Chris speaks softly, with a British accent, and carries a big hammer, or a shovel, or whatever the job calls for. He's been the go-to handyman for the entire neighbourhood around the Go Green bottle depot, at 7th Avenue and Ontario Street, for all eight years I've been taking bottles to Go Green. Chris says he's been working in the area for about 10 years. In the last few years I've watched him pop up all over the neighbourhood, taking care of all kinds of construction, and renovation work -- tear-downs to fixer-uppers. Chris's neighbourhood is made up of old, two-storey, wood-framed homes, and a lot of small, one-, and two-storey businesses -- retail, often to the service trades, and-light industrial. And one bottle depot. It's perfect for a man with Chris's skills, and Chris uses those skills to keep it perfect.
About four months ago, Chris suffered a serious, stroke; his recovery has been amazing, but he realizes he'll never be 100 percent the way he was before. These days it takes his engine it little longer to rev up, but once he gets going, it's pretty much all good. Mornings, he says, are the hardest time for him -- he doesn't have the same energy level, but it's getting to work every day that makes him feel better. Until a few days ago, he was working on a large house reno' just around the corner from the bottle depot, when the City of Vancouver pulled the rug out from under the project, almost literally, by deciding more permits were required, which, in turn, required jacking up the entire house, so soil samples could be taken.
This is why we see Chris putting the finishing touches on a brick-paved walk-way from the lane to the back door of the house he rents. The bricks, Chris explains, are from an old chimney, and were headed for the dump. He likes the way the old bricks suit the look of the old house, but he's more practical than that; the bricks on their graded bed of gravel, will drain water perfectly. Today he's brushing fine sand into the spaces between the bricks, which will finally lock them in place. The sand -- four bags of fine playground sand, if I recall correctly -- was left, a few weeks ago, by the side of the lane Chis's house abuts. I rode by the bags, and thought, "wait till Chris sees these." Didn't have to wait too long. Chris is certainly one of the handiest guys I've known, and I've known a lot of farmers. I bet his middle name is MacGyver. Click the images to enlarge them.
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Nice job Chris![/caption]Chris still had some bricks left over ►
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