Sights, Smells & Sounds

Your mother has many talents. I've already let the world know that singing is not one of them. But the gift of transformation is quite impressive. No, she cannot magically morph into a dog or blend into a background, but she does do wonders on situations. For example, this weekend, we were invited to our first Indian wedding. Our good friend who is Indian married a girl who is Lebanese. No need to tell you that great fun was had by all. 

But some constraints prevented this from being a smooth sailing weekend. Notably, the wedding was on Shabbat, in Laval. Also to be noted is that at the time of writing, we are still shomer shabbat (I thought I would put it that way should things change by the time you read this. Hey, you never know). The plan was to walk to the venue in full getup. So picture this; elegantly dressed walking down the equally elegant boulevard Cure Labelle, guitar strapped to my back. Oh ya, did I mention? I accompanied the groom's sister on Adele's Dylan cover of Make you Feel My Love. Therefore, because we were committed to being in attendance, on time and to not missing a thing, we found ourselves a Hampton Inn as close to the venue as possible and camped out there on Friday night. The room was quaint, nothing to write to the neighbouring island about. However, within no more than an hour, this premiere suite was transformed into a site of delicious (microwaved) aromas, Shabbat tunes and delicately flickering candlelight. With just a little effort and much foresight, the seemingly mundane became exquisitely beautiful. The room became a palace, the meal an elegant feast and my simple songs the chanting of angels. OK, that last one is probably somewhat embellished but we’ll blame it on poetic license. It’s amazing how transformative a sensual (in the purest sense of the word) experience can be. A feast for the senses can completely transform one’s context. It’s funny because your mother and I always said that we would be happy living in a cardboard box, as long as we could hang some art on the walls. And after this weekend, I have no doubt that we would in fact be quite content. In a cardboard box for three, that is.