by Madeleine Roy
The summer of ‘21 was burning hot and extremely dry in the Okanagan Lake, of B.C. Canada. Since retiring in 2020, I have lived with my son in this beautiful country surrounded by lakes, mountains and wineries! It really is a piece of paradise.
On the evening of August 1, we were both anxious as the Okanagan Indian Reserve Band situated literally next to our community was evacuated due to wildfires. My son Chad has lived here for 18 years and he kept assuring me that he has never been evacuated before. In my naivety, I thought the Band was just taking precautions for their entire reserve.
Then the news came. The community of Westshore Estates is being evacuated-now!
The two of us could not believe our eyes and ears! This can’t be true. We packed a couple bags, laptops, phones, and oh yes…my Ukes!!! I loaded up my Jeep and on the road we went, my 4 ukes and me! (Thank God I have a small uke family, it would have been impossible to decide whom to leave behind!)
I showed up on my girlfriend’s doorstep near midnight in shock; thinking, I’ll only be here a few nights. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
I immediately set up Fender, Bernie, Noir and Spalt in my room. (Yes-I named my ukes). Fender is my first and he is a tenor with a low g; Bernie, she’s obviously Mrs B’s Signature Enya concert; Noir, he is my black Enya Nova; and Spalt, she is the sexy spalted concert ukulele I purchased from Bernadette last year.
To be honest, the time evacuated is a bit of a blur! The evacuation days were like being on a roller coaster ride that we could not get off!
To say my family was neglected would be an understatement. Spalt was ignored completely. Noir took a day trip to Vancouver but never saw the light of day. Fender stayed in the basement and we played together and then he got rough and broke his “g” string! Bernie got the most attention and actually went out with me most of the time. (Although I will admit sometimes she never got out of her bed/case!) Actually, some days I could barely get out of bed!
Prior to the evacuation, I was practicing everyday and rarely missed a Zoom or YouTube class. During the evacuation, I felt myself slipping into a depression that was difficult to manage, as everyday felt like “groundhog” day to me. I missed a few classes and struggled to keep up. I didn’t want to go out, as I’d cry if someone just said hello to me. I couldn’t plan anything and had to cancel a lot. I was a mess!
You’re probably thinking that with so much time on my hands, I should have been plucking at those strings a whole lot! That’s certainly what I would have thought as an outsider looking in. I can’t really explain it, but I’d find myself crying while playing, or I hated every song I learned, and truly, I just couldn’t focus on anything for very long.
I think the hardest part was the not knowing, so the days just kept adding up and went on and on….
Then, something surprising happened! Bernadette comes up with something spectacular! Ukelandia Magazine! The timing for me was perfect, why? Because I needed something new to be a part of, a distraction, a creation, a commitment! A reason to get out of bed! Sure, everyday I was afraid that I might let the Team’s down. However, I know one sure thing about myself, it would take a disaster for me to break a commitment. Oh wait, wasn’t I living through a disaster?
The manifestation of the Magazine was the flame (pardon the pun!) that caught my eye and gave light to the darkness that I felt so trapped and tormented in.
I threw myself into Bernadette’s surprise project! I set myself up so I had something to do almost every remaining day of the Evac! I struggled with Internet reception and changing locations but these were minor problems, all things considered. I started playing/practicing a little more, but trying to catch up was just too overwhelming.
I eased myself back into playing songs that I had some muscle memory of…. nothing too taxing.
After 33 days of evacuation, we got the news we could finally go home. We were still on evacuation alert but hallelujah… the nightmare had ended! The family is now hanging out in their room and are getting a little more attention than the previous month. Well at least Bernie and Fender are! Noir usually travels with me and is getting ready for a trip to Ottawa next month. Spalt, well she prefers to hang around just “looking good” most of the time anyway!
A few days later, I was playing with Bernie just off the kitchen and my son came flying past me and chased a black bear off our deck! Bernie and I crouched down behind the desk, vibrating in fear. I could feel Bernie’s strap tightening around my neck as I peeked into the kitchen to see if he was gone.
Chad promptly nailed the gate to the deck railing shut, thinking this would keep “Smokey the Bear” out. What were we thinking…. bears can climb trees! Yes, he just jumped over the gate and made himself at home.
A few days later, I was playing with Bernie just off the kitchen and my son came flying past me and chased a black bear off our deck! Bernie and I crouched down behind the desk, vibrating in fear. I could feel Bernie’s strap tightening around my neck as I peeked into the kitchen to see if he was gone.
Chad promptly nailed the gate to the deck railing shut, thinking this would keep “Smokey the Bear” out. What were we thinking…. bears can climb trees! Yes, he just jumped over the gate and made himself at home.
He rummaged through our things, and now it seemed we had trapped him onto our deck! He eventually climbed up onto the gate and then performed a tightrope dance across the railing and dropped himself down onto the stairs! What? -This bear is an acrobat!
Yogi has been back a few times since, and every time we hear a few thumps on the deck it sounds like he’s dancing out there!
I should learn to play the song “Dancing Bear” by Natalie Merchant, however the family is resisting as they think this will just encourage him to keep coming back.
I properly made a promise to Bernie and the others that we will not go outside until Yogi has gone off to hibernate. I think we have a few months of hibernating ourselves!
In spite of the fires, evacuation and Yogi’s random visits, things are slowly getting back to a new normal and I’m practicing a little more almost everyday.
My new mantra is “Every day is a good day, let’s make it a playday!”
