PHILIP
“So how are you liking the rain?”
TONY
“Are you kidding? You gotta be sorry for the kids. I can tell you, when I was a kid, we always had snow for Christmas. Of course, we didn’t have global warming back then, if you know what I mean.”
Archive for the 'homelessness' Category
Wet wet wet
December 26, 2009-25 C and irony
December 23, 2009
PHILIP
“Hey lazy-bones.”
TONY
“You talking to me?”
PHILIP
“Yup.”
TONY
“Did you just call me ‘lazy-bones’?”
PHILIP
“Yup.“
TONY
“Are you being ironic?”
PHILIP
“Yup.”
Coulda woulda shoulda
December 20, 2009
PHILIP
“Where’d you go after I saw you last night?”
TONY
“Well I sat at that drug store until almost 3 o’clock. You want to know how much I made in 6 hours?”
PHILIP
“How much?”
TONY
“$7.50′”
PHILIP
“And then what?”
TONY
“I went and slept up in the park there.”
PHILIP
“It was cold.”
TONY
“I know that’s for sure.”
PHILIP
“You couldn’t find anywhere else?”
TONY
“I’m telling you, Phil, if I could’ve, I would’ve.”
Ooops, I did it again
December 17, 2009
TONY
“I hear you put in the blog the thing I said about Edmonton having a dry cold.”
PHILIP
“Yup. Funny, eh?
TONY
“It sort of reminds me of when I was a kid. I actually kind of liked it when it was really, really cold.”
At least it’s a dry cold
December 14, 2009
PHILIP
“Did you hear about Edmonton? Their temperature dropped to -46 degrees [-51 F]. Now that’s cold.”
TONY
“But you gotta remember it’s dry cold. And I know the difference, if you know what I mean.”
Am I tough enough for it?
December 13, 2009
PHILIP
“Cold enough for you?”
TONY
“You gotta admit too, I’m tough enough for it. Not many people can say that, if you know what I mean.”
So sad
December 8, 2009
TONY
“You got any smokes?”
PHILIP
“Hey mn, you know I don’t smoke.”
TONY
“What do you mean … I’ve seen you smoking.”Hell, you;ve had one with me the other day, for god’s sakes.”
PHILIP
“Well, that’s kinda my point. I don’t carry smokes. I bum ’em off you or someone. Even you. You know that.”
TONY
“Well right now, I gotta admit, I wish you smoked.”
PHILIP
“Too bad; so sad.”
I don’t want to talk about it
December 6, 2009
TONY
“I slept outside last night.”
PHILIP
“I thought you had something lined up.”
TONY
“So did I.”
PHILIP
“What happened?”
TONY
“I don’t even want to talk about it.”
Whatsup?
December 4, 2009
PHILIP
Things are getting weirder and weirder if you ask me.”
TONY
“Did I ask you?”
PHILIP
“Sorry, but our Prime Minister getting a unprecedented public rebuke from the Chinese Premier, now that’s something. It’s another nail, as they say.”
TONY
“I’m getting that you don’t like this guy Harper.”
PHILIP
“Personally, I don’t know if I like him. I’ve never met him. But politically? He’s dangerous, if you ask me.
TONY
“How about we talk about something else?
PHILIP
“OK. What?”
Lonely wolf
November 26, 2009
TONY
“You really got on your high horse about politics and the election the other day.”
PHILIP
“That’s interesting. My mother uses that phrase, I mean that ‘high horse’ phrase. OK, yes, I confess to intense political opinions.”
TONY
“Phil, that means you’ve gotta keep it inside your trousers, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“So here, for what it’s worth, I still think Harper is toast. His last-minute pirouette on deciding to go to Copenhagen totally seals it. Cool.”
TONY
“Poor guy. Too bad, I hope he doesn’t go and off himself, if you know what I mean.”
Duh
November 25, 2009
PHILIP
“Can you believe what Al Gore said on the front page of the Toronto Star yesterday? You know, Al Gore, the guy who was VP under Bill Clinton for eight years. He actually said that the Alberta tar sands are a threat to human existence. I’m telling you, even the the word ‘Armageddon’ was in the article, although I don’t actually know if Gore said that specific word. It’s pretty amazing, eh?”
TONY
“Sorry Phil, what’s your point, if you don’t mind me asking that?”
PHILIP
“My point is that this is the same Al Gore who was the number two guy in the most powerful country on Earth for eight years straight and who is the winner — if you ask me — of the 2000 US Presidential elections and he’s a Nobel Peace Prize winner and he doubtlessly has warm ties to the current US administration. Anyway, I think he’s signalling that the US government will be playing hard-ball about the environmental consequences of the oil sands, and that’s going to jeopardize billions of dollars and jobs in Alberta. You gotta realize that the folks who own the oil sands are Harper’s biggest supporters. OK, so I don’t know exactly how this is going to play out but I think that this means Harper is toast. Finis.”
TONY
“So … OK, you’re telling me that Gore just sort of slapped Harper upside the head in public by telling Harper’s big oil buddies in Alberta that their investments might end up losing them some money.”
PHILIP
“I don’t think I could say it better than that, actually.”
TONY
“OK, like kids sometimes say: “‘Is this is a good thing?'”
PHILIP
“I know I tell you this stuff all the time, even if it doesn’t get into the blog. It’s simple,man. I don’t think that Stephen Harper is good for Canada. I actually think he’s dangerous, maybe not him specifically but some of the people around him. And that’s not a risk I want to take. I’ve got four kids and a mortgage … sorry, Tony, you heard all this stuff before. And now, he can’t even provide diplomatic cover for his oil buddies.
“Look, there’s a lot of people at the top of the Harper government who openly supported the Bush Administration, including even Harper himself for god’s sake. My basic point is that I’m telling you, if you give the Harper guys a majority in Parliament, all I can say is “watch out”, because it’s going to be a disaster. Environment, economy, you name it. Sure, I know that Ignatieff supported the Iraq War in the beginning. At least Ignatieff had the huevos to own up to his mistake in public. And he didn’t support Bush’s other crazy policies the way Harper has. Everybody, including even smart guys like Ignatieff, they learn something when it’s the first time a situation has ever come up, like what we now know was corrupt and stupid decision process to go to war in Iraq in 2003. Quite a few Canadians supported the Iraq War in the beginning — lots of people got sucked in by the fabrications. Even Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell got hornswoggled on this one, you know.
Anyway, at least Ignatieff took some time to think about how the actual Iraq War actually played out over actual time after it started, and he learned what the whole world also learned about the actual Bush Administration decision processes and in regard to the Iraq War.”
Anyway, you know what I can’t figure out? Somehow, I think people think that having the Liberals in Ottawa for the next few years won’t make any difference. Now maybe I’m missing something. Since Ignatieff and the Obama are friendly and respect each other quite a lot — apparently Obama has read all of Michael Ignatieff’s book — then negotiations about things like the oil sands and will be better for Canada if Ignatieff’s the Prime Minister. After all, the top folks make make the final decisions, no?
TONY
“And your point is …?”
PHILIP
“The point is, it’s weird. Ignatieff’s Liberals would do a better job protecting Alberta’s interests than Harper can possibly do. If that’s true, then Albertans should be voting en masse for Ignatieff. It’s weirdly simple, in a way.”
TONY
“So you’re zaying that this Mr. Ignatieff should be our next Prime Minister?”
PHILIP
“Duh.”
It’s about a woman
November 23, 2009
TONY
“Did I tell you about the time I asked a woman out when I was younger?”
PHILIP
“I don’t remember hearing about this. What’s up with you?”
TONY
“Sometimes when you get told “no”, you actually feel the hurt, if you know what I mean. I know you get over it, but at least you notice it.”
PHILIP
“I think I get your meaning.”
Young men
November 23, 2009
PHILIP
“I’ve got to say, you’re looking awful healthy for a guy who thought he might be dying a few weeks ago. Great ruddy complexion, everything. If I wanted to be sarcastic, I’d say you should spend more time in ICU.”
TONY
“My Mom told me that you shouldn’t read books by their covers, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“So you’re not doing OK?”
TONY
“Most of me is all right, actually. But you got to know, that Old Man winter is coming. It’s in the bones, young man.”
Good fortune
November 20, 2009
TONY
“Well, you know, they’re making this old pizza place into a fancy new pizza slice place. If you ask me, I think that’s a good idea. People want something to eat when they’re walking up the street. So this guy’s going to spruce up the place and give it to them. He’ll make a fortune.”
Unsafe at any speed
November 12, 2009
TONY
“Check these out. I had to go across the bridge five times for my friend, you know, and I’ve been banging myself up. I’m getting too old for this bike.”
Beautiful day
November 7, 2009
TONY
“It’s a nice day today, I gotta say. Now I gotta get some money together for lunch.”
News from home
November 5, 2009
PHILIP
“Sharon [Tony’s sister] put a comment on the blog that she wanted to know what was happening since we hadn’t updated it in a while, which is true. I guess you could call it a slow news day, sort of.”
TONY
“Well, you can tell her that my ticker’s fine and my lungs are OK but my kidneys are putting up a good fuss today. And you can tell her I miss her too.”
PHILIP
“I’ll post it as soon as I get home.”
It’s OK
October 29, 2009
TONY
“You’re looking something happy. Did you get lucky or something?”
PHILIP
“Very funny. Wait until my wife reads this.”
TONY
“OK. So now I get to ask you for once: ‘What’s up with you with that big smile?'”
PHILIP
“Ignatieff made a big decision. He’s doing what he’s gotta do.”
TONY
“You mean the Prime Minister?”
PHILIP
“Well, he’s not the Prime Minister, not yet, anyways. But he’s got Peter Donolo on his team now. You know what’s cool? Peter’s a Montrealer, just like me. And he just turned 50, just like me.”
TONY
“So, do you know the guy? ”
PHILIP
“No. We went to different schools. Anyway, things are looking up for the Grits and that makes me happy. That’s all.”
TONY
“OK. Good for you. Are you going calm down now?”
PHILIP
“OK. But just give me some slack, OK. ”
TONY
“OK. But can you buy me a coffee?”
PHILIP
“OK.”
Just doing their job
October 28, 2009
TONY
“You hear about the old guy who got jumped down Ronces earlier?”
PHILIP
“What happened?”
TONY
“I don’t know but next thing you know, there’s six cop cars right there. You can say what you want about our cops but they sure can do their job when they need to.”
Homeless Man Speaks 