There Goes The Neighbourhood!

I was all set to write about what a wonderful neighbourhood we have here in Harewood, with friendly people, a caring community, and safe streets.

To label us as "Scarewood" - which crafty real estate agents had done in years past to persuade people to buy houses in the more lucrative north end - was not right.

This was a peaceful, stable, working-class, pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood, perfect for families, with little or no crime.

Then Godzilla came to Seventh Street, and everything changed.  A burnt-out helicopter and a car in flames, trains carrying nuclear missiles, army tanks -  yikes!

Godzilla, the radioactive monster last seen terrorizing Tokyo, had come to Harewood as the star in a movie that is filming here in Nanaimo.

However, in best Harewood fashion, this became a community-building experience. Crowds of people from the neighbourhood came out to watch the mayhem.

It was a thrill to watch the helicopter being burnt over and over again, and see the members of the army tackle the fierce - but invisible to us - beast.

Some of the residents of Pacific Gardens even got to be interviewed on TV. Soma, our nine-year-old, talked about how cool it was, and Susana, how exciting.

Of course, Godzilla's visit generated the usual e-mail debate at Pacific Gardens.  Should we invite him to our Thursday night potluck? And if he came, would we have enough food?

Of course, as one cynic pointed out, we might be the ones on the menu - this was Godzilla, after all.

Maybe Harewood should change its name to Hollywood. We always knew our neighbourhood deserved a starring role!

Kathryn