Let me bring some levity to your week.
You all remember George Chow, don’t you? The former Vision Vancouver city councillor?
The former NDP candidate?
Yep, that guy.
And as regular readers will know, Mr. Chow’s interesting take on life has made it into this space a few times. I won’t repeat it all but just know the guy has a thing for K-cars, uses his excess bath water to flush his toilet and was last seen swinging a sledgehammer at one of the viaducts.
So what now?
Well, I thought it best to answer that queston by just cutting and pasting this recent email I received from Chow and drop it in here for your reading enjoyment.
Note: The Bethune reference he makes is related to a previous entry in which I wrote about Mayor Gregor Robertson’s link to distant relative, Dr. Norman Bethune.
Take it away, George…
Howdy Mike,
Hope things are going well with you and your family.
In your Friday article, you said, “Robertson, his brother Patrick and late father John all share Bethune as their middle name…” I was wondering whether you’ve notice, from amongst the mayors’ mug shots at Vancouver city hall there was a Mayor Bethune way back. Perhaps you can check into the Scottish connection next time when you speak to the mayor.
Speaking of Scottish connections, this one hails from Barrhead, Scotland.
Remember way back when I sent you a photo of a urinal that I took in Amsterdam? One [of] your readers chided me by saying that as a city councillor, I should know better because such a urinal existed locally — at Wreck Beach.
While your reader was correct, he overlooked the fact that Wreck Beach is not a normal stomping ground for a Vancouver city councillor.
Now this Barrhead urinal (see attached photo) is unique and local. As I pored over the book Toilets of the World by Morina E. Gregory and Sian James — a gift from Mayor Gregor Robertson and family — I could not find anything like it! This urinal exemplifies the frugality trait in the Scottish folklore and is ahead of its time in greenness. It’s an engineering marvel — alright, I’m over blowing it — but where else would you find a device that allows two guys to look and p_ss at each other without getting wet, while their body fluid makes up in unison as it flows out the Burrard Inlet? I would challenge your readers to be a tourist in their own town and find this urinal.
Cheers!
George
So there you go readers, take George’s challenge. If you know where said urinal is in town, send me an email. No prizes, just the satisfaction of knowing you’ll put a smile on George’s face.
Lest we project
A Remembrance Day note: Ah, what was with some of our local politicians needing to have their photographs taken by friends/staff at ceremonies specifically set up to remember the sacrifice that our soldiers made overseas and then post them/email them for all to see?
I won’t name them here, they know who they are.
Hate to break this to you fearless elected officials but that one day of the year, more than any, is not about you. Save it for the campaign.
mhowell@vancourier.com
twitter.com/Howellings
