In late December many years ago I found myself stranded in Vancouver. My passport was on the verge of expiring and I was temporarily between countries so I had flown back to Canada to take refuge with my parents for Christmas. My parents lived in the Gulf Islands and I was all set for the long ferry ride before I discovered that they weren’t even home. My parents were on holiday in Hawaii, something that I would have known if I kept in touch. My mother, house-proud and una