7 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 19,2021 insidehalton.com At Village Orthodontics in Oakville, we specialize in beautiful smiles using clear aligners and traditional braces. New Patients Welcome Schedule your complimentary consultation today! 647-496-1424 2-2983 Westoak Trails Blvd. Oakville villageortho.ca Book your Personalized Smile Consultation today A GUIDE TO EATING LOCAL PATIOS , MENUS, TAKEOUT, DELIVERY, BREWERIES & SPECIALTY GROCERY SCAN THESE CODES WITH YOUR PHONE TO DISCOVER GREAT DINING AND FOOD DESTINATIONS Let's Eat For $50/Week participate in this Foodie Feature linking your business or menu to these QR codes! 4 Week Special! Limited Space - Book Today! For a Small Fee/Week participate in this Foodie Feature linking your business or menu to these QR codes! Please contact Nancy Gibson for information on placing your QR Code ad. Cell: 289-681-2041 • ngibson@starmetrolandmedia.com Limited Space - Book Today! A GUIDE TO EATING LOCAL PATIOS , MENUS, TAKEOUT, DELIVERY, BREWERIES & SPECIALTY GROCERY SCAN THESE CODES WITH YOUR PHONE TO DISCOVER GREAT DINING AND FOOD DESTINATIONS Let's Eat NOW HIRING! At a section of the Waterfront Trail near the base of Kerr Street, Oakvillians can't help but stare at the dizzying number of delicate- ly-balanced rocks. The gravity-defying forma- tions are the work of local Randy King. The 61-year-old carefully hob- bles down to the water level on one leg (he lost the other one to osteomyelitis) and spends his days making his creations. He has been doing it since he was a child, but lately he has something extra on his mind when doing his work. "I want to dedicate it to Indige- nous people and what they suf- fered through," said King. "May- be this will rest their spirits, so to speak." The inciting incident for King to commemorate the Indige- nous came last spring. In May, the bodies of 215 Indig- enous children were discovered in unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. A further 751 were discov- ered the month after that in Sas- katchewan. Over a thousand bod- ies are believed to have been dis- covered at last count. The retired civil engineer was born in Montreal. King first learned he liked balancing rocks at the age of 12. He would practise the art near the Honoré Mercier Bridge, which coincidentally also connected with the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. He often saw the "differences in the way that these people were treated" during his time in Mon- treal. "And this was in the '70s. So I can imagine how they were treated in the '40s or in the 1910s." Walking along the Waterfront Trail, in between where King car- ries on his vigil and Tannery Bea- con Hill, are a series of plaques telling the story of Oakville's first peoples. They talk about the ar- rival of the Wendat people, some- times called Hurons, staying in the area until about 1650. Then the Haudenosaunee, re- ferred to by some as the Iroquois, were briefly here from 1650 to 1695. The last plaque talks about the period of the Mississaugas, an Anishnabeg people. The history of the land is not lost on King. "(The balancing) is a part of the respect for the land and the site because this is an Indigenous area. Always has been and always will be," King said. "It might be owned by the government and whoever else, but if you go up and down this trail, it's Indigenous." Overall, he hopes that his work conveys a message of peace. He abhors war, calling it a "mon- ey machine." He acknowledges the ugly side of history because "sometimes humans can be ugly and beautiful. It's not black or white, pink, green or yellow. It's humans." To King, the practice is a med- itation, which should come as no surprise. Online there are a plethora of articles talking about the calming, spiritual side of rock balancing. One article says to "use rock balancing as a tool in your meditation practice to fur- ther experience the depths of the present moment, much like light- ing a candle or burning incense does." "Makes me feel real good. Real calm. I don't really think about anything. I just usually (have) a peace of mind," King said. He has trouble quantifying what the ac- tivity does for him, but he thinks it helps him "think but not really think." King says he has seen some of the local kids copy his style and plenty of curious onlookers stop and talk to him. But he empha- sized that he does not do this for recognition. "Am I looking to get any kind of recognition or any- thing like that? No. I'd rather stay by myself and be humble." A RESPECTFUL BALANCING ACT Randy King demonstrates his technique for balancing rocks. Mansoor Tanweer/Metroland MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com NEWS LOCAL MAN'S ROCK DISPLAY A MEMORIAL TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES