\jeff{krimmel}

The Grandma Shuffle

Ariele and I left Massachusetts on Sunday around noon time to head toward Montreal, Quebec. Ariele’s sister goes to school in Montreal, and we made the drive up here to hang out with her and take her back to her parents place for their Christmas break.

And, yes, Montreal is colder than Boston. Quite a bit colder. It’s clear this Texas boy wasn’t made for this kind of weather. I’m making it around alright, but navigating through sidewalks lined with two to three feet of snow is just plain ridiculous for me.

My knees are just this side of shot to begin with, and walking on ice and snow isn’t helping. Walking on the snow really isn’t so bad. The ice is what’s worst. Fortunately, Montreal is packed with snow but not much ice. I have to carefully pick my foot steps so as to avoid slipping and quite likely falling. Ariele has noticed this and affectionately refers to it as “The Grandma Shuffle”.

The Grandma Shuffle really isn’t so apt a nickname, though. Over the past few days, I have seen plenty of women old enough to be my grandmother move around in a much more nimble manner than me in this stuff. Little kids move around better. People my parents’ age move around better. Pretty much everyone moves around better. But I move. And I haven’t hurt myself yet. So, in my book, this is a win.

Canadian television is slightly disorienting. It’s practically the same as American television, but they feel the need to work in a lot of Candian references just to make sure you know it’s not American television. They have their own standup comedians. They have their own game shows. They have their own SportsCenter. There will be no sharing. They have their television; the Americans have theirs. That’s that.

Montreal really is a beautiful city, though. We got to see a little bit of McGill’s campus today, and it was lovely. We will spend the better part of tomorrow up here, and then in the evening we head back toward Massachusetts. It will be a shame to leave Montreal behind.