Of Montreal

On rue Berri, here in the heart of beautiful Villeray, a tall and rather gangly woman was pushing another woman on a wheelchair down the pavement. It was after the dinner hour, and the street was dark and quiet. Which made it all the more striking to hear a soothing wave of classical music emanating from a radio mounted on the wheelchair. I think the music was a Mozart violin concerto.

On rue Villeray, the Miss Villeray Lounge has reopened. Last fall, the Miss Villeray neon sign depicting a busty waitress with a tray of beers was tattered and faded. Over the winter, the entire bar was fully restored, and that kitsch sign has been repainted. When I wandered past it the other day, the sign glowed invitingly, and inside, a small crowd was watching the Canadiens game.

Tonight, outside the Fruiterie Forcier, the cousins of the teenage boy who tends the till over the weekend were playing on the pavement with a block of ice. They kicked it around and laughed riotiously. The Fruiterie Forcier, incidentally, deserves a retail award for most efficiently utilized space in all of Montreal. Every foot of that store is loaded with goodies: from fresh olives to fair trade coffee to Corn Flakes to cans of beans to fresh basil and parsley.