My Mexican Zombie Afternoon

After boxing class, my best friend and I decided to go to downtown to check out the annual Zombie-Walk in downtown. My doll, Amelia, came along as I figured she would fit into the creepfest occasion quite well even without the white powder faces and blood - don't you think?

We parked our car, walked up the hill on Jervis and stopped at a noticeable brick wall to take some pictures. Vik just bought his brand new Canon 5D and as he was clicking away, I noticed a man from the corner of my eye who was calling me over and gesturing towards something across the sidewalk. Turned out that he was pointing in the direction of a curious hidden courtyard leading to a cozy, “cat-on-an antique-upright-piano” kind of building called The Holly Lodge. It was built in 1912 by Wright, Rushforth and Cahill, who were based in San Francisco.

It turned out that the courtyard area was going to be used for a TV set so a security guard was watching over all the props (benches and flower pots scattered near the doorstep entrance). The security guy's name was Carlos and he said that my cherry dress reminded him of when he was a kid back in El Salvador. We ended up talking for an hour and he told us some magnificent stories briefly pausing every now and then where he’d stop and watch who was going in and out of the building – commenting on some dress that barely covered one woman’s bum, listening to a resident talk about her cactus plant from her window to her friends below.

He told us about how he almost runaway and eloped with his girlfriend but was received unpleasantly at the front door by her 6 foot 1,000 pound father. In the name of love, Carlos told her father that he would not leave and would fight him just to have his daughter. The father told him that he’d never seen anyone so brave and ended up having a beautiful wedding for the both of them.

He told us about how he was taken into a concentration camp and got shot once on his knee and again right beside his crotch.

He told us that his astrological sign was Cancer and that if he could choose to be any animal, it would be a monkey. (Vik chose to be either a dog or a monkey, and I said rabbit).

The thing I loved most about Carlos, was how he had a smiling twinkle in his eyes. He was so animated and charming when he spoke and you could tell he was enjoying every second of it. The advice he gave us was to take care of our family, be happy and healthy, and to be thankful for everything you have.

After talking to Carlos, Vik and I went to grab some Mexican food on Davie Street. We missed the zombie walk, but a couple of stray zombies came up and pressed their cheeks against the restaurant window to get a picture. They seemed a bit odd walking around in the sunlight, but their costumes did make me excited about Hallowe’en.