Lamplighter Pub
On February 22 ND, the town drunks son was back in Humboldt in 1976 at
Christmas time searching for the Mysterious Financier. The Yamaha /
Polaris outdoor sports shop was incredible. "The Hit" was impressed
with Leo's new job which he had found with the credentials of his
small engine course in Moose Jaw at the Saskatchewan Institute of
Applied Science and Technology (SIAST). Leo was repairing motorcycles
and snow machines. "The Hit" hung around the shop, and he wondered
how much better could it get for a 15 year old kid? It was cold on
the prairies, and "The Hit" let Leo know that he was working to buy a
dirt bike to keep up to Brian and Darcy in Lloydminster in the land
fill area. They went and had a look at an old 1974 Yamaha DT-125
Enduro in the bone yard. "The Hit" figured he already had the money
in the bank in Lloydminster. He had been saving his paychecks from
the Lloydminster Co-op in his job packing shelves and groceries. They
struck a deal where Leo would port the 2 stroke engine, strip the bike
down, and add a knobby tire, then he would bring it to Lloydminster
in the spring of 1977. "The Hit" had never paid for the Honda 350
Harvey had bought, so he decided he should give that back to Harvey.
Meanwhile back in Burnaby the television computer spat out the regular
news of the day.
Once again in Burnaby, "The Hit" heard that people had been arrested
for a very large amount of several different drugs on the Television
PII computer. The news said that the Hell's Angels may be involved in
the drug bust on the news. "The Hit" did not know anyone involved in
their problems. His note was about 4 junkies which could not be
trusted. "The Hit" was not concerned because his note had to do with
4 junkies doing home invasions. His note was about home invasions and
Jimmy The Junkie and his Crew. "The Hit" knew Jimmy The Junkie and
his Crew were into the home invasions in some way, however that event
could nothing to do with a drug loss of this magnitude. Of course,
the 4 junkies on Hastings Street would never get within ear shot of
such a thing. Just imagine what would happen in 4 junkies on Hastings
Street knew about an international transaction? "The Hit" was not in
the business of dealing drugs, he's a geek chasing an IPO. A fairly
dimly lit light bulb would shed light on what 4 junkies would cause to
any transaction. The 4 junkies working for the Mysterious Financier
could not have anything to do with this drug loss. No one would be
stupid enough to have them involved in such a thing. Imagine, 4
junkies on Hastings Street knowing about an international drug
transaction. No, this had nothing to do with the 4 junkies, but "The
Hit" still could quite not figure out what currency got the 4 junkies
out of their the home invasion bust?
Meanwhile back in Humboldt Leo finished his last few days at the
Yamaha / Polaris before Christmas the Christmas holidays. They had a
few drinks after work on December 24 TH in 1976 at work. Jerry had
bought a few drinks for friends and staff. Leo and "The Hit" stayed
downstairs in the shop, and they were both impressed with a snow
machine Jerry Picowe's racing team had crashed early in the fall. He
was racing for Yamaha on the Saskatchewan circuit. The fresh out of
the crate sled was had crashed the first time out on the track. It
was totalled. Leo as the shop mechanic bought the sled from them for
the horrendous price of $500.00, when money still had a value.
History which is always revisionist was that the sled went over the
top of a 30 degree bank where it lost Pic's rider who was injured
badly. The good news was that he did survive, however the sad news
was the sled flew like it had wings. It flew very well until it found
a barrier to gravity. The young hit considered the sled injuries to
be terminal. The 1976 Yamaha SRX 440 Race Sled would become a race
legend that year, however Leo's was bent so bad it looked like a
tightly strung hunting bow. There was nothing left of the hood. The
seat was ripped. The tail light popped out of the seat on impact.
The skies were bent. The foot rail aluminium was bent. What was
broken looked like it was bent. It was definitely totalled. "The
Hit" always respected his brothers ability with metal and mechanics,
but he wasn't to sure even that could salvage this sled. Leo was
determined. Meanwhile, "The Hit" went to sleep in Burnaby on
February 22 ND 1998.
Meanwhile on February 23 RD in Burnaby "The Hit" knew he did not know
any of the people involved in the loss of the package. The people who
lost that package didn't know some computer geek working on auto glass
software for a promising auto glass industry IPO. How could he be
involved in any of these problems with the Mysterious Financier all
over him since the wedding in Winlaw in 1997? "The Hit" was not the
buyer. "The Hit" was not the seller. "The Hit" have no way of
knowing anything about this drug deal other that what was on the
news. There was talk of The Hell's Angels being involved, as the news
story progressed. "The Hit" was never sure if he ever knew a real
Hell's Angel through his life. Maybe some of his friends had
eventually taken that route. He did not know for certain, because he
had lost touch with everyone during Harvey's run. In any event he did
not know anything about the drug bust other than what was on the news
on the PII Computer in his office guarded by a camera in the window.
He knew he was not involved, and their was plenty of people who saw
the Mysterious Financier and Jimmy The Junkie and his crew
guaranteeing that he was not involved. Then, he thought about
Aldergrove's little plants in their soil, and he wondered what good
did that do? Barb's pain medicine went the same route. His search
for the Mysterious Financier continued in his past.
In Humboldt, Leo and "The Hit" left Humboldt heading for Ridgedale to
see the town drunk once the Yamaha / Polaris was closed for
Christmas. They took the Firebird east on 8th Ave / # 5 Highway
toward Meunster for the 10 kilometres before turning left on to the #
368 Highway. They drove the 90 kilometres past Lake Lenore, St.
Brieux, and Pathlow before turning right at Beatty on to the # 3
Highway for the 17 kilometres into Melfort. They took Saskatchewan
Avenue through Melfort before turning left on Star City Road to
Dovercourt Road. They turned left on to the # 3 Highway where the
RCMP had tagged with the ticket last summer with radar. They
followed the # 3 Highway east for 40 Kilometres past Star City and
Valparaiso before arriving in Tisdale. They turned north on 100 A
St / HWY-35 for the next 25 kilometres before turning west off the #
35 Highway on to the # 681 Highway for the last leg into Ridgedale.
They turned right on to the grid road heading north in Ridgedale, and
then they turned left at the next grid road heading west before
turning north to Healy's farm. The trip went well, however it was a
good idea to stay to the highways with the Firebird. The car was
having trouble with the ice roads in Saskatchewan. There was no sign
of the Mysterious Financier so far during the Chirstmas of 1976, but
the streets had eyes in Burnaby in 1998.
In Burnaby the streets was getting really ugly on February 24 TH 1998,
and "The Hit" believed someone was still showing his picture around in
downtown Vancouver. He saw total strangers mouthing off at him, and
they did not appear to be the Mysterious Financier's family or Jimmy
The Junky and his Crew. "The Hit" still could explain what connected
the Junkies, The Black Van, and the Mysterious Financier. They have
been all over him for close to 9 months now. Yet, there was plenty of
people who would have seen them promoting harm to him for all this
time. Why? During the last 9 months he was probably the only person
who was not involved in anything but chasing his IPO. How could he
have caused problems to anyone under these circumstances? How could
anyone accuse him of anything under these circumstances? Yet, "The
Hit" could not go get groceries without being hazed. Now, the
Mysterious Financier and Jimmy the Junkie and his crew seamed to be
pitching something about causing this loss? The sentiment on the
street was that he had something to do with this loss. Different
people were starting to give him the look. In the next few days it
appeared that the street wise actually figured he had something to do
with this package. While, "The Hit" recognized the Mysterious
Financier's family and Jimmy's Crew he was really started to notice
they had found some support. He decided he had to do something. It
was time to put a stop to the liquid stream that runs out of cattle.
In 1976 the 15 year old hit stayed in the bunk house with Leo and the
town drunk, and the next morning they awoke early to prepare for the
trip to his grandmothers in Naicam for Christmas dinner. They took
the Econoline Van which had lost it's keys last summer from the town
drunks pocket. "The Hit" was able to connect the wires of the
ignition switch to start the van without keys that cold morning. He
wasn't interested in doing this for a living, however he figured this
would come in handy if his keys jumped out of his pocket one day.
They travelled to Naicam in time to arrive at the Carra Marie church
late. They moved on from the Church to dinner as usual. The young
hit was feeding of the whisky bottle in the town drunks van, and it
was the last time he drank with the boys in the back room at his
grandmothers. They left his grandmothers after a great meal, and they
returned to St. Brieux where he skated in the St. Brieux hockey arena
for the last time as well. They stayed at his Aunt Denise's overnight
before returning to Ridgedale the next day. "The Hit" noticed he was
driving a lot more than his credentials warranted this year. He had
no credentials. Yet, it was better than the town drunk running the
van into someone. It snowed hard through Christmas that year, and Leo
and "The Hit" were barely able to get the Firebird out of Healy's
driveway after Christmas. They returned to Humboldt where he was able
to escape the stigma of the job once again. In Humboldt, he boarded
the Greyhound bus once again to return to Lloydminster while dreaming
of the Yamaha DT-125 Enduro in the bone yard at the Yamaha / Polaris.
On February 25 TH "The Hit" went to get some groceries in Burnaby. He
started finding the street really ugly on Hastings Street as he walked
to the Kensington Square to save money. It could have been the
Mysterious Financier's crew, but it was starting to look like they had
someone else convinced too believe whatever hot stream comes out of
cattle. He called a cab to get back to Ranelagh with his groceries,
and he thought about what he was going to do as he unpacked the food.
He had to do something. What does a regular civilian do? That's all
he was all his life. The only thing he was certain of was that Jimmy
The Junkie and his Crew had found some sort of support for blaming his
with something. He still believed Jimmy The Junkie's crew might be in
this because Jimmy The Junkie ripped them off in the one little
computer in 1997. He told Jimmy The Junkie he would not have anything
to do with another computer. He had to face them somehow? Yet, he
could not understand how Jimmy The Junkie and his crew fit in with the
Mysterious Financier? He planned to face Jimmy The Junkie and his
Crew the next day. He did not know what the Mysterious Financier
would do the next day.
"The Hit" returned from Humboldt to arrive in Lloydminster in time to
start the second half of his Grade 10 in Lloydminster. "The Hit"
became particularly interested in the fall of the British Pound, and
the rise of the American dollar against the Pound. He studied the
progress of the American Dollar taking over as the world's leading
currency. He followed the central banks as they tried to delay the
inevitable change of empires along the financial front. He found the
rise and fall of empires profound. The winter months flew by quickly
as "The Hit" kept to himself, and before Leo came by early in the
spring with the Yamaha DT-125 Enduro. Leo had ported the two stroke
engine. This involved honing the transfer ports, and changing the
skirting on the piston in the two stroke engine. The porting was much
hotter than the original factory setup, and by keeping the engine at
around 9000 RPM's the engine pulled hard. Leo's factory upgrade made
a real difference. He stripped the bike down to make it as light as
possible. He removed the rear view mirrors, signal lights, and trim.
He added a knobby back tire to the 125 CC Yamaha Enduro, and Leo was
concerned that it might not be powerful enough for "The Hit". He spun
a little snow that spring, and rode until the thaw! He was happy with
the bike, and he was ready to have a little fun that summer! The Hit"
could keep it on the pipe with the new custom exhaust pipe, is was
quite powerful.
On February 26 TH "The Hit" woke up in Burnaby trying to figure out
just what he was going to do? How does he face this situation? What
do you do when everyone thinks you have had something to do with
something you had nothing to do with? "The Hit" has had the
Mysterious Financier and his crew all over him since the wedding in
Winlaw on the July long weekend in 1997 in the Slocan Valley. He
didn't know what to do? He thought about what he would do as he
started to work on the Onlineglass-com project. He was angry as he
dealt with his daily routine in his office with a window guarded by
camera. The progression of the Internet was right on track for him.
He was able to go 16 Ft with the USB Cable to the USB Camera to fine
tune video verification of damage to a vehicle for the auto glass
software. The rumour in the auto glass industry was that Mitchel who
had purchased by Thomson Corporation in 1986 may have to fight for the
NAGS proprietary rights in the part numbering system of the auto glass
database. The Sherman Anti Trust rumour started while "The Hit"
pondered what Garth's mother was going to do regarding investment.
Hulia Karmanova was doing well in Russia, and the possibility of
pursuing the project in Russia was undaunted. How does he face this
situation?
In Lloydminster, "The Hit" finished his school year just after he
turned 16 years of age. He quit his job at the Lloydminster Co-op
packing groceries, because he though he would enjoy the summer working
in Ridgedale more than packing groceries and stocking shelves. He
also had a feeling Harvey's run from the twins would continue,
anyway. He had enjoyed the Yamaha Enduro in the spring, however he
was thinking of racing motocross. The young hit would need a real
bike. In the spring, he enjoyed spending time with Lorraine's
boyfriend Gordon, and they were able to do a little cruising in the
country. Gordon was a battery operator in the Lloydminster oil
fields, and "The Hit" got along well with him. Gordon introduced "The
Hit" to several people he knew as their friendship progressed. "The
Hit" decided started to prepare to work in Ridgedale for the summer.
He planned to leave in the middle of July to work for Heally's for the
rest of the summer. In July, "The Hit" boarded the Greyhound bus
headed for Melfort once again. Meanwhile, "The Hit" finally decided
what he was going to do in Burnaby. He decided to make his stand.
"The Hit" decided to walk from N Ranalagh to Hastings Street, and then
he would walk down Hastings Street to Gastown.
He shut down his computers in the office guarded by a camera. He put
on his coat for the dark cool damp night for the walk downtown. He
walked down the alley to Pandora Street where he turned right towards
Hythe Avenue where he turned left towards Hastings Street. He turned
right on Hastings Street to continue the 9 kilometre walk to the
Lamplighter Pub in Gastown where he expected to find the 4 junkies
along the way. The long walked passed by Gamma Avenue, Beta Avenue,
Alfa Avenue, Willingdon Ave, Rosser Avenue, Madison Avenue, Carlton
Avenue, Gilmore Avenue, Macdonald Avenue, Ingleton Avenue, Esmond
Avenue, to Boundary Road. The first leg of the walk went fairly well,
although this was a relatively safe part of Burnaby. "The Hit"
thought about facing Jimmy The Junkie and 3 junkies for the money he
did not owe them. He was going to face them down! He was not sure
who the Mysterious Financier was yet, but he would make his stand
against the 4 junkies to start. He wasn't sure what to expect? He
wondered how many there would be after the home invasion? Once thing
was for certain, he did not expect to face 4 men tonight. During the
9 kilometre walk, he thought about boarding the bus in Lloydminster
for Melfort.
The Greyhound bus took the same trip from Lloydminster to Melfort.
The young hit arrived to the Econoline Van at Dee's Restaurant in
Melfort. On arrival, "The Hit" asked Dale Healy for a summer job
immediately, and he began working the summer months. They started by
mixing concrete for new steel grain bin footings, and then they built
4 new steel bins with hopper bottoms to concrete bases. They would
make hauling and storing grain effortless for many years in the
future. They painted the roof of a cattle shed white to keep the heat
off the cattle. The first cut of hay was ready for the cattle, and he
got some practice on the swather cutting hay for cattle. The hay was
good practice before they started cutting barley, oats, and wheat on
the large farm in northeastern Saskatchewan. During several weekends
"The Hit" drove the town drunk into St. Brieux that summer while Leo
was working at the Yamaha / Polaris in Humboldt. The three of them
were able to get together for several weekends in August. Then, in
the second week of August one of Dale's children came to the
bunkhouse. The young hit had a phone call. He knew what the call was
about as he walked to the house to answer the relentless bells. "The
Hit's" mother called to let him know his intuition was right. He
would not be travelling back to Lloydminster, and he was going home to
Claresholm Alberta home. Harvey's run has taken another step in the
run from the twins. The streets continued in the 9 kilometre walk
down Hastings Street in Burnaby.
"The Hit" crossed Boundary Road into Vancouver, and he walked past
Kootenay Street, Skeena Street, The Trans Canada Highway, The Pacific
National Exhibition Park, Renfrew Street, Kaslo Street, Slocan Street,
Penticton Street, Kamloops Street, and Nanaimo Street. He would soon
be getting into the tougher downtown east side section of Vancouver.
He didn't know what to expect as he continued past Garden Drive,
Templeton Drive, Lakewood Drive, Semlin Drive, Victoria Drive,
Salesbury Drive, and Commercial Drive. "The Hit" remained determined
to continue through what some would consider the toughest part of the
downtown east side of Vancouver. He tried to remain alert passing
Woodland Drive, Mclean Drive, Clark Drive, Vernon Drive, Glen Drive,
Raymur Avenue, Campbell Avenue, Hawkes Avenue, Heatley Avenue, and
Princess Avenue. He was now in the downtown east side which people
across Canada read about with their coffee and newspaper. The best
known street in Canada. The highest poverty. The no hope part of
town. He had no doubt Jimmy The Junkie and his Crew were going to
notice his stand. He was already attracting attention! It had taken
Jimmy The Junkie and the Mysterious Financier 9 months to make a
computer geek recognizable in downtown Vancouver.
"The Hit" drove to Dee's Restaurant in Melfort before turning the keys
over to the town drunk. He boarded the Greyhound Bus in Melfort
heading for Claresholm Alberta. The 857 kilometre crawl started at
09:40 in the morning heading through Pleasantdale, Naicam, Spalding,
Watson, Englefeld, St. Gregor, Muenster, Humboldt, Bruno, JCT 2 & 5
South, and St. Denis JCT to arrive in Saskatoon at 13:10 in the
afternoon. He toured around Saskatoon for the day, as his next bus
did not leave until 22:45 that night. Then he boarded another bus to
pass Delisle, Tessier, Harris, and Zealandia before they took a break
in Rosetown. They pulled out of Rosetown at 00:05 to charge past
Fiske, Netherhill, Kindersley, Flaxcombe, Alsask, and the
Saskatchewan / Alberta border during the night in his sleep. The
young hit continued past Sibbald, Oyen, Cereal JCT, Youngstown, Hanna,
Craigmyle, Delia, and Morrin before they took a break again in
Drumheller as the night gave way to dawn in August as he awoke. They
continued out of Drumheller at 05:25 in the morning, as "The Hit"
sized up his surroundings on Hastings Street in Vancouver. He was one
block south of "Pigeon Park" on Hastings Street.
"The Hit" continued past Princess Avenue on East Hastings Street
before he passed the Patricia Hotel he had stayed in 1994. He walked
across Dunlevy Avenue, Gore Avenue, and finally Main Street. He was
now in the heart of the downtown eastside, where anyone could buy
anything. "The Hit" passed Columbia Street and he turned right after
crossing Carrall Street towards Trounce Alley. It was an impulse to
buy an eighth of pot in a bar on the way to the Lamplighter Pub. He
stepped into the Blarney Stone on Carrall Street, and he walked
directly into the washroom. It took several seconds for someone to
follow him in with what he wanted. The faceless man sold him an eight
of BC Bud, and he walked out of the bar with a little of Barb's
medicine. He did not stop for a drink. He walked across Trounce
Alley to Water Street where he turned west for 1 block to the entrance
of the Lamplighter Pub. "The Hit" figured the 9 kilometre walk had
done what it was intended to do as he turned into the Lamplighter Pub
on the corner of Water Street and Abbott Street. He was once again in
Gastown at Gassy Jack Deighton's historic saloon which had once been
destroyed in the Great Fire of 1886. There may very well be another
fire tonight! Would the fire start?
Meanwhile, the young hit was continuing his trek to a home he had
never seen. The Greyhound pulled out of Drumheller just before 6:00
in the morning. They quickly passed through Beiseker, Irricana, JCT,
and Airdrie. The young hit arrived in Calgary at 06:45am in the
morning, where he once again waited in the bus depot until 14:00 hours
before he boarded the last bus for the last leg of the long trip. The
Greyhound pulled out of Calgary South on the # 2A / # 2 Highway
crossing the southern Alberta countryside. He watched the unknown
scenery as De Winton, Alderside, High River, Cayley, Nanton, and
Stavely slid past the bus. The young hit arrived in Claresholm
Alberta at 16:00 hours in the afternoon. He had a full months pay in
a check in his wallet, and he was tired after the 30 hour trip with
layovers. Harvey picked him up at the Turbo Gas station on Railway
Street East which doubled as the Greyhound bus depot. They took 1 ST
Street West north to 50 TH Avenue East where they turned right.
They turned left on 2A Street East to 52 ND Avenue East where they
turned right before a quick left into the driveway of an old house
that Harvey had rented. Lorraine was lost to Lloydminster. The
original 5 were now reduced to 3 in the two bedroom house. St.
Brieux, Humboldt, Watrous, Ear Falls, Oxdrift, Shaunavon,
Lloydminster, and now Claresholm. "The Hit" knew this would be just
another stop on Harvey's run from the twins.
He was alone.
Lamplighter Pub
The Child's Revenge
2170 Old Dollarton Road
North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
V7H 1A7
lamplig...@gmail.com
lamplig...@googlegroups.com
http://www.google.com/notebook/public/06322933790417453145/BDSelIwoQtMSH2Lkj?hl=en
https://www.google.com/reader/shared/17216581869479850146
http://groups.google.com/group/lamplighter-pub
http://lamplighterpub.blogspot.com/