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June 12, 2011

 

The Montreal Police - The Definition of  "Corrupt"

 

The Dawn McSweeney Robbery

 

http://dawnmcsweeney.blogspot,com

 

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Thousands of readers around the world DO want to know.

 

MEMORIES AROUND PARK AVENUE, MONTREAL - 1940's and 1950's

 

This site is devoted to Justice, but it is also about my personal experiences. Here are just a few memories from my childhood, for the interest of those who may remember and for posterity.

 

Excerpts posted by - 

 

 

Phyllis Carter  

 

To "Stories and pictures of a Clark Street Childhood" on Facebook.

 

Who can fill in the blanks?

 

Does anyone remember the egg lady on Esplanade near Mt. Royal on the second floor?

 

I remember a tiny, dark, house front, ground floor, Chinese laundry in the area, probably on Esplanade south of Villeneueve. Is that the Wong laundry you mention?

 

Richstone. Not the bakery, but a small grocery, probably on St. Urbain near Villeneueve, near a lane. The daughter was so pretty. She had Goldilocks hair that she wore in long curls.

 

The corner of Esplanade and Villeneuve: Groceries: Northeast corner - Mendlebaum. Southwest corner - Garfinkle - Sons - Jack, Donald and an older brother ? I went to school with Jack. In those days - late 1940"s - the girls would get together and crash big brothers' and big sisters' friends weddings. Jack's brother's wedding was held in the big synagogue across the street from Fairmount School. A small contingent crashed the wedding in time for the nosherie.

 

 

Phyllis Carter  Fields' candy store and soda fountain - southwest corner of Villeneuve at Esplanade near Mendelbaum's grocery. Struzer's barber shop was attached to the candy store. I can hardly remember Mr. Struzer. It was his assistant - Eddy - I think, who remains in my memory. He was such a sweet man. In those days, barbers cut women's hair as well as men's.The barber shop construction was like a shed really. It was so rickety, it moved when you walked. It was actually a part of Fields' store with an open door between them. I visited the area about five years ago with a friend and the building that was Fields' was still there, but renovated with a plastic awning of some sort as I recall.

 

Who remembers the name of the pharmacy at the corner of St. Urbain and Villeneuve ? Was it Burns? What was the original name (owner) of the pharmacy at the corner of St. Joseph and Park Avenue?

Paul's Dry Cleaner's - Laurier, north side, near Park Avenue. One November, we used the site for a warm haven when selling poppies. I remember I loved the "breaks" for chopped egg sandwiches and hot chocolate. Oh! We do remember.

 

The candy shop next door to Fairmount School, just across the little lane. The woman prepared red barley sugar apples, making them into little girls with a marshmallow head and paper trim for a dress. Oh, we do remember what people do.

 

And then there was the Santa Claus Parade. You don't have to be Christian! We stood on the curb on Villeneuve between Esplanade and St. Urbain. The weather was always wet, cold, damp, and our feet were wet, cold, damp, and our noses were running. But we waited for the Santa Claus Parade eagerly. Later, when we returned home, I would put my feet up on a towel on the open door of the coal stove.

 

Phyllis Carter What was the name of the restaurant at the corner of Park and St. Joseph before Lindy's?

 

 

Phyllis Carter  Does anyone remember that before the Zunnenshine boys became fabulously wealthy with their Belcourt company, their daddy operated Sunshine Fruits near the southeast corner of Park and St. Joseph?

A long time ago, we bought a home from Belcourt in DDO. When we moved in, the paint on the wall was so thin, you could almost see the bricks outside. So I phoned Irving's big brother and asked for a coat of real paint. And he said, "I sell houses the way other people sell bagels" - letting me know that our life's purchase was nothing to him. But he did have the painters add a coat of fresh paint.

Phyllis Carter

I grew up near St. Joseph Blvd. circa 1940's-1950's: Attended Baron Byng. Rode horses out of Sunnyside Stables on Hutchison. Rented comic books from Wilensky. I note the photo on your site of the famous Montreal wrestler, Sammy Berg. My mother told me she knew him. When he was young, someone beat him up and she mended his wounds. That was why he decided to become a wrestler.

 

Phyllis Carter

 

I remember, in the 1950's, a bakery opened on the west side of Park Avenue, north corner at Mt. Royal. His specialty was baba. Alexander Business College was on the north side of Mt. Royal, west of Park, up a flight of outdoor stairs and around the corner from that bakery and facing Fletcher's Field where the tramway turned around. A nightclub opened next door to the YMHA. I think it was called The Midnight. Frances Katz was the drama teacher when I was at BBHS.

 

I always loved a story. My Pop, George Rubin, took me to second hand book stores and to Wilensky's for comics and he took me to the movies and he told me stories. I loved the movies and I loved listening to radio. The Fat Man, The Thin Man, Life With Luigi, Duffy's Tavern, Our Miss Brooks, The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, The Weird Circle - Here in this cave by the restless sea, we are gathered to bring you the weird circle. Bell keeper ! Toll the bell ! The Shadow, - Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows....hmmmm !

Memories of Montreal - Enough to fill volumes. The reader will find a cornucopia of my personal experiences with fascinating people at -

 

 

ALONG THE ROAD TO CAMELOT -

KNIGHTS, NOBLES AND KNAVES   

THE PEOPLE AND THE ADVENTURES

 

http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2011/04/along-road-to-camelot-knights-nobles_8151.html

 

75 YEAR OLD MONTREAL JOURNALIST BUYS A USED CAR

 

 

 

 

Come along with me as I buy a used car. I am a 75 year old Montreal journalist, widow, cancer patient, crime victim and blogger.

 

When I fell ill with bone cancer in April, 2009, my Plymouth Voyageur sat in the parking lot all through the winter and rusted out. I had to scrap it.

 

Driving is as natural to me as walking and I can drive better now than I can walk. I started driving at seventeen and I longed to get another car.

 

And so, on April 30,  2011, I found a used car dealer - D.G.B. Auto at 6965 St. Jacques West in Montreal - and I bought the first car that was offered to me. I really felt a kinship with that car immediately and the dealer's wife, Homa, is such a pleasant woman, I felt good about plunging in. I have never been a gambler, but with my limited resources, I was not of a mind to go shopping.

 

I didn't argue about the price $2,200. for a 2001 Nissan Sentra. I just signed all the papers, the guarantee on the motor and transmission, the paper where Mike, the owner of the dealership, promised to do certain repairs, and I paid the full price immediately. Crazy? It's easy to shop judiciously when you are young and healthy. Not so when you have difficulty getting around.

 

Homa was very gracious. She drove me to the car registration office and took care of all the paperwork. It was such a relief not to have to try to stand in line-ups and figure out documents alone.

 

Now this is an on-going story, so I invite the reader to follow as I report all the details of my experience buying a used car in Montreal.

 

Stay tuned for the next episode.

 

Phyllis Carter

75 YEAR OLD MONTREAL JOURNALIST BUYS A USED CAR - EPISODE TWO

 

 

 

 

Any rational adult who has lived in a city should know that before buying a used car, he or she should have the car inspected. In my circumstances, I just couldn't handle it - the way I can't handle income tax. I thank God for a wonderful friend who takes care of that for me. 

 

So, on April 30, 2011, I just plunged in and signed the papers and bought the car from DGB Auto.

Quickly afterward, squeaks and squeals caught my attention.

 

I asked one of my friends, a gentleman named Leslie, for advice. He referred me to a mechanic named Fred and I brought the car to Fred on May 2, 2011.

Here is the list that Fred gave me:

Oil pan leak -

("not leaking yet, but if I just put my finger against it ..." Fred says )
Two wheel bearings
Power steering leak
Two front links
Two front disks
Brake pads
Four spark plugs
Shocks not too good
Gas smell inside car ("Can't find the leak". Fred says.)

 

Estimate $608.00.

 

I take a deep breath. I promise myself to stay calm. Of course, it is a used car. I didn't expect a new car. But I did expect the car to be safe.

 

I called Leslie and asked if he could accompany me to the dealer. He arranged to meet me before going into work the next day.

 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

 

Early that morning Leslie and I presented Fred's inspection report to Mike at DGB. He agreed to do the repairs and kept the car until May 6.

On May 6, when Homa drove me to the car registration office, both of us had difficulty with the driver's side door handle. Mike took the car into the shop and it worked better after that.

 

Before I signed the contracts on April 30, I asked Mike

 

Was the car stolen ?

Are there any outstanding debts or liens?

Was the car in an accident?

 

He answered "No" to each of these questions. And then I signed.

 

But it didn't take long before I saw that the paint on the passenger side front fender was different from the rest and there were slight dents in the passenger side door. I decided to let it pass.

 

I mentioned it to Homa on June 6. She said that when I had asked if the car was in an accident, and Mike said it wasn't, it was because that sort of thing isn't really an accident. I didn't argue.

 

There were still problems with the car - The brakes still squealed, the left rear wheel squeaks almost all the time while I am driving, the hard black plastic "gasket?" around the driver's side window was broken, but I hadn't noticed it until I found the rain was dripping down the inside of the door. And Mike had not repaired the headlight covers. They agreed to take care of it.

 

Homa drove me home and brought the car back to DGB. The car was there for several days because Mike has been suffering from bad back pain and I can certainly relate to that. I waited.

 

June 6, 2011 - Homa brought the car back to me and I drove her back to DGB, The headlight covers were cleared. There was some dry white glue where the gasket had been repaired. It felt so good to be at the wheel of my car at last.

 

I drove Homa back to the dealership and returned home. On the way up the hill, the brakes squealed, the wheel squeaked, and then I saw the needle on the dashboard gauge was touching HOT. I turned back to the garage immediately.

 

Mike was so kind. He replaced the thermostat and told me it cost $19.95. He didn't charge me for it.

 

Mike and Homa have been so pleasant to me. They keep telling me, "Don't worry. If you have a problem, come back to us."

 

But now I am worried. What about that oil pan? Was it changed?  "Don't worry."

 

Why do the brakes keep squealing? Mike says he put in good quality brakes and brake pads and that's why they are squealing.

 

What about the rear wheel?  Homa drives the car and she never hears the squeaking.

 

What about the power steering leak? That never even came up. 

 

And so, I decide that I must finally plunge in and have a full inspection of the car.

 

It is sitting at a reputable garage now, and I am waiting.

 

Stay tuned for the next episode of -

 

75 YEAR OLD MONTREAL JOURNALIST BUYS A USED CAR

WHY STEPHEN HARPER DOES NOT ACT AGAINST CRIME

 

 

 

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree :

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

It is becoming easier to understand why the Harper government has not taken any real action on fighting crime. It is not because they had a minority government. How can they make laws that might condemn their own actions?

 

Now we see that, not only did the Harper government squander money on an artificial pool to amuse their G-8-20 guests for a few days, they built a fake wooden lighthouse and gazebos at taxpayers' expense as well.

 

A lighthouse and gazebos ?

 

Here is an excerpt from the report:

 

"When government presents a request for funds to Parliament, it should be transparent about the intended use of the money," Wiersema said in a news statement, citing Fraser's report. (Fraser headed up the audit, but retired at the end of last month.)

As for the projects themselves, it turns out only Clement himself advised the infrastructure minister what projects to approve, and the AG points out there is no paper trail to explain why these projects -- including gazebos, public washrooms, a wooden fake lighthouse, and new sidewalks sometimes far from the summit site -- were approved."

AG report savages G8, G20 spending

10:36 am, June 9th, 2011

• http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2011/06/20110609-103636.html

DEALING WITH ADVERSITY

 

 

 

A jester unemployed is nobody's fool.

 

Danny Kaye

HEAVEN AND DOGMA - JUST ANOTHER COINCIDENCE

 

 

 

 

In the early hours of June 6, I wrote the piece HEAVEN AND DOGMA which the reader will find here. I wrote:

 

" Of this I am quite sure: These incredible brains we have been given are meant for survival and for a purpose. Perhaps we are all cells in the body of The True God.

 

I believe we are extensions of The True Creator, "His" hands, eyes, ears, arms and legs.

 

In Him, we live and move and have our being.  Acts 17:28

 

We have the supreme responsibility of nurturing, protecting, healing and honing the Creation. It will be what we make it."

 

June 7, 2011. This afternoon, I opened my copy of the June issue of the Montreal Anglican Journal.

 

In the Bishop's message to the church, Rev. Barry Clarke writes:

 

" Let me close with the words of St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th century Carmelite nun and mystic:

 

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses the world.

 

Faithfully yours,

+ Barry "