Family Up North

My mother and brother are visiting my grandparents up North. For the past couple of years, Lee-Anne and I have made the trip out there and it was beginning to feel like a new tradition. However, due to Lee-Anne's surgery getting postponed, the fact that she's recently become a Direct Support Worker, and because I'm trying to get my driver's license, it's been difficult to schedule. My grandma did remind us that they are available year-round, so maybe we'll make a winter trip.

My brother hasn't been up there for many, many years. It hasn't been so long for Mom, but it's still a big undertaking for her because of her leg injury. This is likely her most ambitious undertaking since she broke it.

At least this arrangement leaves us available to take care of their cats. Right now we have them over in our apartment. My mom said she'd prefer this to us visiting to take care of them. She worried that they would be lonely. 

Normally I would have argued with her on this point. They have each other for company and the stress of relocation to me seems about as bad as losing access to their humans for a week. Crucially, reintegrating them with our cats might be difficult.

But we'd learned from the second fire that they remembered each other. So I was content to give Mom the benefit of the doubt in understanding her pets' stressors and they are here with us now. This way does cut down on travel time between our place and theirs.

Indeed, the four cats remember each other as well as they did on their last reunion. We don't have as much access to sunlight, but we are closer to grass, crickets, squirrels etc. The kitchen window has been a treat for our feline guests.

 

Their cats are more aerodynamic and are better at getting to places. This isn't a big deal, except I'm propagating a bunch of succulents and one of the windows that isn't usually accessible can now be reached. I had to rearranged the office so there were no viable launching points, and I moved the bedroom plants to the living room. Kieran has been whining at me to let him into the now-occupied window. I don't know why he likes it there, the view is pretty obscured.

As a random aside, a wild turkey walked by my work recently 

It sauntered up past our building alongside the cemetery to the main office. I and another facilitator went out to look at it. We messaged the team and a few members came out. Someone from the other building alerted a few people to it as well. The turkey seemed unconcerned with our presence.

Apparently this isn't the first sighting. My manager told me that a highschool student who had a placement with us the year before the pandemic saw one but didn't mention it in the moment.

It's been a good year for birds. I've captured several pictures of hawks, some good ones of bluejays and cardinals, and even a woodpecker. Now this turkey. 

Eli Wood

In my writings about the two fires that impacted my mother and brother, I've referenced a third. Not quite as close to home but still within my circle. I've said that I would eventually get around to talking about it, and I guess the time is now.

About a year ago, a coworker mentioned that she'd need to take some time off. After a few days, she linked an article about a house fire. It had started in the back unit of the sectioned house where she lived. It was severe, requiring her to evacuate, causing the home to be unlivable, and even managing to wreck her car in the process.

Later I came across a post on Reddit from /r/kitchener discussing the disappearance of Eli Wood. On reading, it sounded like his absence had been brought to light after a fire started in his apartment. Foul play was suspected. 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/article/missing-kitchener-resident-linked-to-arson-investigation/ 

Noticing the similarities between this and the recent circumstance of my coworker, I decided to look up the addresses referenced in this article and the one she had shared.

Yes. They were the same.

On my colleague's return, she confirmed that the unit where the fire started was the residence of Eli Wood.

She had not known him beyond exchanging pleasantries. Although learning more about him, he could have fit into our circle, as he was a Master of Social Work student.

It's easy to speculate. It might have been an attack of opportunity, Eli being perceived as vulnerable. He was very slight of stature, only 4'10" and under 100 pounds at the age of twenty five. Maybe a burglary.

He'd had a rainbow tattoo and around the time this happened there had been a number of unusually coordinated attacks on the LGBT community. Maybe Eli was victim of a hate crime.

More details emerged. Apparently he had actually disappeared three days before the fire. His service dog had been in the unit when it burned. So the poor animal had been left unattended for three days before perishing.

The thought that jumps to mind is that whoever set the fire was trying to destroy evidence concerning what happened three days prior. 

Some people think Eli himself was the culprit, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Can't accept insurance if you're disappeared. He had obligations requiring his presence, such as completing his Masters degree, and I might be naive, but I think it's unlikely that someone with even an ounce of heart would kill their own dog in such a cruel fashion.

For a long time, there were wanted posters with his face on them all over town. Even recently, Lee-Anne and I went for bubble tea at the place near the University of Waterloo and they still had one up. I hear that a local park is going to be named after him.  

I saw someone speculate that whoever set this fire might be the same person that lit the one at my mother and brother's old building. Just goes to show that these events are pretty rare, I just happen to be associated with them.

By the way, apparently an Uber driver told my brother that he heard that the parking garage fire where he used to live was perpetrated by an angry ex-boyfriend. Obviously not a credible source, but probably the closest thing to closure that we'll get. It's a grimly funny image, an angry guy setting his ex's car on fire, accidentally smoking out the whole building. I had thought it must have been done by someone who really knew what they were doing, as it seemed strange that something so indirect could cause so much damage. But maybe it was a fluke.