Exhausted from pedalling around town all day, I hopped off my bike at the foot of my street, opting to walk the steep climb to my doorstep."You can do it! If I can get up this hill, so can you honey!"
I looked up to meet what was left of a once toothy grin. But the sprightly sound of her voice made up for a few gaps in this stranger's smile.
Despite the encouragement, I continued plodding uphill as she walked down to greet me.
She askes if I am a resident on her street.
Her street.
As the longest standing resident on P Road, this short but feisty woman has independently taken on the responsiblity as our neighbourhood watch.
She's called, Queen Bee, and don't nobody mess with her.
Upon her introduction, she starts pouncing side to side, fists primed to throw a punch.
"I'm a boxing champion, you know."
She has an afro-carribean lingo that meddles with her British accent. I would have trouble understanding if her body language wasn't so poignant.
She seems equally perplexed by my accent and can't identify it.
When I tell her I'm Canadian, her face lights up!
"Another Canadian! There are plenty of you on my street!"
She asks if I've met Chris, my next door neighbour from Peterborough, and points out another Canadian couple, both physiotherapists, living across the street.
"And that's my house there," she points to number 3, "with the leather gloves hanging in the window."
I was always curious about those.
Her fist dissapears in her heafty sack as she fumbles around for something.
All the while, she is giving me the low down on the residents of each house.
She also delves into her own life story. She is trained as a nurse and recieved her degree in the US. I sense her pride, but she is not gloating.
Eventually, she moved to the UK where she was employed for a number of charitable oranizations in her career.
She pulls a monochrome photo from her purse. Here she is, I can recognize her smile, healthy, more signatory of a student in the health services. I recognize another face in the photo. She is shaking hands with Mohammed Ali. Remarkable. In her other hand is her diploma.
This is the proudest moment of her life. She hasn't shared this photo for a long time, she adds.
And she has shared it with me, a neighbour, but moments ago a stranger.
Already I'm in her corner of the ring. I feel safe. I wouldn't want to be a contender.
