Just back from the great great city of Montreal that is most likely better than pretty much every city this world has to offer. The City of Angels. DC Metro. Bean town. Motorcity... even TdotOdot.. they don't hold a candle in the wind, I suspect, to the amazing city of Montreal.
Back in the 90's it was a rough economic situation in Montreal and people feared a fall and worried the island city would become the next detroit - dirty and tired and D-pressed. But instead people just kept on keeping on. People went out and drank some good fucking beer and ate some good fucking food.. Granted they did it for $5/pitcher and $5 a plate instead of $10/and $10... but they kept on keeping on and the immigrants kept on coming on and the fracophones kept on.
Montreal has more restuarants per capita than any other city in North America.
Montreal also has such an amazing outlook on things that they immediately grant liberties to any sort of festival that comes across it's doorstep. I was in the city for 4 days and ran across no less than 4 different festivals all with their own trappings and blocked off streets and gads and gads of people. I saw no less than 100 bongo players gather in the park to bongo, or tam-tam as the in-crowd says, for no other reason than it was sunday and that's what they wanted to do. I saw no less than 20 circus types all juggling and twirling and doing hand stands for no other reason than it was sunday and that's what they wanted to do. in the park. in the burning sun. on a sunday.
My eyes, over four days in the city, probably recorded over 500,000 faces. 1,000,000 even. I saw drunk people and little kids and bums and beggars and carribeans and middle-easterners and far-easterners and russians and czechs and lots and lots of beer. I saw cigarettes with pictures of black lung on their packages and still everyone sucking them down and I saw fire breathing and fire twirling and I saw some good fucking friends and had a good fucking time.
Not once did I see a single altercation.
Not once did I see a fist thrown or a hurtful word uttered or bad glare stared.
Not even in one million people.
Not even at 95 degrees with stifling humidity and everyone sweating more bullets than a nicaraguan gorilla platoon.
Saw one guy tell another guy he couldn't bring his glass beer bottle into the blocked off street where music was playing.. but he was happy to provide him with a plastic cup and dispose of his bottle for him. Even though they were selling beer inside the blocked off street. Even though drinking beer on the street is illegal.
Saw one or two or three people light up joints in the park while they watched the bongos but they didn't watch for cops cause they weren't too worried about it.
Neither was I.
Went to a bar and ordered some beer and then some more beer and stuffed the foosball table with tissue paper so we didn't have to pay and strangers wandered up and put down their looney to take winners and we said 'sure, but we don't need your money, we're stuffing' and he said 'Ha! I work here! You're busted!' and we said 'shit' and he said 'Ah, whatever.. I don't care' and he played with us for an hour. For free. Cause he wasn't worried about it.
Neither was I.
Made it back into ptown in time to see the sun set and get a beer and watch my favourite bar tender tend her bar and listen to some good local music that I'd never heard before. Made the trip in 4:30 which is faster than it should be and I didn't even speed much cause I wasn't too worried about getting back at any particular time. Had some crazy dreams last night. Happy dreams. Normally I don't ever dream, but these were some awfully dreamy dreams.
Came back to work and got my coffee and sat down and
Tony had left me a
happy fourth of july note.
Came back to work and saw that
Bunnie left good wishes and pointed some nice folks in my direction.
Sat down and thought maybe I should get to work.. maybe I should. Then looked around and no one seemed too worried about it.
Neither was I.
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the guys: philogynist jaime tony - the gals:raymi raspil
