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epitome of incomprehensibility
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When I was a kid, I'd say, "Let's go to Canada Day," and my mother would remind me that Canada Day was the day, not the place.
But for me it was the celebration in the park. The closest one used to be in Pine_Beach_Park and now it's Millennium_Park, farther east, close to the beginning of the Lachine bike path.
In Pine Beach days, the highlight was a climbing wall, with three harnesses and supervisors.
Well, that was when I was 7-10. There are pictures of me on a bouncy castle as a younger kid, but I don't remember that as well. By the time I liked the climbing wall, I was too big for some of those bouncy structures, but one that still appealed to me had a slide of puffed stairs (does that make sense? as if it was entirely made up of speed bumps) so you could bounce going down. And do somersaults, though you weren't supposed to.
Other attractions were food and fireworks, though for a while my younger brother was afraid of the loud noises and we had to watch them from afar. Mom brought up one of these memories today: the time we drove to Pine Beach train station - the other side of the highway from the park - and stood on the hill near the tracks to see the sky erupt with colour.
...
I forgot about face painting. In days past, I sometimes liked having my face painted. Is that "sometimes" only added now, in retrospect? Sometimes adulthood trades increased freedoms for diminished hobbies.
...
Anyway, today my cousin came over with her dog Trixie as I finished blathering about dreams (a long dream_recall and a dream_mattress that did not taste like chicken). At around four, Dad drove Mom, Lia, me, and the dogs to Millennium Park.
My right sandal's front strap came loose from its sole-hold, making for awkward walking. (The back strap prevented it from completely coming off.) Lia advised me to go to the first aid tent where they had medical tape; I - uninjured, embarrassed - nevertheless asked for and got a piece, which fixed it for the time being.
Snacks were obtained, a chair found for Mom whose knee was sore not just from arthritis but also a stretched muscle, and the dogs alternately rested and entertained.
Music on the stage ahead of us had a country theme. But which country? I hummed to "mama, rock me" - the chorus of "Wagon Wheel," which reminded me of another I'd heard in the Gracefield and/or immer_immersion talent show - "Country Roads."
But they didn't sing that one. West Virginia simply CANNOT be our mountain mama when we're at Canada Day! No, I must pick a Canadianer mountain: think national, act local. So, all together now, to the "Country Roads" chorus:
Chers chemins,
m'amenez bien
chez mes liens
'vec un sein -
Montréa-al,
mère montagne,
c'est presque
la campagne.
(Dear roads,
please bring me
to my links
with the breast -
Montreal,
mother mountain,
it's almost
the countryside.)
Sensical. I suckle Montreal's singular breast, which is almost the country.
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