Sunday, September 09, 2007

A city's finest

Alright.

So I just moved here, and I'm in no position to pass judgement on what has aptly been dubbed North America's most beautiful city. But coming from a lifetime in Montreal, to be plopped down in Vancouver, does not come without it's challenges.


And so, while freckled mothers here feed their wide-eyed children named Juliet or Charles peeled apple slices dipped in white organic honey, while people compost and gaze at you with deliberate, though passive horror as you accidentally jog over into the 'bikers' lane, as people smile and wave and wish you a great day and actually mean it, while the sun commands you from the sky, in all its yellow glory, to be happy, to be bright, while people discuss the virtues of slicing open vanilla beans diagonally as opposed to straight, while people let their dogs run free and their cars on biofuel, while the beaches are packed with grandmothers doing yoga, all of this, all of this and more, makes a girl a little nostalgic.

A little nostalgic for a night on a Montreal street where Guy would stagger out from Saint Sulpice bar, to vomit his twelve Labatt Blues all over his Walmart running shoes, to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, not bothering to roll up the sleeve of his Point Zero shirt, to place his hands firmly on his knees, to turn in the direction of his buddy Jean who leans out the door to shout that he's ordering another round, and is that cool, and of course, and oh but of course, Guy nods his head in an emphatic 'yes' because that, all of that and more, is Montreal.

10 comments:

X said...

Ah la Belle Ville. How I miss thee.

Hugs babe :)

heather said...

i hear you...

Sparky said...

I understand this dichotomy only too well, and am still struggling with it. The vibe is different in Victoria, since it's even less urban, more privileged, and almost unbearably pretty (just look at some of the photos on my blog for a sample).

Welcome to the west coast. I may be passing you heading the other way soon...

Eve said...

Aw. I miss Montreal.

S'Mat said...

hehehe. the observations will keep coming, and they may even begin to get pretty startling. the 'everyone is blond' thing gave me the chills when it dawned on me there. also when i found myself reading every last ingredient label in the grocery. and then talking about it to other label-ogglers.

i find convention to be pretty thick out there, despite all its leftist legerdemain. right on, i look forward to reading all about it!

MontrealGurl said...

Thanks for painting the crystal clear image of Guy. You forgot that he can also sing "If I had a haaaaaammmmerr...."

I know, not the same Guy but I threw it in for the comedic value that only you and I could appreciate.

Missing you and looking forward to a lot more posts here cutie.

By the way, it still sucks here without you. I'm constantly asking April probing questions and am finding I should start taking notes to keep up... how'd you do it?

Heather said...

K -amen, sister. Me too.
Sparky - if you do head down this way, please let me know! I've heard an awful lot of good thing about you..:)
S'Mat, Eve, did you guys live in Vancouver at some point?
Walters - lovin' the tank!

Arthur Willoughby said...

That second paragraph was beautifully written. That's straight out of a novel I would read.

S'Mat said...

i lived in victoria for a bit, which became a long, mocking face of itself very quickly... i enjoyed it, but i pined, oh how i pined for the monster..

Heather said...

Arthur, as always, you're way too kind.
S'Mat, v. cool. What were you doing in Victoria?