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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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Out, this morning, up and at-em for a pack of fags. Walking home, a red light on Baker. It's early, no traffic about, look up the street, look down the street - there's no cars. So I walk across.
Upon the other side the Bylaw officer is emptying meters and has undertaken to take offence at my crossing a clearly uninhabited street against the light. "I hope your driving is better..." he says, then explains that I crossed against the light.
He's my age.
I just look at him.
The perfect Bylaw officer, understands the rules but not why they're in place. Understands the implementation but not the spirit or the intent.
I think to reply, but it's beneath me. These are the people that would come to a red light in the desert, no cars for a 100 miles in any direction, yet would wait out the red light.
I'm not these people and I've been cursed with a modicum of good sense.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: People
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He's popped in Thursday afternoon and he's raging. He'd been in a few days before, demanded to see my "Serving it Right", as if I look like one of the under-age people that don't have one. I showed him, I have it on my phone.
Today he's looking for a few more things. His manner, off, belligerent, demanding, a physical intensity that this job does not require, he's raging. He wants to see the "Serving it Right" of all the other staff, I don't have him, he's furious, wants to see mine, "I just showed you 2 days ago..." doesn't matter, he needs to see it again. And he's going off, needs to see our liquor receipts (we don't have handy, I apologize), he changes topics, wants this, wants that, I'm texting the owner telling him to bring the liquor receipts, he's yelling at me now - physically yelling - he wants to see the receipts - RIGHT NOW!!! - "Don't have 'em". I'm bored with this asshole. He goes on, explaining how they'll be sending in children to see if we check ID, this doesn't fuss me, he storms about and eventually disappears.
His performance, that of a meth-fueled Mall Cop grown bigger than his breeches and completely misunderstanding his role...
I worry there will be consequences for the owner.
I'd heard of this guy, by name, an asshole whenever it was mentioned, everyone knows him, apparently he's perpetually drunk, and not a good sort of drunk, hence his attitude, and you have to laugh at the Drunken Liquor Inspector...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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Walter Russell - Sculptor, Painter, Author, although here I'm principally concerned with his curious New Age Philosophy that all is light, an epiphany he had while apparently in a 39 day "Coma" in 1921.
Link: Wikipedia on Walter Russell
Paris Review (for colourful illustrations)
And a Copy of "The UNIVERSAL ONE" on the Internet Archive. A little searching and you will find others of his books online.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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I'm not even sure he's French...
I mean, French-Canadian. Which he strikes me as being for some reason that encompasses my prejudices on Tree-Planters and younger French-Canadian (Quebecois) in general.
My height, maybe an inch or two shorter, long hair, bad facial hair that oscillates between a full beard with chops and a moustache/goatee, typical Quebecois clothing...and spotted, every morning, at the thrift shop, shopping; for what? Despite looking entirely homeless he fills his basket every morning and it disappears by the time I find him on the street an hour later. He's bought a bunch of recorders, and is trying to busk/learn to play the recorder...he can already play the guitar (he has one with him), but he'd prefer to learn the recorder. I've heard him on the guitar, he's not bad...
And so he'll lie here in the sunlight for a few hours, guitar case open for donations but never playing, and then, in the evening, he switches over to a Tai-Chi regimen beside the patio of a local Baker St. Pub. Tai Chi because it looks like a Martial Art or something, I'm not sure what, but he's fucking shite at it regardless...
Or just dancing down the street, headphones on, maybe heading to the Soup Kitchen or the Library, completely oblivious but clearly living his best life...
And I really like the guy, despite never speaking to him, wonder where he lives (if ??), he's always in good humour, smile on his face, not much to say, just doing his own thing, the comical French-Canadian, and - his own thing, well, it's Tai Chi beside the Pub Patio, or maybe it's MMA, only he would know, but he's pleasant and is character is so much attuned to the community...
Anyways, him beside so many of the other arriving despondents and homeless, him any day of the week...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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On the list of History's biggest bad-asses, add Galvarino, a Mapuche Warrior that had his hands cut off by the Spanish.
Undaunted he replaced them with knives tied to his wrists and rallied his tribe to battle ...
Well, read the rest here on his Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvarino
(Ooops, already posted this in 2019. Still a badass and so worth the repost)