Vancouver’s Lifeguard Legend

“Ruby Smith Diaz (l.) examines the life of Joe Fortes, a Black lifeguard in Vancouver, during a time of rampant racism, exploring his legacy and identity through research, personal reflections and poetry.FULL STORY

 

Keeping alive

March 07th, 2013

A significant vote of thanks to you for keeping the written word alive in the Amazon jungle and a grateful gracias for your salute to my novel, Charlatan’s Variations. It’s no doubt one of the few books with an international world view that includes mention of Glen Lake or Langford, colonial relics of Victoria, where my probable Great Grandfather (the Bedwell of Bedwell Harbour) painted a water colour of Captain Langford’s Cottage, past which I used to deliver goat’s milk in a Thames truck. A Thames truck only went 30 mph and had a single bucket seat for the driver. In order to take a date to my graduation (from Belmont High, class size 13 of whom 3 actually graduated) I built a wooden bench which could seat two – but no leg room for the passenger. It was not an Aston Martin Bond occasion… But I digress.

David Gurr
Victoria

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