Today was definitely the right day to take the plastic bubble
off the big picture window. I put it up in mid-November. We have
had some chilly evenings, so I kept it up until now. Nice warm,
humid, windy day.

Buster the aged cat loves to sit on the windowsill and watch
all the birds in the tree out front, and all the people going by
on the sidewalk.

I had an ecstatic, tough run on the backtrails in the woods
on the mountain of love. I stopped three times in the run to
get down and do pushups: 60 first time, walk for 3-4 minutes
before continuing the run. Finished the run with big blast of
speed. I always love the big kick. Did 60 more in Parc Jeanne-
Mance right beside my shack. Also laid down in the grass to
do abdominals - feels good to lay down on the grass.

Ran back home, stripped off sweaty running gear and did
exhaustion set of pushups naked as a blue jay. Hurray naked
pushups! Aged cat likes to meow loud in my ear as I do them.
65, almost 66. That's quite okay.

Fucked up princess giving us a loud concert on his bass
right now. He thinks we have forgotten how important he is.
He is definitely not playing in his expensive recording studio.

It must be a terrible thing to be so needy and so useless. He
sounds lonely, hostile and desperate for attention again.

Pathetic little shit.

Today at the street mission where I volunteer we will have
a memorial service for Johnny, the Inuit man who has
been our longtime client & friend. There has been a dark
cloud of sadness over all of us for the past few days,
knowing that his life was ending.

He had the most unusual ability to illuminate and radiate
powerful happiness, although his own life was nothing but
misery and pain. This is very contradictory.

I would have never had the chance to meet him if I had
not lost my massage career and fallen into poverty.

His brother and sister are here. They flew down just in
time to be at his bedside when he passed to the other side.

Rest in peace, Johnny Boy.

After doing volunteer chores at the street mission I
fed senile cat and walked over to the park to play drums
with all my crazy neighbours. Nice warm spring day with
the first signs of green showing.

I played together with about fifty other drummers with a
real steady solid groove, as though we were just picking
up where we had left off last October. Each time I looked
up to see the people dancing, and a rapidly growing crowd
I thought Wow! This is getting Huge!

Then with just a chilly breeze going through the crowd I saw
signs of friction and disharmony. Several sudden small
disputes and anxious glances rippled through the crowd.
I got up and carried myself out of the scene in a hurry.

As I walked out, I was able to estimate the crowd at about
8-10,000 people, with hundreds of people arriving, and many
were ignoring the crosswalk red lights, challenging traffic
and yelling at the motorists. Then, sure enough, many, many
police cars arriving, with lights flashing.

Since the days of the Red Square days when university students
rioted and disrupted public peace, there has been a general
deterioration of the public bond. There is much greater appetite
for chaos and disharmony.

It has happened before that agitators have showed up at the
percussion jam. I have left before, just hoping that cooler heads
will prevail. The percussion jam is a long time tradition in Montreal,
and it is very unique peaceful, inclusive multi-cultural, multi-racial
beneficial experience.

But I will definitely stay away if others try to subvert it for other
purposes. The troublemakers are not anarchists. The correct
term is nihilist, not anarchist. There is a big difference.

I have no appetite for chaos.

Psycho princess neighbour playing super loud bass concert for
us this evening. Not playing within his expensive recording
studio. He sounds hostile and deranged. Lonely little shit.
He obviously has no one to love him.

He said if you call police it will be war.

I had a wonderful 130 minute power walk on the mountain
of love today. Been back 45 minutes now. I walked up
Mt. Murray, one of the steepest slopes in the city. It's a real
grinder. The forest is beginning to hum. The forsythia almost
ready to burst into bloom. Green moss first sign of photo-
synthesis. Let's hear it for photosynthesis! Hurray!

Came back to the shack, stripped off my clothes to do naked
pushups: 170 done in three sets, in eleven minutes; 53-56-61.
Focus and desire, focus and desire. Get comfortable in an
uncomfortable place. Drill through the rock.

Then did 240 crunches, twists & reverse situps, naked as the day
I was born. And I wasn't born yesterday, lemmee tell ya.

Yesterday I went to visit our Inuit client friend. He has been transferred
to intensive care now. His sister came down from the north. The
mission made it a priority to pay for her flight. We might be able to
send him home if he improves enough. If anybody can convince him
to stop ripping out his IV and accept the healing process maybe she can.

We love him to pieces. When he walked into the mission and smiled
the whole room became illuminated. As long as he was sober, I should
say.

So after seeing him at the hospital I went out for the first real run on
the mountain. Shock in the feet, ankles, knees, hip joints, pelvis,
spine. Rocky surface says hello to bones. It did feel good, but I
am very careful with the shock.

Pathetic Little Shit

Idiot guitar god neighbour giving us a concert on his bass
right now. Stupid, fucked up princess. He is definitely not
playing in his expensive recording studio. What a sad,
lonely, useless little man.

I usually go to the dental clinic just a few doors down from
my shack. But the denturist there is on maternity leave,
so they referred me to a place far to the east.

I took a metro (subway) ride out to the Jardin Botanique and
really enjoyed a walk through. The gardens are just waking
up. I spoke to some gardeners who were taking the winter
covers off rose bushes. I stopped along the way to say hello
to some favourite trees, including the Siberian Alder tree that
inspired the tattoo on my ass.

A long time ago I was a member of the Montreal Bonsai -
Penjing Society. Many good memories of the gardens all
over.

At the denturist place a total sweetheart woman said,
oh, that's easy. She buzzed off the offending surface and
I was suddenly delighted with the fit. I had been worried for
nothing.

Then I set out on a 6 km walk back to my shack. I kept a
good steady pace. Have not walked that part of the city
for a very long time.

So, including the walk to the Metro and the lovely walk
through the garden, it was a 7 km day. I stopped at the
street mission to put garbage bins out front.

I saw crocuses in bloom today!

After finishing the regular Sunday clothes-sorting chores at
the street mission we had some lunch and then drove to
the big Gothic, mythic hospital on the Mountain of Love
to visit one of our longtime clients who is having major
health crisis.

He is an aboriginal man who served 17 years in prison
for murder. He shot his brother-in-law for the way that
he beat and abused his sister. If I had not lost my massage
career and fallen into poverty myself I would have never met
this unique human being.

Sure, he is a severe alchoholic and has had a history of street
fighting with other natives, etc. But he is not a thief, not a cheap
hustler. He does not lie or threaten people with blackmail like
some people I know.

Would I rather be doing massage therapy for wealthy glamour
people who don't give a rat's ass for anybody but themselves?
Not really. It would not bring me greater happiness.

This man in the hospital is now 50 yrs old. As he is gradually
coming out of valium daze and his DT shakes are diminishing,
it is becoming clear that if he drinks again he will die. He might
not make it out of the hospital alive. His warrior spirit is meeting
Its toughest test.

So I said I would come back to visit as soon as I can. I have
learned that anyone can become my spiritual teacher. This
simple man has been one of them, for sure.

I walked from the hospital all the way up to the main chemin
and then up and down the stairway to/from heaven, you
know, just for the hell of it.

Beautiful day. 14 degrees on centipede scale as I speak.
Not much $$ for Chinese herbs. But I walked down to
Chinatown and back for a $3 box of liu wei ti huang wan.
That's about 3km walk.

Then came back to the shack. Naked on the floor I did
three sets of pushups in 12 minutes - 51 - 55 - 60. When
I get back into regular running schedule on the mountain
of love, I want to do three sets of 60 within a 60 - 90 minute
run.

Then also did 230 crunches, twists & reverse sit-ups naked
as a blue jay.

Had a little bit to eat and settled down for a 40 minute nap
with aged cat.