Another Roadside Attraction

It was sunny, but I still managed to find some shade...

The roads are flat and the concrete has a dull sheen to it, polished by heavy traffic and extreme cold. This is Winnipeg. Standing seven floors above the eight lane wide monstrosity of grey ribbon known as Portage Avenue, I can see the boundaries of the neighborhood in which I grew up. St. James, marked in the west by the spotlights of the Assiniboine Downs race track, to the North, the huge open doors of the Air Canada hanger, and in the east, the spire of the St. James Hotel. So much of my life has been lived here, it looks small and vulnerable.

I flew in last night, and within an hour was flying down Ness Avenue at 80kms an hour in my moms Honda Prelude. What is it about being in a city that you don't live in that makes you think you can do whatever you want. I had to hurry, it was already midnight and The Constantines would be getting on stage at the Pyramid Cabaret. I managed to get in there just in time to see the last few songs of Jim Guthrie, a former member of one of my favorite bands, Royal City. The Constantines were up next, and I stood right up front. It was fantastic, the lead singer has one of those deep, wood house voices. The band rocks hard, with a bass driven sound that can be heavy and wild, or sensitive and introspective at a moments notice. Later, on my way out I reminisced with a couple guys that were my age and we talked about how we hung out here as teenagers, when Brad Roberts from the Crash Test Dummies used to work the door. I got home at 230am and quickly passed out, only to be awoken by my brother at 530, visiting home at the same time as me. "Let's go to Nicks!"

Within 20 minutes we were on our way to Nick's Inn, a roadside eatery that has stood on the outskirts of Winnipeg for over 25yrs. My eyes were red, I was tired, but when I hit the open expanse of the perimeter highway and could see the open flat of the prairie, we were in awe. It is flat here, like a northern desert, or an ocean of open land. The sun was rising, bacon and eggs would soon follow.

Saturday was windy, dry, and grey. Winter has just finished seven months of punishment and the earth is recovering. Sand is piled up an inch thick in the street gutters, the trees are barren of any leaves and the grass is matted from the weight of the snow. There is no green here, only brown and grey. We rented a sleek black Volvo sedan, within moments our car was full, picking up Cody and Earl, we loaded the back seat and headed off for the pub in Osborne Village. The weed smoke from Cody and Earl in the back seat was endless. Joint after joint was lit and consumed, with cigarettes in between. Racial slurs were passed with raised eyebrows, and sexist comments were thrown forward from the back seat. The mobile party. With the weather the way it is here in Winnipeg, endless hours are spent this way, just driving around, with intoxicants.

We are getting older and our cars are getting nicer. Graduating from small compacts to comfortable sedans. Saturday night, Earl, Jack, Cody and I went to the bar, then a pit stop at Earl's apartment for some more weed afterward. Cody, firing whip smart insults about someone's sister while smoking and picking his nose. Jack and Earl in the corner praising the 2 pound bag of pot that had just been pulled out of the freezer. Myself, rambling about things that they could care less about. So many nights I have spent with these guys, just like this. It never changes, but we do. Its just not exciting like it was when we were 19. As Jack drove Cody and I home, I noticed his car, and thought about how much it looked like his dad's car when we were younger and used to drive it around on the weekend. Jack's signature chuckle erupted as he put the pedal to the floor, taking the Oldsmobile down Parkhill Street at 110kms an hour, which always gets a rise out of Cody and I. It was a good night.

I still have five more days here. Many more diners to visit, and several streets to race down. I don't drive anymore and getting suspended, or receiving a ticket doesn't bother me. I am removed from my reality. I don't live here, I can do what I want. Winnipeg is all about the car. I hate cars.