Rosemary's Florence purse. It makes me smile & then cry

While in Buenos Aires in December 2021 I kept telling my family and friends that I longed to return to my boring and stable Canada.

Going to the corner of Lavalle and Florida to change US Dollars into Argentine Pesos (206 to the Dollar) with my Cuban friend Yosvany (a perfectly legal procedure) was only slightly off-putting. Eating well kept me entertained as was conversing with my correntino first cousin Jorge Wenceslao de Irureta Goyena and my Irish/Argentine nephew Georgito O’Reilly.

But I know I could never live in a place where US Dollars make more interest inside a bank security box but not in a bank account. The next to 50% inflation is daunting. I could not live having to adapt and find ways of preventing financial failure or living in  country with two polarized political parties.

Here in Vancouver I have found a reluctance with folks to even talk on the phone. I have called quite a few people to only get a recording, “This mail box is full, call later.”

With others I get the distinct idea that when I call I am interrupting a-glue-on-the-TV situation. I don’t call them anymore. And then few call me. I may be persona non grata. 

Last year on my birthday, on August 31 I spotted a priest in Kerrisdale. I drove around the block and asked him to bless me. This he did. He told me in what parish  he worked and invited me to attend Sunday Mass. After the Mass I lined up and when I was finally facing him I told him I would like to chat with him. His answer, "I am very busy with my congregation. I do not have the time."

I long for more than my Canadian stability. I long for the awesome (I hate this word but it applies here) stability and clear head of my Rosemary. On her bed she could hold court for me and I always felt the world was just fine with her in it. I could go for her advice and I would get sound advice.

Now without her I am lost in the desert with nobody to go to.

Today I watched my two brother and sister cats, Niño and Niña, on my bed (after my breakfast) be as close together as they could while on my lap. This need for warmth, be it human or feline, confirms what it is that I miss in this boring and stable country.

I miss the warmth of my Rosemary.