The Editor:
If you’ve been in Coquitlam near Hickey Drive and Austin Avenue lately, you may have noticed a new addition to the neighbourhood.
I want to express my gratitude for all the friends, neighbours and complete strangers as you’ve walked, run, biked or driven by.
Some of you exclaim “wow” at some point while others have come to a screeching halt on the road and asked to come in and see him.
You see, due to safety concerns, we recently had a rather large tree taken down in our back yard.
Rather than completely eliminate such a majestic specimen, we chose to leave a 10-foot stump and commissioned a local artist to commemorate it with a chainsaw sculpture.
"Ernie," as we have affectionately dubbed our backyard bear sculpture, sits atop a very tall stump.
Peering over the fence on Hickey Drive, he holds his very good buddy "Eddie" in his paws, watching the world go by, fending off malicious squirrels and inspiring a world of wonder and joy outside our garden gate.
Too many people to count have smiled, laughed, enjoyed, shared, taken pictures, struck up conversations with us and with others passing by.
It has been an intensely fulfilling and emotionally gratifying experience to have unintentionally triggered so many moments of joy and wonder.
I’m humbled by the response and grateful to be reminded that we live in a community with people that are open and friendly and care about others and the place in which we live.
To all of you that have been by and enjoyed seeing Ernie and Eddie, thank you for sharing your joy and wonder with us.
- Rhonda Bradford, Coquitlam