Oct
31
Meet the Bubble Guy
Filed Under Uncategorized
Yesterday I was driving to work on Vancouver’s Historic Reserve and saw something so beautiful I almost drove into a manicured lawn.
A man was on the reserve’s green making the biggest bubbles I had ever seen. There were no clowns or children or camera crews around. Just him and the bubbles. I was clear that he made bubbles simply because he loved it.
“It’s a good day to make big bubbles,” said Ron Winter when I asked about his hobby.
Ron lives in Vancouver and bubbles in parks about twice a week, if the weather is right.
For him, bubbling is a relaxing, solitary activity. But part of its fun is that people often stop him to ask questions and chase the bubbles with camera phones.
“If you want to know how many children are in a neighborhood, just pull this out and you’ll find out,” he said.
He learned the craft from a book more than 15 years ago after he saw a bubble maker on public television.
His biggest bubble yet was about 12 feet in diameter, he said.
Ron tried bubbling on a recent foggy day and discovered that bubbles can freeze like glass when they hit the fog. One evening he made bubbles under a streetlight and passersby thought they were globes of fire. One morning he made bubbles as the sun came up.
“They glowed and you could see the sunrise in the bubble,” he said. “Every bubble is different; every one is unique.
“All the surroundings here – the trees, the sky, the birds – are reflected in that bubble, just upside down.”
How to make big bubbles:
A man was on the reserve’s green making the biggest bubbles I had ever seen. There were no clowns or children or camera crews around. Just him and the bubbles. I was clear that he made bubbles simply because he loved it.
“It’s a good day to make big bubbles,” said Ron Winter when I asked about his hobby.
Ron lives in Vancouver and bubbles in parks about twice a week, if the weather is right.
For him, bubbling is a relaxing, solitary activity. But part of its fun is that people often stop him to ask questions and chase the bubbles with camera phones.
“If you want to know how many children are in a neighborhood, just pull this out and you’ll find out,” he said.
He learned the craft from a book more than 15 years ago after he saw a bubble maker on public television.
His biggest bubble yet was about 12 feet in diameter, he said.
Ron tried bubbling on a recent foggy day and discovered that bubbles can freeze like glass when they hit the fog. One evening he made bubbles under a streetlight and passersby thought they were globes of fire. One morning he made bubbles as the sun came up.
“They glowed and you could see the sunrise in the bubble,” he said. “Every bubble is different; every one is unique.
“All the surroundings here – the trees, the sky, the birds – are reflected in that bubble, just upside down.”
How to make big bubbles:
- Look for a guide book in stores or online. Many come with their own wand.
- Fill a bucket with 11 cups of water, four ounces of glycerin and two cups of liquid dish soap.
- Dip the wand in the bucket and pull it out somewhat slowly.
- Pull the web’s wand back and slowly sweep your arm in the air.
- Close the web and watch the bubbles billow out.
- The best conditions occur in mild temperatures when there’s an updraft to carry bubbles up, up and away.
-Charity
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