invasion in the north end

Last night, Spike and I were driving home in the later part of the evening. We always take the scenic route to our house. If we drive one small block out of the way, we get to look at the Bay.

We had just passed the scenic part, and were at a stop sign, right around the corner from our house.

"Hey - what's happening here?" I said.

"What?" Spike said.

"Um, there's a soldier standing on the corner," I said.

Spike squinted into the darkness. "Huh," he said.

We both looked a little harder. "There are a bunch of soldiers, all down the street!" I said.

"Huh," he said.

And there were. Soldiers, in camouflage, carrying guns and gear, slowly walking down the street, looking from side to side, in that relaxed but incredibly alert way that soldiers do. I looked around for TV cameras - are we in a movie? More to the point, is Bruce Willis nearby? Nope, not that I can see.

Spike rolled down the window. "Everything OK?" he asked.

"YES SIR, THERE'S NO PROBLEM, JUST A ROUTINE TRAINING DRILL, SIR" was the instant and very soldier-like response.

"OK," Spike said. "Nice gun!"

We pulled into our driveway, pondering what we had just seen. Then Spike chuckled. "We've got everything in this neighbourhood!"

We love where we live!