The weather

I was born and raised in Winnipeg the home of the snow drift, the home of the stuck car, the home of winter. I hate being cold!!!

But then again I hate being hot too.

In fact I dislike being outside.

This is coming from someone that grew up in Winnipeg, lives in Regina and just bought a place in Belize.

I hate sun, sand and water too!!!!!

Some of my clearest memories of Winnipeg have to do with the moonscape of windswept streets after dark.

I took piano lessons and had to take two buses to Mr. Melnyk's house on St. Cross Street. I remember my Dad dropping me off on Sundays but I also remember going during the week by bus. On those trips I was chaperoned by my sister who I know was not interested in hanging out with her 7 or 8 year old brother.

To say the least we didn't socialize much on those trips.

But the lasting impression I have is how cold and uncomfortable I was - and I am sure she was too.

On the way home it was always dark and there was always a wind. It was cold and desolate and dark and dreary.

By the time we got on the first bus we were chilled to the bone.

By the time we got off the first bus to wait for the McGregor bus the snow on our clothes had melted and we were wet.

Which within minutes froze again making us colder and more uncomfortable.

Winnipeg is something like a film noir in my memory.

But then I moved to Regina and if I thought Winnipeg was cold I was about to learn a lesson in extremes.

Regina is bone-chilling - it is beyond cold - the damn wind never stops and if I never hear the words wind chill it will be too soon.

There isn't as much snow here (and so its a dry cold) but the bald prairie is no place for someone that doesn't like to be cold.

For the past week or so it has been arctic here - ridiculous wind chills and horrendous temperatures.

Until today.

Perhaps today is like the pleasant sensation that you feel when a headache goes from excruciating to just plain painful.

The temperature came up to just under freezing, the wind became a breeze and actually felt pleasant.

The sun shone from a clear, brilliant, blue sky.

You can have Florida or California - on a day like today Western Canada is paradise

Funerals and memories

When I was about 12 years old my friend Billy and I walked the dozen or so blocks to a grocery store on Scotia in Winnipeg's North End. We had pooled our resources - Billy had 13 cents and I had 12 cents - to buy a 25 pack of Du Maurier. It was our first pack of cigarettes. Because he had contributed 13 cents Billy laid claim to 13 cigarettes and I took the remaining 12. We smoked all the cigarettes as we walked home. I don't remember if Billy reacted the same way that I did but I distinctly remember the dizziness and the nausea. We both overcame as we both became smokers.

Last week I got to Winnipeg in time to attend Billy's funeral. Billy was 61. It had been years since we had talked or seen each other.

Billy's funeral and the people attending brought me to thinking about my growing up years. And then I left the funeral to move my mother out of the house that I grew up in.

My 93 year old Mom moved to a great retirement residence where she will be with people, be entertained and monitored. It will be great for her and good for me and my sister. She left the house willingly, knowing it was the right thing to do but as she said many times the house was filled with a lifetime of memories.

As my sister and I prepared the house for sale the memories that had started with Billy's funeral grew and expanded and occupied my mind.

You can never go home again - Winnipeg is not my home now - it is only the place I come from. Yet the memories and the people from my past are present with me continually. Spending time with my childhood friends seems natural. Despite a lack of regular communication it seems that within seconds we are back to the closeness and naturalness that was part of our old friendships.

There have been too many funerals in the last while.

There have been many memories.

I dislike the funerals - the memories I cherish