Erin's Journals

Just a thought… A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. [Oliver Wendell Holmes]

Welcome to a new week and one that will undoubtedly include some sombre reflection. This Canada Day takes on a much different tone, as it must; as it should.

Today, in the place of a written journal, I wanted to share with you a brief video that not only captures some of the natural beauty of this land of ours, but also shows what the last leg of a long voyage should look like: serene, restful and simply gorgeous.

I shot it as we returned from the mainland to Vancouver Island last week. How blessed we are to live in this country, on this island, and on a mountain perfectly named by its original Indigenous inhabitants as “place of refuge.” 

It has been exactly that for Rob and me, and we are grateful. Click here to enjoy this brief moment on the water.

And if you’d like a LONGER stay on the water, join me tonight at 8 o’clock EDT or 5 PDT for a Facebook live event at www.facebook.com/erindavispage! Mike Cooper is hoping to join in, plus we’ll be updating everyone on our river cruise plans for next spring on the Rhine – from amazing Amsterdam to glorious Switzerland.

Join Gerry from New Wave Travel and Neil from AMA Waterways as we take you on a half-hour vacation of information, hope and scenery – and all the info you need to decide to make plans to join us on the Rhine next spring! Talk to you this evening.

Just a thought… I smile because you’re my father; I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it. [Author Unknown]

Today I have for you a very special video. After a few hours of tearing around his retirement condo cleaning, tidying, sorting and shredding, we snuck in a brief – but funny – chat with him about something extremely dear to him that I found in his undies drawer.

I need to point out that this is NOT a product endorsement (I show the label because I didn’t mention its name – and I can’t even tell you if it’s any good) but enjoy this video – right to the last drop when Dad does his same sign-off as he does with his regular calls to his four daughters. I think you’ll love it.

Click here and smile and have a great weekend!

Just a thought… When I was little my dad had me convinced that the ice cream truck only played music when it was sold out. Well played, dad, well played. [Author Unknown]

As usual, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

On those notes, I have to share with you something I learned about one of the season’s sweetest sounds.

So we’re sitting in the backyard of our grandson and his family a week or so ago, watching the little ones enjoy the perfection of a BC summer day, when suddenly I hear it. Not the tinkling, but a sort of computer-generated version of Frank Mills’ old piano hit, “Music Box Dancer.”

So I say to Brooke, our daughter-in-law: “Is that what I think it is?” And she says, “Yeah, it’s the ice cream truck.” She said it with such nonchalance that the words hardly computed.

I moved like I was going to leap to my feet and she reminded me that we had just had ice cream treats on a stick. “I know,” I said, “but ICE CREAM TRUCK!”

Maybe it’s because we didn’t live in many places that had them come by; perhaps it’s because I tend to be, shall we say, easily in touch with my inner child and the joy of surprises, but I was ready to run out to the street…and pay with what? I only use my phone now to Visa “Tap” this and that and never carry cash. Okay, sit down and just breathe.

So I said to Brooke, out of curiosity, I assure you, because yes, we had just had a treat, “Do they take Tap?” She was pretty sure they do. But here’s what she told me that knocked me sideways: according to the moms on Facebook, you can track the truck and – wait for it – text him or her to come to you. Wait, what?

That’s like getting notification from Santa about what time he’s coming to drop stuff off, what time you should have cookies ready for, and just exactly what you’re getting.

No, no, no! I mean, I understand everyone’s busy and the ice cream guy or gal is probably really getting a lot of business this way, but isn’t the sheer randomness of the truck, of hearing that cheesy little tinkling theme, of leaping off your chair, grabbing your wallet and calling the kids…isn’t that what the ice cream truck experience is all about? And isn’t the ice cream truck experience part of the magic of what summer’s all about?

I’ll never forgive whoever the investigative reporter was who talked about bacteria and so on in the spigots of ice cream trucks. I don’t want to know. If I’m going to die, let it be on a hill of soft serve.

Enjoy the day and may it include ice cream – soft serve or vegan, on a stick, in a cone, in a cup…anything but upside down on your lap. And please, don’t ever let your inner child feel like you’ve forgotten her or him. There’s still so much sweetness to life.

Just a thought… We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world beyond the horizon. [Franklin D. Roosevelt]

As always, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

Well, hello there – if you notice an air of excitement around here, it’s two things really: anticipation and, yes, actually joy.

First off, we’re in a new re-opening phase here in BC, including on Vancouver Island. So this weekend, Rob and I are getting on a ferry for the first time in about two years, and then when we arrive near Vancouver, we’ll head out on the four-plus hours over the scenic Coquihalla through the mountains towards Kelowna. I have flown to YLW twice in the past year, but this is Robbie’s first road trip and he is just terrified of how much he’s looking forward to it.

Who can blame him? We’re all feeling like Charlie Brown, dreading the football being pulled away at the last minute (again) by that nasty Lucy. Rob and I have watched the Stanley Cup playoff games in Vegas and cringed at all the fans in the arena. When I asked Rob, “Do you think they’re all vaccinated?” he’s like, “It’s Vegas. Half of these people would probably argue about wearing a mask. So…what do you think?”

Touché.

We’ll arrive in Kelowna in the lower central mainland late on Father’s Day and see Dad and two of my sisters for a visit, then drive back home for Tuesday evening. The next journal you see will be a road version, so prepare for some different scenery, which will be nice for you and me both, I’m sure.

And, of course, the other reason we’re experiencing excitement is that this past Tuesday, amid some lovely promotion from the shiny people at Apple, my new podcast dropped. As you know by now, it’s called Drift with Erin Davis and this is something I came up with in the past year. I couldn’t sleep at night for this idea nagging at me and telling me I had to do it.

Before I share with you a one-minute video to explain it, let me answer the question that was always at the front of my mind when I was doing radio: what’s in it for the listener? You. There are other story apps and podcasts out there; Drift is a podcast, (my video journal is not) and you won’t find Drift through the app store.

You can download a podcast app through the app store, then search for Drift with Erin Davis. Or, you can go to Frequency Podcast Network and just scroll down a bit.

These are stories told by me for you. Grown-up reads, like a different take on Goldilocks, or a classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There are even a few I’ve written myself, to help you embark on sweet dreams. There are free stories there – five this week as we launch – and if you prefer ad-free (and who doesn’t), lots more for a low monthly subscription.

I promise you I’ll keep adding at least two new stories every week. So watch this, and have a wonderful Father’s Day. I’ll be back with you (and maybe even with my dad) next week – either Monday or Tuesday, depending on his availability.

Just a thought… In the rush to return to normal, let’s use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to. [Dave Hollis]

You can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube.

So we’ll file one this under: All Dressed Up with No Place to Judge. As I told you here a week or so ago, I got a notice in the mail that I was being called for jury selection – 9:00 am, courthouse, June 12, be there. Okay. Then, on Friday I get a call saying, “Your call time is now 12:30 – you’ll be notified if you’re not needed.”

So, lo and behold, I’m dressed Saturday, eye makeup done (’cause why bother with the rest – mask and all) and we’re packing my “go” bag: laptop, part of a manuscript I’m reading, ICE drink, and so on, and my phone rings. Sure enough, it’s Ryan from the sheriff’s office (we have a sheriff?) and they’ve got all the jurors they need.

I asked him if I can expect to be called again in another few months or years and he said it’s random: if you vote, you’re in the pool. So…a great deal: you get none of the people you vote for AND you get to be in the pool for jury duty. Cool.

It was a pretty huge relief to get that call, ’cause an awful lot was put on hold. Getaways up island? Not so fast. Visit to the mainland to see Dad? Better not. Recording sessions for interviews I have to do? Had to let guests know they were in jeopardy.

And then there’s our own home lives: a whole new venture, my Drift with Erin Davis sleep stories are due to drop tomorrow on Apple and wherever you download your favourite podcasts. I’ll do a special journal here when it’s for-sure-for-sure there, but I wanted to give you a heads up. So you can see, a whole lot would have been thrown into the Vitamix if that jury thing had gone ahead.

Hey and thanks for the great birthday wishes for my dad on Friday. He’s doing really well and I think that the end of lockdown has been good for his sense of humour: when my sister asked him, “Hey Dad, you ready for a visitor?” he answers, quick as you like, “Why, am I getting my period?”

Yeah – you can sure tell he was surrounded by five women for a lot of years (mom and my sisters and me). He’s back and we’re so grateful. Dad adds that, come July, choir returns and he says there’s no need to add new material, because they’ve all forgotten what they’d already learned. Oh, Dad.

Yes, there’s a lot to be said for getting back to normal, isn’t there? And I’ll have another new journal for you here soon with good news!