On the road (with Gypsies)

My favourite book is On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. I first read it when I was a teenager and have since reread it too many times to count. It struck a chord so deep in me that I had the last line, "I think of Dean Moriarty," tattooed on my forearm.

The book speaks to me for many reasons, too many to count, but I think what first attracted me to it way back when was the overall feeling of freedom I got from reading it.  

Segway to Gypsies.

Alternately (and incorrectly) referred to as Romani, Travellers and even Tinkers (look it up), what my father calls Tsigani most probably originate from a single ethnic group that left northwestern India about 1500 years ago. (Travellers and Tinkers are actually mainly of Irish origin.)

During World War II, Gypsies, along with Jews, Poles, Soviets, Jehovah's Witnesses, gays, the mentally ill and the physically disabled were all targeted by the Nazis as inferior, undesirable and even dangerous. 

While six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, the mass slaughter also saw the death of 2.5 million Polish people and up to 1 million Gypsies (plus all previously mentioned targets) bringing the total number of innocents lost during the Holocaust closer to 17 million people.

Segway to my grandfather.

Growing up, my grandfather used to sing a song called Ochi Chernye, which means dark eyes. The tune always left me with a mournful, nostalgic, feeling that I couldn't explain.

Segway to last week.

While visiting my mother last week, we watched a movie one night called The Man who Cried. Directed by Sally Potter and set during the time when the Nazis marched into Paris, the movie stars Johnny Depp who portrays a Gypsy and Christina Ricci a Russian Jew.

While the movie left me thinking about many things, including intolerance, ignorance and xenophobia (fear and hatred of the unknown and/or foreign), it also left me thinking about what a beautiful lifestyle the Gypsies have.

With their nomadic existence and focus on family instead of consumerism, the Gypsies have, in my opinion, zeroed in on the meaning of life.

Experience. Or knowledge though experience. Another one of my tattoos.

My dad may not have a caravan but he does a shopping cart. And I can pack a suitcase (or apartment) like nobody's business. 

I'm not saying being a nomad is for everyone, but it's not surprising that I ended up with someone - the infamous beau - who lives out of a valise. 

Roma flag

Life after death?

Written by Kate Atkinson, Life after Life explores themes of fate, family and independence through the eyes of Ursula Todd, a baby born, and dead, and born again in 1910.

Let me explain.

A story punctuated by near misses, Life after Life explores what it would be like to be able to be born again and again and do things differently based on what you've learned, or vaguely remembered, from a past life.

While Ursula (ahem!) doesn't always remember her past lives, she does have feelings, mostly of dread, when she realizes that she is about to embark on a path that might, eventually, lead to her early demise.

When I started reading LAL I wasn't sure I would be able to handle reading repeating sections of text - I actually found it a little annoying at first - but as the story progressed I became absolutely engrossed in Ursula's life and the decisions she made.

Based on the premise that hindsight is 20/20, Atkinson's book sees Ursula doing everything from avoiding getting raped (and pregnant) and shooting Hitler to choosing the right mate and fate.

Originally recommended by Elaine Lui of Lainey Gossip and eTalk fame, the book is an intelligent and well-written look into the life of one woman in wartime Europe.

One of my favourite quotes from the book, that "some Buddhist philosophers believe that sometimes a bad thing happens to prevent a worse thing from happening," has given me immense comfort, and courage, the past few days...

What would you do differently if you had the chance to live your life over and over again?

Do you have regrets? 

I remember watching a video on YouTube (I think) that was filmed in Romania (again, I think) about regret and what was really interesting is that the majority of people expressed regret at having NOT done things rather than having done them.

Like I say... life's a garden, dig it!

For an interesting take on regret, check out Kathryn Schulz's Ted Talks and let me know what you think.

    

Seeing signs everywhere

Some (or even most) people like to take pictures of people. 

Then there are those who enjoy photographing landscapes... and such.

Then there's me... who can't get enough of signs!

 so clever!

Whether I'm travelling in Europe or walking around my hometown I often find myself drawn to signs.

I'm not sure if it's the images, the writing, or the combination of both, but I find signs fascinating and have accumulated quite a photo collection of them.

 lol

 stop and take some time to... do some art?

A sign can be one of many things. 

It can used to identify or advertise a place of business, to indicate the rules of the road or to express a feeling or thought. It can also refer to an object or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.

I'm always looking for signs... of all varieties.

I've come face to face with a couple of interesting ones lately (again, of all varieties) and have thus decided to share a few... the ones I could photograph anyway.

My dad recently told me that we hailed from Gypsy stock so the following sign really caught my attention...

And just look at these... an adorable (and bilingual) missing dog and found tefilin (sic)...

According to Wikipedia and in case you're curious, tefillin (correctly spelled with two l's), also called phylacteries, are a "set of small, black, leather boxes which contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah."    

And finally, an artist who enjoys signs as much as I do.

Friday five

Street style has become a global phenomenon thanks to the world wide web. 

With literally hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs dedicated to street style worldwide - including an old friend of mine's, Tommy Ton, who is the talent behind Jak & Jil - it isn't surprising that more and more people are turning to regular people to see what's hot... 

... and what's not.

According to Andy Warhol, "in the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes." While he eventually tired of that line and changed it to "in fifteen minutes everybody will be famous," I'll stick with his initial thought and tell y'all about my fifteen (or five) minutes of fame.

The Huffington Post is an online news "aggregator" and blog founded by Arianna Huffington, among others, which has been running a recurring feature called "Styles de rue," or street styles, which highlights stylish Montrealers on the streets of, well, Montreal.

And guess who they papped?

That's right.

Lil ol' me. 

But don't worry. I won't let my 15 minutes get to my head. How could I when these guys are rocking (and socking) true street style?

 

  

Neighborhood watch

According to Merriam-Webster, there is an inextricable link between the word "neighbor" and the word(s) "fellow man," or kindred human being.

Not where I live.

Where I live, a neighbor is someone who calls the city to complain about another neighbor's lawn.

Sigh...

Moving here has been very different than I thought it would be and one of the most difficult things has been making new friends.

I used to be the kind of gal who made new friends everywhere she went.

Since moving here though, it feels as if I haven't met a single kindred spirit.

Except for Tammy.

Tammy is a neighborhood cat and truth be told... she is one of the few things (people?) that has made me smile this week.

Isn't she beautiful? 

Last night a little after 1 a.m. I realized I had forgotten to take the recycling out. Since the truck comes by early in the morning and I didn't want to miss it, I decided to get out of bed and do the deed.

I scampered down the stairs and dragged the recycling bin, yard waste bin and six cardboard boxes filled with the remains of the day garden to the curb before turning around to see Tammy trying to make a break for it... into my house.

This isn't the first Tammy has tried to adopt me, or the house I live in, and I hope it isn't the last because the look she gave me before scurrying away filled my heart with hope and love.

Seriously.

The reason I had so much garden waste - a bin and six boxes seems a little excessive, don't you think - is because a neighbor who shall remain nameless (the cranky Polish guy next door) complained to the city about the sorry state of our lawn and gardens.

In addition to being the last thing I needed to deal with this week it also made me feel really bad, and kind of sad, because I actually put a lot of work into, and take a lot of pride out of, maintaining what I thought was a beautiful home.  

To satisfy the neighbor (and the city which gave me one week to address the issue) I spent the last three days weeding, pruning and mowing (for the first time, might I add).

Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow... who works a seventies vibe.

Here are two quotes that sum up the way I feel about life right now...

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people (OR CATS!) who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
Leo Buscaglia