Montreal Metro and Electric School Buses

Electric-powered vehicles are becoming more and more common. While not perfect, which may be caused by a lack of infrastructure, i.e., charging points, these vehicles are the way of the future. One drawback that affects pedestrians more than drivers is the lack of noise. Ask anyone who has stepped off a curb only to have

Happy 100th Birthday Stubby

My father’s name was Herman Samuel Stubbs. I don’t know what his precise birth weight was, just that he was a large baby. Indeed, he often joked that his mother tried to get her revenge for a long, painful period of labour, by naming him Herman. If that was her goal, she failed, as everybody,

Benefits of Underage Drinking

I recently wrote about the fiftieth anniversary of the terrible Montreal tragedy that has come to be known as the Blue Bird Cafe fire although most of the 37 victims were patrons of the bar upstairs from the Blue Bird called the Wagon Wheel. The dominant signage on the building, a large neon affair, shone

Blue Bird Cafe Fire 50th Anniversary

Welcome to September. Fifty years ago on September 1, 1972, a Friday, Montrealers, in fact, Canadians across the country, were eagerly anticipating the much ballyhooed Summit Series between a team of Canada’s best NHL hockey players and what we erroneously thought would be a ragtag group from the Soviet Union. Canadians across the country, were

Addressing the danger of bus blind spots

There’s a new sign in town. At least it’s new to me, and very much welcome. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) the city’s transit authority, has begun placing decals on the rear window of buses indicating the danger of blind spots (angles morts in French). Earlier this year I posted a piece about

When It Comes To Concert Nudity Millennials Lag Far Behind Hippies

Warning: This Post Contains Non-Millennial Nudity One often hears that millennials, those folks born around the turn of the millennium and in their late teens and twenties now, are more open to some of the things that we older people wrestle to grasp. Gender used to be a zero-sum game: male or female. Now it’s a

Lack of downtown traffic information on local radio

When it comes to commuting to and from work I have been very lucky. I have always worked within walking distance, or, when the weather was inclement, easy access to public transit. Therefore, radio traffic reports have played a very small part in my getting around town. However, there are times when I do find

No longer a poutine virgin

Last Friday, June 24, was the feast day of Quebec’s patron saint John the Baptist – or Saint-Jean-Baptiste in French. Like many things in Quebec, even these simplest occasions are often more complex than meets the eye. Although Quebec is a province of Canada, some here insist on it being referred to as a nation

Today I Am My Father’s Age

Originally posted June 2014 Today, June 4, 2022, is the 45th anniversary of my father’s passing in 1977. With that in mind, I am reposting a piece I wrote eight years ago to mark the day I ‘out-lived’ him. Today I am the exact age my father was when he passed away. Tomorrow I will be

Double whammy as both gas and beer prices rise

The weather is shaping up quite nicely, indeed Montrealers have already experienced their first heatwave of the year – defined as three consecutive days of temperatures above 30C – the annual F1 Grand Prix is back on schedule this June after a couple of years hiatus due to COVID19, one might almost think we are