Across the street from the cruise ship terminal in Victoria, B.C., you’ll find Jeff Apolinaro building something at the end of his driveway. “I’ve always wanted to make a library with a cruise ship theme,” Jeff smiles while punching portholes out of sticker paper, gluing holders to hang miniature lifeboats. But this little library is turning out to be a very big replica of the iconic Queen Mary. “Well, it’s eight feet long,” Jeff says as he attaches the final details on the ship that’s been filled with books and erected next to the sidewalk. “So, I have eight feet more space in the garage now that it’s out here.” Jeff started building the ship in his garage a few years ago, after finding a perfect piece of furniture discarded on a curb. “There was this two-door gun cabinet sitting there,” Jeff says. After cutting it up, adding a bow and stern, and studying books showing the blueprints from the real Queen Mary was built, Jeff focused on custom-making every detail of the ship in miniature. His wife Marge was happy to help too. “She was great with sanding, with varnishing,” Jeff says. “I put her to work on a lot of projects.” That’s after she put him to work a lot, throughout their careers. “She’s tough as nails,” Jeff said when we first met the couple a few years ago. That’s when Jeff and Marge told us they met at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. “Just like she is now, she’s a looker,” Jeff smiled at Marge. Marge was his respected boss, while Jeff was the guy that you could count on to get things done. “Then I got to know him,” Marge recalled with a smile. “And it was even nicer.” Three decades after falling in love and getting married, Marge and Jeff survived countless conflicts overseas, before facing unexpected adversity at home. “You play the cards you’re dealt, right babe?” Jeff smiled at his wife. “And we’re making the best of things.” So, after Marge was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Jeff customized a trike so they could go on daily dates around the neighbourhood. Although her memory was fading, their love was enduring. “I do love him,” Marge smiled. But Marge never got to see the library set sail to the end of their driveway. She passed away more than a year ago. “We had a good run. We saw a lot of places,” Jeff says. “Had a lot of fun times.” Which is why Jeff is so pleased to see the fun times people are having with the ship library, exchanging books and engaging in conversations. “This is brilliant,” a woman says as she opens the door on the starboard side of the ship and pulls out a novel. “The fact that people light up when they see it is fun,” Jeff says. “It makes it all worthwhile.” While there’s still a few historically accurate components to construct before his ship is complete, Jeff says the final piece he’ll place will be personally meaningful. While some ships are christened after queens like Elizabeth and Mary, Jeff says this library won’t be complete until he adds a brass plaque saying, ‘In memory of Marge’.
