West Valley Properties

By Marty Douglas

I suppose I should begin my 200th column with an apology. Not for the previous 199 although I know one or two were clangors – okay, okay, maybe five. In my last column I made a rash prediction involving the NHL team from Vancouver and the piece of tin symbolic of the ultimate championship thereof. I am now firmly in the camp of the Winnipeg team, giving Canadians one more crack at the title in a city that hangs its trouble makers or forces them to the outskirts of town in mid-winter, rather than waiting until they have finished their joint before asking them politely to go home and burn no more.

As an aside, we were in Vancouver on the weekend following the riot and only the boarded up windows and a few scorch marks evidenced the embarrassment of the post game shame. The clean-up volunteers had done a great job, the plywood covering the windows was literally full of sentiment and the sidewalks were jammed with curiosity seekers, reading, composing and writing.

We were in town for a matinee performance of the Tony Award winning musical and it was ironic the patrons and performers for that fateful Wednesday night’s show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre were held in the building while the rioters surged to and fro outside on Georgia Street. Sort of a show within a show – with wine spritzers.

While the rest of the world has forgotten the 2011 edition of the Stanley Cup riots, Vancouver talk radio continues to navel gaze while the left of centre city council exchanges blame with the chief of police. The spokesperson for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, an NDP challenger in our new premier’s recent by-election, is worried the use of CCTV, public and media images cross-pollinated with B.C. drivers license photos will somehow threaten the rights of the rioters. Meanwhile, the police are asking for legislation making it a criminal act to wear a facial covering to a public disturbance.

Such is life on the wet coast. On the left coast. Here – in paradise.

That out of the way, I want to introduce you to a couple of associates I have worked with for some time, only to discover recently they have talents beyond real estate. Perhaps I’m watching too many reality shows. The problem is you see someone in a familiar daily routine of real estate sales or property management and assume that at 5 pm they fold into a corner filing cabinet and wait until morning to begin again.

These are the delightful discoveries you make when you play together as a team, whether it’s a beer and pizza in the office after work, a volunteer commitment in support of a community project or a bit of travel.

Roland Wickett – by day the managing broker of Coast Realty Groups offices in Parksville, Qualicum and Port Alberni; by night – (actually probably in his senior moments during the day too) – a poet. A month or so ago a modest volume arrived in my office mail entitled – a collection of poetry for seniors. The flyleaf was inscribed to me with the kind words, “Takes one to know one.” Within are 32 cleverly structured word plays on topics as far reaching as handicapped parking spaces and the perils of home hair dye. Two are reprinted below.

The cover of the Roland’s book contained another pleasant surprise. A painting by Chris Dahl entitled (www.chrisdahlcreative.com). There’s a great bio at www.qualicumframeworks.ca/chris-dahl and we discoveed that in addition to painting and recording music, Chris’ blues band opened for some big names in the ’60s including The Doors and Bo Didley. Chris’ recent career change to property management with Coast Realty Group has been well served by his ability to detect a variety of controlled substances.

While Chris worked in my office, I discovered he is the brother of Stevie Cameron, a favourite author of mine, one not usually the subject of Conservative Party of Canada Book Clubs. Her books (http://steviecameron.com/about) are a must-read for a grasp of insider politics and power in Ottawa. Her recent book thoroughly and graphically describes the Pickton murders and the case of the Vancouver missing women.

Roland and Chris are two of the 250 or so Realtors working with Coast Realty Group around Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. Hockey players, pilots, veterans of wars, teachers, policemen – we come to this career usually late, with backgrounds that have shaped the men and women we are today. When you get a chance to lift your nose from the grind stone, check around. Today could be the day you find your poet.