial practice, fundraising and mar- keting. Cultural consultant Ed Oscapella, former general manager of the Vancouver Symphony, will discuss com- mon organizational crises and healthy development; Ken Neufeld, general manager of Richmond's Gateway Theatre, will speak on how to make advertising dollars go further; Richard Lemaire, executive director of the Vancouver Cul- tural Alliance, will investigate the role of artists and ad- ministrators in achieving change in the cultural sector; Vancouver Art Gallery director Willard Holmes will discuss politicians’ use of arts issues as a public whipping post; and Brent Gibson, executive direc- tor of the Vancouver East Cui- tural Centre, will speak on au- dience development. For more information phone 291-5126. Whistler receives daycare funding THE DANDELION Daycare Society of Whistler recently received $60,000 from the provin- cial government. The money represents the first payment of a $180,000 GO B.C. grant to help build a children’s centre, said provincial secretary Elwood Veitch. Veitch, the minister responsible for GO B.C., said there is a great demand for daycare in the Whistler area. The society has started construction of a 4,950- square foot centre. The facility is expected to provide about 50 new daycare spaces. “The greatest need for daycare exists with families which have both parents employed in the hospitality industry,’’ said West Vancouver-Howe Sound MLA John Reynolds. “Community rep- resentatives recognizing the need to provide modern and well- managed daycare services have been instrumental in developing this project,’’ he added.