Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - North Shore News - A7 I am indeed telling this tale with a sigh “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And, sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could. . . .” The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost ONCE left behind, it is said you can never really return home. Just Asking Yet, as I fought sleep enough to watch the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and saw excited Londoners and tourists gathering on the streets I had walked so often, I grew homesick for the places of my childhood. The dilemma Robert Frost described in The Road Not Taken is one I know well. This way? Or that? Now or later? So why no hesitation about my barely-considered decision to leave England for Canada? I did not look down the diverging roads very far, but that was to be one of only a few life-altering decisions I have not lived to regret or even second-guess — until recently when a 55-year-old hex came home to roost. A week or so before I sailed for Quebec on the second voyage of the Empress of Britain, my father drove my mother and me through the springtime orchards of Kent. Along the way, as Dad slowed his pride and joy — a 1930something Standard Flying 12 — he waved at acres of appleblossoms and said tersely, “When you’re over there, just remember this and think about what you left behind.” To this day, I don’t know if the comment was made out of anger that I was escaping an uncomfortable nest, or because he knew no other way to say he wanted me to stay. What I do know is that my father’s words have increasingly come to mind, and I’m not sure why. Is it because I wanted to join those crowds and walk again the streets of my London? Or is it because my younger brother Bruce recently moved from Dorset to Cheltenham, a Cotswold town where he and I spent too few years of our earliest childhood? Bruce’s move had already sparked happy thoughts of Cheltenham’s Cleeve Hill where, climbing down through the ever-present mists of its flat peak — an impressive 330 metres — I was allowed to walk between Elizabeth James www.javeedsomji.com 604.726.7728 • Professional network of lawyers, insurance & mortgage brokers to provide you excellent service and special pricing two draft horses and hold their bridles as we returned them to their stables. For years I have understood that many of my memories are triggered by the scents of days gone by. So even now I remember the smell of the horses’ leathers, the jangle of their bits and the steam that rose from their huge flanks. But then came September 1939 and our country childhood was abruptly ended when we moved to London. As I write this in the shadow of Frost’s words, I have realized that, had my parents looked down that road as far as they could and taken another way, our lives might have been very different — and happier. But perhaps the roads not taken were there to be travelled, and ignored, well before my brother and I arrived. Born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary-leBow Church, in the one square mile that is the City of London, Dad was fiercely proud that he was a true Cockney, and of the city itself. Was that why he moved us into the heart of the Second World War? Whatever the answer, it was not long before his children were evacuated to Yorkshire — far from the relentless enemy bombing. Barely six and three years old, my brother and I were scared and had no way of understanding why we’d been sent away so abruptly. When our parents discovered that, against their wishes, we had been billeted with different families and that I was carrying meals and medicine to a man bedridden with tuberculosis, they arrived to take us home. Today’s psychologists would likely say the rescue came too late. The eightmonth separation had already done its damage, and our family never truly bonded again. These thoughts and so many more tumbled through my mind as I stayed awake watching the Royal wedding. Mother’s Day! 1373 Marine Dr., West Van. 604.926.4913 Celebrating over 39 years in business Proud Recipient of the Consumer’s Choice Award 2005-2007! Top Quality Custom Window Coverings Please call and book your free in-home appointment • Customized Marketing Plans • Find great resources & Information at www.javeedsomji.com www.sldrapesandblinds.com (604) 987-2966 Ask about our seniors’ discount! Sutton Group West Coast Realty , .$)(()"&! +)-! -%$ #%'* N IM6)<9Q8 4D0" /5O>D0G ID0 &6) L CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SINCE 1959. SERVICING THOUSANDS OF NORTH SHORE VEHICLES From Lube & Oil to Major Repairs PROFESSIONAL CAR ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ & LT. TRUCK SERVICE Fully Guaranteed 4x4 Specialists B.C.A.A. B.B.B. A+ A.R.A I.C.B.C. 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And now, forever grateful to Canada and all she means to me, I hope to test Frost’s theory; to visit England and to see again that “green and pleasant land” that, as my father predicted, will always be home. rimco@shaw.ca Lunch from 11:30 Dinner from 5pm Draperies • Blinds • Motorization Shutters • Valances & Bedding • North Shore specific expertise • Obligation-free consultation & assessments Not only did I wish William and Kate a long and happy marriage, but my admiration for Queen Elizabeth grew even stronger as I remembered her unselfish dedication to the road she shared with warweary Londoners, and to the people she has served so well 604-922-4171 1821 Marine Drive, West Vancouver (?*FA,CA JMO8>D!< NDBM3< 7DO# M- IMO69'DPMO>:8)D2E@D www.westvanflorist.com