50p
A Tale of Independence
Two Sundays ago my family and I visited with Kevin L, Ellis ‘22, who is currently living in Victoria. He’s been stuck there, unable to return home to his family in China since severe travel restrictions have been put in place. He’s been living in the basement suite of a house his parents own, with the upstairs tenants nominally in charge. When we visited, he emerged from his door before we could leave the car. He was relaxed, wearing an All Blacks rugby jersey, shorts, white socks and flip flops, and his hair long around the ears.
“The first two weeks, when I was in full quarantine when I came back from the rugby tour, that was hard,” Kevin said, scratching his head. “I was really bored, I was just watching Netflix and gaming, but now, I’m totally used to it, and it’s all good.”
Kevin finds different ways to spend the time. Apart from his online Brentwood classes (perfect attendance), he is next door to a rugby field, and so he’s been practising his kicking. He assures me, his rugby coach, that his kicking has been improving, but I am skeptical. He also has some local friends. Yesterday, he and his friend Andy went wandering the neighborhood, looking for Andy’s bike, which had been stolen last week. “We have the time, so why not? We called the police and they said they’d call if they find it.” He also has been taking advantage of the free public transit, several times a week taking the #27 (notoriously late, he says, but shrugs his shoulders) to Thrifty’s or Save on Foods to buy groceries. “Both stores are across the street from each other so it makes no difference, but sometimes I go to the Chinese village for the spices,” he explains as my ears perk up. After pressing, he elaborates: “My grandfather was a chef and he taught my mum, and he died last week”.
What?
“Yeah, it is sad that I can’t see him but it was kinda expected, he had been suffering from the effects of a stroke for many years. It’s tough not being there.” The air hangs between us, and so I ask him what he had for dinner last night. “To be honest, I didn’t want to cook last night, so I boiled a potato.”
A potato? Kevin.
“Well, I had a really late lunch. I fried up some rice with veggies and some chicken, and so at dinner, I wasn’t super hungry, and I had one potato that I needed to get rid of so I boiled it, then put some salt and pepper on it.
As we were about to leave, a big black SUV drove up, and out popped Jacob Bossi, Ellis OB ‘19, Brentwood Rugby Captain, and member of Team Canada. He heard that Kevin was in Victoria and thought he would pay him a visit. Jacob was looking lean and sporting a gruff beard. He told us that without rugby, he hadn’t been packing on the bulk, but that his landscaping job had been keeping him fit. Kevin and Jacob, both keen front row rugby players, were genuinely happy to see each other as they air high-fived.
“You should mow this lawn, Kevvy,” I heard Jacob say as I pulled away.
Mr Phil Smith, Allard Assistant Houseparent, Math Teacher & Rugby Coach
“The first two weeks, when I was in full quarantine when I came back from the rugby tour, that was hard,” Kevin said, scratching his head. “I was really bored, I was just watching Netflix and gaming, but now, I’m totally used to it, and it’s all good.”
Kevin finds different ways to spend the time. Apart from his online Brentwood classes (perfect attendance), he is next door to a rugby field, and so he’s been practising his kicking. He assures me, his rugby coach, that his kicking has been improving, but I am skeptical. He also has some local friends. Yesterday, he and his friend Andy went wandering the neighborhood, looking for Andy’s bike, which had been stolen last week. “We have the time, so why not? We called the police and they said they’d call if they find it.” He also has been taking advantage of the free public transit, several times a week taking the #27 (notoriously late, he says, but shrugs his shoulders) to Thrifty’s or Save on Foods to buy groceries. “Both stores are across the street from each other so it makes no difference, but sometimes I go to the Chinese village for the spices,” he explains as my ears perk up. After pressing, he elaborates: “My grandfather was a chef and he taught my mum, and he died last week”.
What?
“Yeah, it is sad that I can’t see him but it was kinda expected, he had been suffering from the effects of a stroke for many years. It’s tough not being there.” The air hangs between us, and so I ask him what he had for dinner last night. “To be honest, I didn’t want to cook last night, so I boiled a potato.”
A potato? Kevin.
“Well, I had a really late lunch. I fried up some rice with veggies and some chicken, and so at dinner, I wasn’t super hungry, and I had one potato that I needed to get rid of so I boiled it, then put some salt and pepper on it.
As we were about to leave, a big black SUV drove up, and out popped Jacob Bossi, Ellis OB ‘19, Brentwood Rugby Captain, and member of Team Canada. He heard that Kevin was in Victoria and thought he would pay him a visit. Jacob was looking lean and sporting a gruff beard. He told us that without rugby, he hadn’t been packing on the bulk, but that his landscaping job had been keeping him fit. Kevin and Jacob, both keen front row rugby players, were genuinely happy to see each other as they air high-fived.
“You should mow this lawn, Kevvy,” I heard Jacob say as I pulled away.
Mr Phil Smith, Allard Assistant Houseparent, Math Teacher & Rugby Coach