random thoughts after a week away in Montréal...

We arrived in town a week ago today. I may have posted that our trip north was lovely and uneventful until we reached the border. It seems as if our COVID test was 74 hours old rather than the proscribed 72. Who knew such precision was essential; we thought 72 hours meant three days! Now we know better. So, after answering the young guard's questions, we were directed to a mobile COVID test site for a new fast test. We registered with the provincial government's online tracking site, swabbed each nostril for 15 seconds, inserted the swab in a sealed test tube and awaited the results. We were declared COVID free 5 minutes later and the entire affair took about 45 minutes. 

+ I am grateful that Quebec is being pro-active re: tracking and testing. Their commitment to the vaccine passport has been in effect since September 1st and all the venues we have visited have been conscientious in adhering to the letter of the law. This is prudent - unlike so many of my nation's local governments. Alas, there are clearly two United States: one respects science and lives into the common good while the other blindly resists testing and vaccinations. The former is discovering new and safe ways to move into our brave new world, the later are dying. Dare I say: talk about karma? I grieve the horrific deaths that are now flooding Southern hospitals with anguished and suffering people of all ages. AND this is NOT a tragedy: it could have been avoided and never should have happened.

+ Our Canadian friends are as mystified by the anti-vaxxers in their country as we are in ours: the depth of conspiracy theories, however, is greater in the USA. As we speak with local business people who have endured chaos, loss of business, governmental uncertainty, financial distress among their employees, and now belligerent and uncooperative citizens who oppose the new COVID protocols, there is a remarkable unanimity in their comments: life is upside-down now in the worst possible way. With time-tested solutions to the plague it is only selfishness and sometimes greed driving the anti-vax hordes. They are a discrete minority, to be sure, but still a troubling presence. I make a point of talking to both business owners and clerks about this and they all agree that there is a clear path out of this wilderness but it needs everyone's participation.

This was in full display earlier this week when we ventured down to Place des Arts for a Jazz Festival concert. Here's what was required to get in - and please know that I support it fully. First, we had to register on line with Ticket Master to get our free tickets; as a part of this registration was a COVID test questionnaire. Second, after securing our free passes - with both paper and smart phone authentication - we had to show our vaccination records to the Jazz Festival checkers. Third, we had to show the vaccination wrist bands to another set of festival guards. Fourth, after a check for weapons, we had to show our pre-registered free passes at one of four performance centers. The crowd for each concert was divided into a variety of groups so that social distancing could happen AND COVID tracking could take place in the event of an outbreak. It was well organized, reasonably efficient, and very, very different from the festival feel of previous concerts. It felt like a wise next step into what is still to emerge: subdued, masked, and controlled. 

That this reality is the polar opposite of jazz...? Well, let's just say we only went to the downtown concerts once. It's been much more fun to join our old friends at Diese Onze (where we're returning tonight) for an intimate, COVID safe gig with a top drawer jazz trio. A few other random thoughts:

+ For the past four months Avenue du Mont-Royal has been turned into a pedestrian walk-way. The hope was that this would bring foot traffic to an area of the city that needed support. It looked like a number of businesses that we knew from six years ago have given up the ghost to COVID. A few new ones have taken their place and the wonderful Avenue du Mont-Royal is tenuously holding on like the rest of us.

+ At St. James United Church the large open area in front of the Sanctuary has been turned into a massive sandbox for children and their families. A small Black Lives Matters information table was being staffed as downtown folk gathered in the open air. There is a bit of playfulness here alongside the desperation of the people of the streets. A few buskers were giving it a shot, too but the vibe is decidedly suppressed.

+ The streets of this grand city are in disarray as a decade's long replacement of aging water mains continues. When we were on sabbatical here six years ago, Rue Sherbrooke was a mess. Same too for Avenue St. Denis. The industrial carnage has now moved to side streets making non-residential parking even more precious than before. Thankfully the city's excellent mass transportation system of subways and buses works well. Given Di's reality, however, the Metro still needs to give attention to their handicapped accessible ports of entry and egress. 

+ Yesterday we gathered in the Anglophone section of the city near Marche Atwater to visit with the Montréal contingent of the English Farm: the online English learning firm they all work for. For the past three years, Di has been calling this group together whenever we can get up here. They are young, brilliant, funny, and creative people and teachers. We shared laughs, sushi, fresh fruit, and stories for three hours. After 18 months of solitude, however, my introverted sweetheart is feeling exhausted. We're both being way more physically engaged while here with lots of walking. We both love this but it's taking its toll on her so besides some evening jazz we'll take it slow.

Being so closely linked in this studio flat has been another learning time for me as I see how I can be supportive of Di when fibromyalgia flares. At home, in our quiet and monastic setting, each day is simple and easily paced. Here we face many more challenges: hills, steps, negotiating a bi-lingual world, being "on" after so many months of silence, etc. Medication has been a Godsend and yet even that has its limitations. What's more, we leave for a quick visit to my L'Arche Ottawa friends and community tomorrow. We'll visit, sing, and catch-up together on Sunday evening before I have a full day of meetings. Staying close to home today therefore is good medicine.