Here in the 51st State

 

I know Canadians get very angry when I say things like that, but here in the outskirts of Montreal, is there any difference to those of Houston, Detroit or Denver, except that the signage is in French.

I woke early to the noise of traffic on the Freeway and as there was thirty minutes or so before breakfast, I decided that a walk to stretch legs and blow away the dust of the flight would be a good idea. But of course no-one walks in the US, so it wasn't easy to find anywhere suitable. But at least I'll only be here for a few days.

I think now, that at nearly sixty-one I understand why I hated all those trips to the US with Metier in the 1970s and 80s. American Hotels, and this Holiday Inn, I'm staying in is the same, are generally soulless and you have to rely heavily on the car. You're trapped and I don't like that. I was of a generation brought up when kids could be truly free and do what they want.

America may claim it is the land of the free and it once was. But now it is trapped in its car society, that stiffles the life out of everybody and everything. Even here in this Business Centre in the hotel, I can still hear the traffic on the Freeway.

We must regain our freedom and soul.