Performing a reflection maneuver for a maximum of five minutes before I go to bed.
Jenny and I were in Canada since Saturday.
Notably, Saturday was Canada’s “Day of Independence”. As we were driving into the city, it was cloudy, and a little rainy. Distant thunder portended extra rain. I noticed while there were a lot of people in the streets of downtown Montreal, very few of them sported rain-resistant clothing. Barely anyone held an umbrella. I wondered if this was a Canadian thing.
Also notably, no one seemed to sport the colors of the country or providence, no Quebecois blue nor Canadian Red, White, and Black. It was interesting.
Montreal is an incredibly beautiful city. There was a gorgeous balance of modern and classical influence in the built environment. Lots of masonry I snapped photos of and sent to friends. I copied the text from the “Outer Heaven Manifesto” and edited it to say “Montreal” instead. I thought it was funny.
Today is the United States’ “Day of Independence”, it’s the day Jenny and I arrived back in New York. It was a relief to be able to read the city signage. While French is a beautiful language, I don’t think it’s worth learning for reasons of economy. Spanish and Mandarin and English are probably a better bang for your buck. While in Montreal, I shopped online for a variety of knives. I think I want to learn how to chop food elegantly and with an art to it. It’s probably worth learning a little French for the purpose of speaking about food and techniques well.
We heard the fireworks, but didn’t watch them. Jenny and I agreed that we’ve seen our share of fireworks in this life, but children are a good reason to go look at the fireworks again.
I noticed I was writing prolifically around the same time last year, and I’m getting that hankering again. Maybe I’m a summer writer, or enjoy summer words.