A curious thing happened at the WDRA’s big Party in the Park recently. As a member of this community group, I was to take photos of the goings on and naturally of attractive women. One of these women complimented not me but my camera itself.
I had bought mine some years ago when I worked part-time for the Cobden Sun. I was frustrated with driving to the office to use the business camera and then having to return it after an assignment.
Apparently this lady, a newcomer to the area from Rapid Road, had one the same and loved the bright red colour – until the picture-button broke. We talked cameras ad-nauseum until I noticed her husband approaching.
I am someone who rarely gets a compliment but when I do I never forget it.
When I was about 14 years old, this other guy said that I looked “clean-cut”. Flattery or insult? I had to check with my mother for the meaning. She asked, “What did your chum look like?” I said he was sloppy; his hair wasn’t combed and even a little greasy. She said, “Definitely a compliment.”
I got another one when I was eighteen. I was embarrassed and my mind began buzzing with all the possibilities if it were to come true. He had suddenly said to me, “Bobby, you have the looks and trim body for making a good porn star.” I said, “I’ve heard about those guys and I doubt if I have what they are really looking for.”
I was working in Toronto when my bosses boss asked me to look into a problem with getting some of our company equipment released from being hung up in Canadian customs. It took half of my time at work for two weeks to get it done. He was so pleased that he arranged to take me to dinner at an upscale restaurant. Wanting to continue impressing him, I ordered some exotic fish that I only vaguely heard about. Unfortunately it didn’t agree my stomach. I had to race for the washroom half-way through dinner. Why couldn’t I have stuck with roast beef?
I write columns prolifically for local publication, approaching 300 to date but never earning a penny for any of them. Gratefully the occasional person mentions a story that struck a chord with them. One time in Basics an elderly lady came up to me and said, “Bob, I like your stuff in the Whitewater News.” I’d never seen her before so asked how she knew it was me. She said, from your picture silly.
One yearly visitor to Westmeath from Germany reads it, as does former residents from Westmeath living in Brantford and British Columbia (not ‘Below Cobden’). One reader from eastern Ontario wrote a letter to the editor once saying Mr. Grylls’s columns were the best part of the whole newspaper – don’t lose him.
Occasionally something happens that is so disgusting it shouldn’t be put in print. However, it was so long ago I’ve reconsidered. I had driven my dad to Ottawa for a doctor’s appointment. He loves Swiss Chalet so as usual we stopped at the one in west-end Ottawa (no longer open). I took a moment to use the Men’s downstairs washroom. Opening the door I spotted a lady sitting on the throne with the cubical door open. With open arms, she beckoned me. “Come over here, you sexy thing and have some fun.”
Recovering from the shock, I stumbled away from there, clambered up the stairs and back to my table – out of breath of course. My dad wanted to know what took place. I just said, “It’s too dreadful for your tender ears.”
Then there was the time I had an appointment for a blood test. The lady questioned my health card and quizzically said, “How old are you?”. When I told her she said I didn’t look that old. I said, “I even feel older than I am most days.”
The most intriguing feedback was when a dear friend from Scarborough said to me, “Bob, I have never in my life seen an unusual face such as yours.”
I was afraid to ask how she meant it but thought about it many times since. Maybe it was a compliment?
