There's a song by Robert Charlebois called Je reviendrai à Montréal... which I had always found incomprehensible... Montreal winters didn't seem to me to be something one could miss... but the song is all about needing to feel the cold, to really be at one with it, to marry it, even (and that was always the part I found disturbing... the line "me marier avec l'hiver")... this past weekend though, for the first time, I sort of understood it a little.
It started snowing on Saturday while I was out in the surf and continued to snow into the night. On Sunday, everything was covered in snow. The wind was blowing the snow off trees and roofs. Snowflakes shimmered in the air. I remember looking out the window at the Quebec winter and its prohibitive -30 coldness and being told that it isn't too cold to go out for a walk as long as one dresses for it. Cold winters can be fun... for a few days anyway. I looked at Tofino covered in forgetful snow.. and wanted to be outside... to feel the cold... so I dressed for the cold and walked into town... (as it turns out, it only looked cold... it wasn't really)... I got to the park on Third Street (it has a name, and I knew it once) and stood there, looking at Lone Cone Mountain. I then had this urge to climb Lone Cone, in the cold, with the snow. Climbing a mountain covered in snow for some reason seemed like a good idea... maybe because I haven't yet christened these new hiking boots with a winter hike yet... or maybe I'm just thinking of a good day some years ago when I walked up a South Shore land pimple on an insanely cold Quebec winter day.
I didn't climb Lone Cone (logistic issues... it's on the other side of the water)... but I walked a little more. During my short Sunday morning walk, I ran into five people I knew... most of them were in their cars... one was standing beside his. Two rolled down their windows to talk to me. The odd thing was... all the cars were silver. There was a silver Honda Element, a silver Dodge Ram 2500, a silver Volkswagon Eurovan, a silver Dodge Ram 1500, and a silver X-Terra. I wasn't going to mention the silver cars in this note... but Anthony called me and we had a chat... when I told him about the five silver cars... he remarked that Val doesn't like silver cars. That's almost as odd as my running into only silver car drivers during my walk... so I'm now telling you all about it (fascinating, eh?).
When I sold my Pathfinder, I think I sold my courage with it. I use to drive anywhere in any weather condition... now with my RWD Aerostar (which, because it locks up an 11' board, is still the best car ever) I'm afraid to go anywhere in bad weather. And it's snowing right this moment... and I'm already worrying about my commute to work in the morning... it might take me 4 minutes instead of 2... or 12 minutes, even, if I choose to walk because I'm too scared to drive.
It started snowing on Saturday while I was out in the surf and continued to snow into the night. On Sunday, everything was covered in snow. The wind was blowing the snow off trees and roofs. Snowflakes shimmered in the air. I remember looking out the window at the Quebec winter and its prohibitive -30 coldness and being told that it isn't too cold to go out for a walk as long as one dresses for it. Cold winters can be fun... for a few days anyway. I looked at Tofino covered in forgetful snow.. and wanted to be outside... to feel the cold... so I dressed for the cold and walked into town... (as it turns out, it only looked cold... it wasn't really)... I got to the park on Third Street (it has a name, and I knew it once) and stood there, looking at Lone Cone Mountain. I then had this urge to climb Lone Cone, in the cold, with the snow. Climbing a mountain covered in snow for some reason seemed like a good idea... maybe because I haven't yet christened these new hiking boots with a winter hike yet... or maybe I'm just thinking of a good day some years ago when I walked up a South Shore land pimple on an insanely cold Quebec winter day.
I didn't climb Lone Cone (logistic issues... it's on the other side of the water)... but I walked a little more. During my short Sunday morning walk, I ran into five people I knew... most of them were in their cars... one was standing beside his. Two rolled down their windows to talk to me. The odd thing was... all the cars were silver. There was a silver Honda Element, a silver Dodge Ram 2500, a silver Volkswagon Eurovan, a silver Dodge Ram 1500, and a silver X-Terra. I wasn't going to mention the silver cars in this note... but Anthony called me and we had a chat... when I told him about the five silver cars... he remarked that Val doesn't like silver cars. That's almost as odd as my running into only silver car drivers during my walk... so I'm now telling you all about it (fascinating, eh?).
When I sold my Pathfinder, I think I sold my courage with it. I use to drive anywhere in any weather condition... now with my RWD Aerostar (which, because it locks up an 11' board, is still the best car ever) I'm afraid to go anywhere in bad weather. And it's snowing right this moment... and I'm already worrying about my commute to work in the morning... it might take me 4 minutes instead of 2... or 12 minutes, even, if I choose to walk because I'm too scared to drive.
I think the thing about silver colored vehicles is that they are so generic and in Vancouver, it seems that EVERYONE is driving a silver vehicle. And, it seems the most popular color of people of certain ethnic origins, adding to the generic element of those vehicles. Now, my car is dark blue and Val's is dark forest green. I have a theory about silver colored vehicles and why there are so many in Tofino but the theory involves car dealerships, a captive audience and pasta, preferably with a really good marinara sauce.
ReplyDeleteAs to your courage...well some people find it in a bottle, others in a suv named Trevor. But, and this is a big BUT, if you think about it, most of the time you would drive your suv in RWD mode anyways and it's the comfortable knowledge that you can switch to 4-by at the flip of a switch that gave you confidence. And, the fact that you live at the top of a hill also aids in the slow but steady erosion of your courage when it comes to driving in the snow. Actually, now that I come to think of it, I seem to notice a certain dilution of your courage when it comes to other things too. Things involving...oh I don't know...taking the initiative in certain aspects of your life. What? The devil you say!!! Methinks that thou doth protest too much! Does courage come from a suv? Or does courage come from a bottle? Or maybe courage has to come from within. Face your demons or at least bake a really good batch of cookies and then ask your demon out for a bite with the promise of a good dessert afterwards.
...I don't know...I just don't know...
One of these days, I gotta start on my blog....
There should be no surprise that silver is pretty popular.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/09/white-beats-silver-again-as-most-popular-car-color/
Although apparently white and black are still more popular. Silver has the advantage of hiding dirt better than any other car. Your car maybe rather filthy but it will be harder to spot on a silver background.
I drive blue but I didn't have much choice. Used, you take what you can get. I would have prefered silver. My Burgman was silver. Folks just got a new VW diesel. Dark blue. Their old matrix, silver. Brother still has his matrix, Cerulean (sp) blue, interesting colour. Csaba's matrix, silver... Blah, drivelling irrelevantly.
Dude, no more cookies. I made cookies. I made awesome, kick-ass cookies. I'm done with cookies. No more cookies!
ReplyDeleteAnd... dude, Csaba's silver Matrix? I can't believe you remember something like that... and... what's more, I can't believe you remembered how to spell his name correctly. Did you ever meet him, even? I can't think of when you would have...
Nah. Never met and I didn't see him when I spotted his matrix drive by my office window to visit the Davie Street skytrain station. Did his company also buy one of those Toyota Tonka Toy looking jeeps as well?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what he or Terrorprobe has been up to... I last spoke with him in May of this year... and it was super awkward. That was (I believe) outlined in the note titled "Breakfast with Csaba"...
ReplyDeleteI must have missed that article. Couldn't find it either. Was it as odd as Tim?
ReplyDeleteYeah... all the notes are gone. They're somewhere... and might appear here if I get around to it... but otherwise gone. Did I ever say that Tim was odd? I don't think I would have... but I seem to be having some serious isolated episodes of amnesia. It's been impairing judgment... I've had to rely on second hand accounts of the past to reconstruct it all. Please e-mail me if you have any information...
ReplyDelete