Moving is always stressful and exhausting but it hasn't taken Jim long to twig to the good things Verdun has to offer. He's already a regular at The Woodland Restaurant, lauded in last Saturday's Gazette as a source for authentic Montreal pizza. Hey Jim, try Pizza Mory next time. It's always two-for-one. Make sure you ask for sesame seeds on the crust. But there I go, assuming you were ordering 'za.
The other thing Jim remarked on was the quiet pleasure of enjoying coffee at his dining room table on that first morning and watching a cardinal in his backyard tree just a few metres away. That never happened once in 27 years on the Plateau, a place known for its $5 lattés and drab little sparrows.
"I guess we're not in Kansas anymore," Jim observed in his deadpan way.
Wait a few weeks, Jim. The red-winged blackbirds will invade the hedgerows and you'll find yourself staring at them like a yokel.
During our first week in Verdun four years ago, we sprawled en famille on the back lawn to stare at the stars in the inky midsummer sky. Our previous back yard was tiny with no lawn to speak of and tall buildings all around. The stars were virtually invisible because of the inner-city streetlights.
All of a sudden - what the heck! - fireflies. Fireflies in our backyard. I felt like we'd hit the jackpot. Quiet nights, fathomless darkness and now lightning bugs doodling through the cooling air. We were home.
Why is Verdun so obsessed with poaching people from the Plateau? Can't it grab 'em from Cornwall Ontario or Temiscamangue?
ReplyDeleteWe get bonus points if they're from the Plateau.
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