This
has been one hectic month, not to mention the other 10 leading up to it. And I
do think this will go down as one my most challenging years yet, However we
will discuss that on the next post.
Yet,
some good has come along as well. The
second week of November found me in Montreal , Canada
It
was a great visit and yet I didn’t really get down to any of the local
attractions as one might expect. I didn’t visit Montreal's great Biodome, didn’t make much of
the nightlife, casinos, or jazz clubs. I didn’t catch any of the museums. However,
I did make it to my favorite eatery though. A little underground niche called
“Forget” Yeah, that’s what I thought as well, However, Pauline was a good sport
and we were able to spend most of the entire week driving, tramping and getting
lost in some of the best cemeteries I have ever come across bar none. Notre
Dame Des Neiges cemetery being my favorite.
In fact that little adventure turned
out to be a two-day fun festival in itself. The great thing about Norte Dame –if
one can call it a blessing - is that cemetery personnel have been on strike for
the last several months - (Guess they were having a harsher year than yours
truly.) - and so the grounds were
completely overgrown and very *cough-cough* lush. Which made
for great photography.
That
would be nice to know…
Saint Joseph ’s
Oratory is one of the worlds most visited shrines. Second in height only to
Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the church is large enough to accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers.
Really this
place rocks and has it’s own hill. Well, the only hill.
Legend has it
that if pilgrims walk up the entire length of the stairs to the top they will
be cured of their ailments… and I must say there is some truth to that because
when we got to the top I was cured of any extra energy and vitality that I may
have had stored up for the day. Coming
down was no picnic either. No wonder Catholics spend so much time on their
knees… they are freaking tired. Worn out.
Anyhow…
That was my
trip in a nutshell. Spent November 21,22,23,and 24 with my kids and grandkids
as what we have come to know as “The Valles’ Annual Dead Bird Society.” It’s
something we as a family have been doing for the last ten years. Prior to that
in November we were just a mess of variable scatterings. Some here. Some there. Some Lost.
So as the
patriarch of this great family I decided we could use the historic onset of
fall and autumn (also known as Black November) as a reminder that we as a
country once took great pride in the slaughtering, pillaging and land robbing
of countless, yes, countless American Natives as a touchstone for a family get
together… I know it sounds a lot like Thanksgiving but we do it without all the
fru-fru and lies that most of Americans sit down to in appreciation of what
they have. And hope to get.
Well, it’s been
a tiring week, month, year, day and my fingers are not used to this keyboard
yet, so tomorrow boys and girls we will employ my venture into what has now
gone down as The Procedure.
See ya then.
fyi - I,too, have this affliction or affection of being drawn to cemeteries where ever I go. If you ever get to Cincinnati, Spring Grove Cemetery is one to see. New York also had some inspiring ones, ‘cept I only saw them from the freeway. My daughter was in denial that she also has the graveyard gene. However, during that time of denial, we did happen upon a very small New Jersey cemetery while visiting her in-laws while we were out walking that Halloween season. That is one I wouldn’t recommend as it looked like it was misplaced from Universal Studios. I have hopes for my daughter though, while visiting her in Paris I was able to see Pere La Chaise, highly recommended and the underground catacombs, an eerie experience as I thought I was going to join them. Climbing back up the steep, circular, claustrophobic stone steps, of that deep, dark bone yard challenges the thin thread of sanity and the habit of breathing, something I am quite attached to. She also took me to London where we haunted two of their re-cycling sites, (*note to self and whoever else will listen - Always take pictures of the signs while entering or forever hold your peace).
With the wandering gene my daughter inherited from my grandfather, I might see the cemeteries of the world.
btw, I am glad to know that my own small nucleus of a family isn’t the only one who takes Wednesday's slant to Thanksgiving. Cheers and best wishes.
Posted by: scotty | January 05, 2008 at 01:29 PM
Climb ing back up the steep, circular, claustrophobic stone steps, of that deep, dark bone yard challenges the thin thread of sanity and the habit of breathing, something I am quite attached to.
Wow, not that is the what I call an adventure. Yes, I would completely enjoy such a day. Yeah, I do think your daughter will come around to the joys of cemetery tramping. To tell you the truth as you may well know, it's has such a peaceful inner quiet to it... cept for having to climb stone steps.
Loved your comment.
alvin.
Posted by: Alvin | January 07, 2008 at 06:12 AM