Seeing with new eyes.
It has been a long time since I called Montreal home. I left in December of 1983 to start a new adventure in New York. I never wanted to leave. I loved Montreal. But due to political pressures, and a refusal to transfer to Toronto with the agency I worked for, I ended up leaving and the rest, as they say, is history.
Montreal, is a spectacular city, inside and out. Its citizens always manage to balance their work and private lives. There is an air of contentment that drapes the city in a cozy blanket. Being a super creative city, it understands that you cannot force things to happen. Allowing and accepting things to move at their own pace… at least, that’s the feeling I experienced, and still do. It’s quite seductive.
One of the qualities I admire most is the wisdom to keep the good stuff without constantly trying to “improve” or “change” it! I MISS that quality so much, as it is almost non-existent in southern California. Here everything seems to have to be changed, renewed and renovated to the point that all charm is replaced with something shiny and boring. Character takes time. Montreal, which turned 375 years old this May, understands.
Yes, I am nostalgic. I am not saying I want to return to six months of cold and snow… But I would love to find a place that embodies a bit more character on a regular basis or perhaps spend a few months there, each year. I am grateful, to have friends there to visit, and relatives close by. In any case, it was so fun to just walk around and explore and be a tourist, in a place I remember as home.
