24 April 2025 - Fuji X-E1 & Lensbaby

My grandmother (I called her Abue) had an uncanny talent of knowing when to move.

Sometime around 1921 she became a widow in Manila. She had three children, one was to be my mother. She told me many years later, that although she had a magnificent coloratura soprano voice, she could not sing opera in the Philippines for a living. Only prostitutes did that in those years. She picked up sticks and moved the whole family to the Bronx.

As a little boy she would tell me that on the way to New York their Japanese ship arrived at a port in a city that had trees and mountains. She would pronounce the name “Vancooover”. For years every time I happen to go into what was the CP Train Station at the foot of Granville I sit on a bench and imagine them walking across to take the train to Montreal.

As she noticed the market fluctuations in the US in beginning of 1929, my Abue and family moved back to the Philippines.

In 1936 she felt the winds of war in the East, so they moved to Buenos Aires. In the early 50s when Perón started burning churches, my grandmother knew it was time to move. We moved to Mexico City in 1953.

My Abue died in Veracruz 1970. She had dementia but she did meet my Rosemary.

In 1975 Rosemary informed that she did not think that Mexico City was a good place for our two daughters, Alexandra and Hilary to grow up in. We were to move in our VW Beetle to Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 1986 I was informed by my director of operations that she was tired of having a little garden in our Burnaby townhouse. We were to move to a splendid corner garden house in Kerrisdale.

It was 7 years ago where I (yes me!) informed Rosemary that we were going to move out of Kerrisdale and sell the house for good money and move to Kitsilano. Thanks to Rosemary’s financial acumen and the selling of that Kerrisdale property I do not worry know about making ends meet.

I think a lot on how Rosemary “inherited” from my grandmother the foresight for moving and from my mother, her beautiful legs.

These warmer spring days in Kitsilano I have been biking every day to Point Grey Road. I have been taking my Fuji X-E1 with its Lensbaby. As I bike on all those safe bike lanes and marvel at all those little parks by the water, I salute my Rosemary for her talent for moving.