Friday, July 17, 1992 - North Shore News - 7

INSIGHTS

Dining home-style at High Boats Cafe

HUGHES’ VIEWS

AHEM.

1 would like to take this oppor-
tunity to make a special an-
nouncement. I am taking over as
restaurant critic for this newspa-
per. .
No doubt this will come as
something of a shock to Timothy
Renshaw, managing editor and,
up until now, the organ’s official
Table Hopper, but it can’t be
helped. 1 gave him his chance and
he blew it.

It all started a few weeks ago
when we were having one of our
usual light, bantering conversa-
tions. A discussion on quantum
physics, as I recall. Or perhaps it
was navel lint. One of the two.

Anyway, I distinctly recall fling-
ing about the name of one of my
favorite breakfast hangouts, Cap-
tain Kate’s High Boats Cafe,
snuggled on the edge of Mosquito
Creek Marina near the bottom of
Bewicke Ave.

““You should review it,"’ I en-
thused, ‘‘Great place!"’

“OK,’’ he replied. And then,

with typical editorial treachery,
promptly forgot about it.

The trouble with Tim is that he
suffers from a certain je ne sais
quoi. If he aid 1, for instance,
were to write a book of our dining
experiences, the title of his would
be ‘‘Where the Elite Eat,”’
whereas mine would likely read,
‘*Where the Swine Dine.”’

His idea of a restaurant with
fine ambience probably includes
classical piano music, starched ta-
blecloths, fingerbowls with bits of
fruit floating in them.

My expectations are somewhat
lower. 1 only insist they don’t
spray the Raid while I’m actually
eating.

You see, I like to be comferta-
ble when | eat.

I don’t want to spend a lot of
time worrying whether my
cumberbund clashes too severely
with the wallpaper.

I don’t want to wait four days
for the chef to find just the right
mushrooms for his chanterelle
sauce. I don’t want to have to
resort to fisticuffs to get the
waiter to finally bring me the bill.

I don’t want to wonder whether
the little cup of mysterious liquid
that inevitably shows up is some-
thing I should dip my fingers in,
dip my scallops in, or consider us-
ing to wash my socks.

1 like to go in, grub down, pay
up, and get out.

High Boats is exactly my kind
of place. ;

It’s a small joint, with a some-
what aged look — a sort of el-
derly Atco trailer with a few signs
of advanced rheumatism.

Tables of assorted design are
sprinkled here and there. Pictures
and photos on the wall reflect the
clientele — tugboats, fishing
boats, pleasure boats, and for the
occasional high-class guest (lost,
obviously) a Bill Reid print.

There are a couple of original

oils too, done, I’m sure, by
someone for whom the owner has
a particular fondness. One that
stands out in my memory is of a
freighter and tugboat, the
perspective askew, giving the
painting a Grandma Moses charm.

There are two entrances to High
Boats, the doors of which are
usually left open. No one knows
why, although this morning it was
for the convenience of two dogs,
one lab and one shepherd, who
shuffled in the Mosquito Creek
side, sniffed about for a while,
and then padded out the Bewicke
side.

No one even looked up from
their plate. It’s that kind of place.
1 love it.

As for conversation, I'll give
you a sample:

Group home story one-sided

Dear Editor:

North Vancouver is a beautiful
area in which to live. Those
who reside here appreciate the
well-maintained homes, the sce-
nery and the sense of community.

For those who have spent most
of their childhood and adult lives
in an institution, sheltered from
society, the appreciation fdr beau-
ty, space and fellowship is even
stronger. I am referring to those
individuals who iive with a physi-
cal and/or cognitive disability.
Many of these individuals were
placed in institutions at an early
age because years ago society feit
it was “for their own good.’’

But institutional life didn’t
work out very well. Abuse was
rampant, individuality was hard to
find, motivation and quality of
life was low. For about the last 10

years, these people have been suc-
cessfully re-entering their own
communities, many of them on
the North Shore, some in the
Lynn Valley area.

They may be your neighbors.

After reading the July 5 article
in the North Shore News, ‘‘Resi-
dents object to group home de-
velopment in Lynn Valley area,”
it struck me how little the com-
munity (including the media!) re-
ally understands about
homes and the individuals who
live in them. A group home is
merely a group of individuals
sharing a residence, who rely on
paid staff to support them in their
daily activities. These people may
have cognitive or physical
disabilities.

These people may be loud or
quiet, they may be tall, short,

group.

overweight, underweight, attrac-
tive or not so attractive. They
have individual differences like
you and me, but everyone, no
matter how ‘“‘severely disabled,’’
can contribute to the community
in some way.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read any
of this in the articie. I didn’t read
anything about how studies have
shown that group homes do not
affect property values, how a per-
son with a disability next door is
not move likely to disturb your
sleep and affect your enjoyment
of life.

Traditionally when an article is
written, the reporter investigates
both sides of the story. I heard
only one side when I read this ar-
ticle.

North Shore Association for the
Mentally Handicapped

Ratepayers critical of WV. council expenses

Dear Editor:

The Ambleside and Dundarave
Ratepayers Association (ADRA) is
aware that West Vancouver coun-
cil (or rather, the taxpayers) paid
the costs of sending two
aldermen’s spouses to a Federa-
tion of Canadian Municipalities
conference in Montreal recently.

Aithough as a.civic official it

may be hard to spend time away
from one’s family it is a fact of
life for all aldermen -who par-
ticipate in lecal government, and

ali aldermen are aware of this at .

election time.

Unlike West Vancouver, the Ci-
ty of North Vancouver did not
pay spouses’ travel expenses for
this conference.

Taxes for West Vancouver tax-

payers this year increased 28% to
0%.

This conference may be essen-
tial for aldermen to attend in
order to be effective in local gov-
ernment, but it is the position of
the ADRA that this is not respon-
sible use of the taxpayers’ purse.
E.J. Fonseca, President
ADRA
West Yancouver

Waitress: ‘‘Don’t look at me like
that.”

Customer: ‘'God. Haven't you
had your coffee yet?’’

Waitress: “‘Whaddya want?”’
Customer: ‘‘Gimme some poached
eggs and hash browns, willya?
And put something on the eggs.
Don’t care what ... onions,
maybe.”’

Waitress: ‘‘Don't be weird,
Harry.”

This waitress, whose name
escapes me at the moment,
promptly bustled back to the
kitchen and gave old weird Harry
exactly what he wanted. You see,
she is also the cook. (And, I
suspect, when times get tough, the
bouncer.)

Each time I've been there, she
has cooked my breakfast for me.

Bacon and eggs. Over easy. Great
old-fashioned taste. You can ac-
tually feel those little cholesterol
whatnots building Hoover Dams
in your veins. Boy, they’re good!

The fact is, the place is just like
the sign outside says — “Home
Style.” ,

You can wander in, sit ata
table, and be yourself, weird or
otherwise. Smoke if you have ’em.
Scratch yourself and burp if you
must. All they ask at High Boats
is, if you’re about to pass wind,
for God’s sake sit by the open
doors.

Submissions to Friday Insights
(700-900 words) can be sent to the
attention of Barbara Black, North
Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave.,
North Vancouver, B.C. V7M .
2H4.

People with special
needs are entitled
to same freedoms

. Land costs when new home
construction is required, and

Dear Editor:

Over the past eight years, the
North Shore Disability
Resource Centre has developed
three group homes in the Lynn
Valley area. We were appalled
by the July 5 article in the
North Shore News presenting
Lynn Valley residents’ concerns
about the development of a
new home by the B.C. Housing
Management Commission.

Our policy is to provide in-
formation to lecal area resi-
dents, as a courtesy, prior to
developing a group home so
that questions can be answered
and misconceptions laid to rest.

As MLA David Shreck
pointed out in the article, resi-
dents are not generally con-
sulted when so-called ‘‘nor-
mal’? people move into their
neighborhoods. People with
special needs are entitled to the
same freedom to live in com-
munities of their choice. How-
ever, there are several factors
which contribute to the cluster-
ing of homes in certain areas,

proximity to services and
transporiation are some of
these factors. Cur association
does not support the develop-
ment of a ‘“‘disproportionate’’
share of group homes in any
area, but your article does not
demonstrate that this is so in
Lynn Valley. What proportion
of the general population do 96
group home residents repre-
sent?

We are disappointed that the
article did not present a
balanced view of the integra-
tion of people with disabilities
into our community. For every
person who feels that’ some
people ‘will never be integrated,
there are many more who
know from personal experience
that all people benefit from .
community living.

Pam Horton

President

North Shore Disability
Resource Centre