Moon over Gilbert Layton Park

A happy occasion in NDG, May 10, 2013

John McAuley reading at the Yellow Door, Montreal

Cardinal in back yard at Belmore

Mushrooms...

A bleak lawn

Andre Corbeil

 

Here I am with CTV television sports broadcaster Andre Corbeil. It was a morning in April 2011 at Nickel`s Restaurant  on Cote des Neiges Road. CZ (especially) is a big fan of Andre`s;  ("AN-drey, AN-Drey" she says when he comes on to read the sports at 11:50 p.m.). So there I was at Nickel's and Andre walks by where I am sitting, "You're Andre Corbeil!" I said, and here we are, the old guy (me) and Andre. Really exciting! Now if only CZ could meet him to say "hello", she's a real fan. AN-drey, AN-Drey!!

Pole in the middle of a highway...



It's not all that unusual that someone leaves a pole in the middle of a highway. 

Noni Howard at Casa Bella

This must have been 1997 when Noni Howard stayed with us at Casa Bella. Here we are at the side door with Noni. Maybe it was just after this we walked up the street to visit Irving Layton at his home on Monkland Avenue. See Noni's last collection of poems at www.coraclepress.com.

This was back when poets were characters, personnages, not politically correct award winning creative writing graduates... Now, "characters" are not wanted, just bland career building "poets"... Even Layton was a character back then...

Kids at Gilbert Layton Park in March

Scarey doll...

Back in the day, when we were children, I remember visiting Audrey Keyes (Veeto) who lived next door to us on Oxford Avenue. She had this huge doll she received for Christmas and I remember swinging around this doll, pretending to be a fake wrestler, and then finding the head had come off... Anyhow, years later, around 2005, Audrey and I met again; I also met her mother, Mrs. Keyes, a really lovely person. Mrs. Keyes laughed at some of the things in my poem "Hoolahan's Flat", it was not the reaction I expected!  And the doll's head? I wonder what happened about that episode...

Construction at Cavendish Mall

Since the demographics changed in Cote St. Luc (the young moved away; the old remained), Cavendish Mall has had to adapt. Half of the mall was closed and torn down; on the old parking lot, and where half of the mall used to be, there is now  housing construction. In the winter the construction site is fairly bleak, but I suppose when it's completed and trees are planted and growing, then it will be an attactive community...

Dunn's Famous next to Dominion Square

Montreal smoked meat is famous, and Dunn's is always great to visit for smoked meat... this location is across the street from Dominion Square in downtown Montreal.

Why so serious?

Grafitti on the front of the old Merton School, now a study center for autism, on Connaught Avenue and West Broadway in NDG. Why so serious?

A New Hope, Graffiti

Most graffiti in NDG is fairly ugly, it's tagging. There are also some ridiculous laws about graffiti, they make landlords responsible for removing graffiti, at their own expense or they face hefty fines. Meanwhile, the borough does little to prevent graffiti... Some graffiti seems a synchronistic message from the Universe,  it seems to be speaking to one's inner needs, it is a voice telling you what you need to hear. "A New Hope" is one of those voices. Whoever maintains the building on which this is written keeps painting over the message but it keeps reappearing.

Labyrinth at Rosedale-Queen Mary Road United Church on Terrebonne Avenue in NDG

If, one summer day, you wander along Terrebonne Avenue in NDG, you might find yourself at Rosedale United Church where there is a labyrinth that is open to anyone who wants to walk there. It is a truly incredible experience, it removes you from everyday life and you find yourself in a world of archetypes. There is something about walking a labyrinth that immediately alters one's consciousness; the bigger issues of life, one's place in the universe, take over one's thinking. Life is seen for what it is, a journey, and on this journey there are many twists, turns, reversals, new beginnings, success, failure, and redemption. This labyrinth is free, open to the public, and one of the places in this City of Mary--Ville Marie--that I highly recommend. 

Eglise St. Viateur Church in Outremont, QC

...insects on flowers at side of house...

Fox at Cote des Neiges Cemetery

Not far from downtown Montreal, Cote des Neiges Cemetery is at the heart of Montreal... here's a fox seen one winter day, in March, not far from McGee's mausoleum...

 

 

"Peanuts" saved in a copy of one of John Cage's books...