28 — Sunday, October 2, 1994 - North Shore News Learning to get the drift THE VINTAGE YEARS PERISH FORFEND that you should think mea buttinsky. You may very well have settled already on your fall and winter entertain- ment and uplift, and have no need of my advice. But it just happens that a couple of unusual activities have surfaced to my ken, especially suitable for seniors, and I’m dying to tell you about them. Each of these things will need serious consideration, and because the season is shifting its gears, the information will have bearing on your plans too. The first one has to do with gar- den work — public garden work. I was coming home with the daily groceries one day in the summer, using the path and the lane behind the Credit Union, where I cross over to the BC Tel buildings. There’s some fovely rhododen- dron there, which had had its bloom, and an elderly gentleman, armed with a large plastic bag, was picking off the faded remains. “They need to.have these husks removed, you know,” he said, “or you won’t get the bloom next year.” ; Of course. I complimented him and went on home. But it stuck in my mind. And then my library . friend, who lives opposite m2 on Keith Boulevard, remarked one day on the accumulation of weed beside the little stone stair she uses to come across the park. “Tt hasn't been tended since Adam was a pup.” Well, what about you and me? A lot of us have gardening in our pasts, and a lot of us have time on our hands. The Park crews work very hard, and do beautifui flower beds for L DIAL & SAVE a FLAT RATE LOWER MAINLAND* $ 4.95 PER MONTH free activation, incoming and wr outgoing calls, limit 30 calls. i wt 2 $14.95 PER MONTH free activation, incoming and outgoing calls, unlimited calls. i ! F § CALL 970-5813 FOR H IMMEDIATE ACTIVATION. a Above plans for residential clients only, call for business rates. I Dial & Save Communications Inc. is registered with the CRTC and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. ‘ Lower Maniand inctudes the following areas: Aldergrove, Coquitiam, Cloverdale, Delta, Ft. Langley, i Ladner, Langley, Maple Ridge, Newton, Noth Van- couver, Pitt Meadows, Pt. Coquitlam, Pt. Moody, Surrey, Tsawassen, West Vancouver, Whalley & White Rock, Ga een aoe ce our delectation. Why can’t we help with the chores? It took a few phone calls, and one trip to City Hall, but it’s all fixed. If city park weeds offend your eye, go ahead and clean them out. If boulevard areas ery for some love and attention, similarly. And if anyone gives you any lip, call Hugh McKay in North Van City's Engineering department. He applauds the idea, and thinks it's a sign of good citizenship. There'll be nothing organized. We won't in anyway interfere with the unionized workers, We'll just be responding to an itch occusional- ly, that's all. Doing our bit. The other thing is about being an “extra.” Yes, that kind, as in the movies. Various companies are filming most of the time,around and about Vancouver, and they require a large assorted pool of bodies and faces purely for background, to give a feeling of credibility to the special and expensive scenes they shoot. They aren't ooking for classical beauty and an impeccable . wardrobe. For the most part they’re look- ing simply for people that can take direction and keep quiet, but variety is the essence, as one can under- stand. The pay-rate is very low, but if you’re on site for the prescribed time, you have to be fed. They do that. As well, your movements are fairly restricted, but there's nothing to stop you from reading your book or making sketches of the people and the territory, or working on your cross-stitch or our correspon- dence. And it means being with people, and using your ears and eyes and imagination, exercising your per- © sonality as you do not when you stay home alone. There’s a registra- ticn fee, varying from company to company, but not onerous. The hours of work are weird, and the hours spent waiting — just waiting — are interminable. But both players and waiters are all infi- nitely various and if you keep your pores open, there’s lots to learn. { had instructions to be at the Plaza of Nations at seven-thirty the morning of the 19th, ready to be an old lady in a wheel-chair for X- number of hours. I quite literally got off on the wrong foot from SkyTrain, and was a quarter-hour late, but others were later than I — it was very foggy. Finally, at !1a.m., T was tucked into the chair, warned of the upcoming oxygen mask and set aside to observe. Daryl Wing Pharmacist Smoking can cause back pain. The British Journal of Rheumatology says that smoker's cough puts greater stress on the back muscles, Also, smoking reduces the amount of blood going to the discs that form cushions between vertebrae. This makes them more easily damaged and slower to heal. Ina seated position, the human body places pressure on the spine and hips, especially after sitting for long periods. The OBUS seat alleviates this pressure and helps avoid fatigue. ee They never did get around to me and my nurse, and we were finally written out of the script. I guess, So much for fame. But for that entire morning T was able, from the fringe, to watch and listen and try to coordinate these people, absorbed in their strange- looking tools and the possible out- come of what seemed to be a non- existent plot. If invited, | shall try again. in the hope that maybe next time VIL last until the denouement, and finally get the drift. 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