Sunday in Montreal

Bonjour Mon Ameis, (again with the french!),
After a quiet dinner last night we are ready again to walk the second day in Montreal and we are pretty pumped about it. Pat and I are feeling pretty good on the second day of "three in a row" and we are ready to "git'er done" with Tanis.
One of the things that is giving me energy today is that we finish the walk in Olympic Stadium. For me, this a big thrill. One of the things I forgot to mention before is a fact that I did not know...they call the stadium the "Big O" because it cost 695 million to build. The stadium is the proper name because the people of Montreal spell it the "Big OWE"...now I understand. The first event ever held in the "Big Owe" was the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in 1976. Does anyone remember Greg Joy? A Canadian highjumper?
It was such a relaxing drive to the park on Sunday morning because it was not a cab ride. Pat and I enjoyed meeting and talking with our cab drivers but we were so glad not to have to depend on them to get us to the park on time. WE LOVE OUR PEEPS! Also, our cab drivers did not get us Starbucks in the morning fixed just the way we like our coffee.
The one thing that I have noticed about the walkers in Montreal is that they have the oldest group walking. I am simply amazed at this. To be doing this in your 20's is one thing, in your 40's is another, but in Montreal these people were amazing. There was a story in the paper of a man who was 93 walking. 93!!!!! At 93 my greatest hope is that I can remember where the washroom is and walk to it!! Never mind raising $2,000 and attempting to walk 60 Kms. I did not see this fellow on the walk, I wish I did but he was probably miles ahead of me, but I would of really enjoyed meeting him. What an incredible lust for life he must have.
Pat was talking with one lady on Sunday morning and she was 71. She was a fiesty lady who was walking by herself. She was telling Pat that her husband was becoming quite worried about her on Saturday because she "usually finishes the walk at 3:30 and she did not get in until 4 yesterday". 71 years old...walks 35 kms in one day...husband worried she did not finish it in her usual 8 hours but it takes her 8 and half...ubelievable. For the record, we finished at 3:45 and nobody was worried about how long it was taking us! In addition to this, she told Pat about this so matter of fact. No big deal. Holly Moley!!!
Then there was Sylvia. Sylvia was about 5 feet tall, and if you saw her in a go go cage in the 60's with neon bright flowered print tights on she would not look out of place but you certainly noticed those same tights on the walk. On the walk you noticed her. She was a spark plug. Sylvia has done 75 marathons and this is the fourth year she was walking. Her pace was quick, I could not keep up and she was wallking with her daughther. When she got a little sore she would take an Advil sometimes. Her hip would sometimes hurt and yesterday was one of those days so she did finally take ONE Advil. Sylvia is a holocust survivor and will be 80 years old this year. She married the first man she met in Canada and when their first daughter was born she would get "antsy" when she went off to kindergarten. She went on some medication for her nerves but a friend of hers got her off them and she started to run with them instead. She has never looked back. 4 sixty km walks and 75 marathons later this little dynamo with her neon flowered pants is still walking for a cure. For the record, I took probably 8 Advil on Saturday and already had three before we caught up to her on Sunday. Way to go Sylvia, you are quite the inspiration.
So were are on our way to lunch and I see a sign that gives me energy..." one day as a team we will turn these ribbons the other way around and it will become the sign of victory". Again, something I needed to see at just the right time. We are now at lunch and are making very good time. We are having lunch in a park and we are looking for our "peeps" and we can not find them. No problem...maybe they are catching a bite to eat themselves after answering to our every whim all weekend. I am little concern though because they have not called but I do not say anything to Pat and Tanis. So we finish our lunch and off we start again. Francine is doing an excellent job of letting us know the different areas of the city which is very interesting. At one of our rest stops there is a podium with medals and it looks like the Olympic podiums. So of course the three of us get up on it and hopefully soon I will include pictures of this. It is about this time that we hear from our "peeps" on my cell. It is Patti and she is calling from the police station. This is where one of my mother traits has been handed down to me. Worry. If I know that people are coming up to the house or cottage and they are late they have to call me otherwise I worry about them. I know everything is fine...I just like to hear them tell me that. I get it from my Mom. It drove me nuts when I was 16 but over the years I see now how smart she got! So, my heart skips a beat because I automatically assume that driving around Montreal has caught up with them and they were in a fender bender. That is not quite exactly the story.
Life lessons. It does not matter how old you are I believe you will always be learning life lessons. Saturday night was a life lesson for all of us. After our peeps picked us up on Saturday we went to the valet of the hotel we were staying at emptied out the car of our junk and gave them the keys to park it. Except we left the GPS or Alice in the car. Valet parking...it should not be a problem. WRONG. Sunday morning when we got it the car Alice was gone and the ironic thing was that after leading them right to Schwartz and Main on the Main...Alice had enough and did not work again afer that. However, she was now gone. Here is the life lesson...even in valet parking DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING IN THE CAR. I have done this a hundred times over the years and have left my purse, computer, cell phone etc in the car thinking it was "extra" safe because of the valet parking. Life lesson.. I will not do that again. So of course the "peeps" felt absolutely horrible about this and were sincerely afraid for their job security. They were hoping to get this all cleared up with the hotel while we were walking and they would be able to meet us later.
That is when they called from the police station. It seems they could not speak to anyone at the hotel until they filed a police report. Ok, now this is when it really gets good. You may want to re-read Thursday in Montreal before you read on. So here is my understanding of how the conversation went at the police station.

Peeps...we are here to file a report for a stolen GPS
Police...OK. Which one of you owns the car?
Peeps...it is a rental
Police...do you have the paper work?
Peeps....yes, it is right here
Police...which one of you are Mari-Jayne Woodyatt?
Peeps...neither of us. She rented the car and is walking 60 kms this weekend.
Police...so who are you?
Peeps...we are friends who are helping them out and we are driving the car. We are the "second drivers" on the car.
Police...where is Mari-Jayne Woodyatt and why are you driving this car? (He is now thinking he may have some car theives reporting a stolen GPS system!)
Peeps...Weekend to End Breast Cancer...we wanted to settle this up while she is walking
Police...so where is the Buick Alure parked?
Peeps...what???? (nervous laughter)
Police...the paperwork here says you have rented a Buick
Peeps...(nervous laughing hysteria breaks out) yeah, this is funny. When MARI-JAYNE orginally rented this car they had it as a Buick but that would not hold Pat and Tanis' overnight luggage bag so we are driving an Impala instead.
Police...Ok let's just recap. You are here to report a stolen GPS that is rented not under your name... and the paper work you are showing me is for a car you are not driving. Is this correct?
Peeps...(in a small voice) Yes. Honest.
Police...Ok then. Show me the paperwork for the GPS giving me the serial number
Peeps...we don't have any
Police...you are driving a car that is not a Buick that you have not rented and you don't have any paper work for the GPS you are now reporting as stolen?
Peeps...Ah yup, you pretty much have the full picture now.
Police...Ok...laughing...please fill out these forms....

To protect the innocent I will not name names but it appears that my "worry" about their driving in Montreal did not go unfounded. Now my "worry" was not originally about their driving but rather because of the reputation that Montreal drivers have. Well, apparently the Montreal drivers were not part of this. At one point, one of our peeps is driving the other one is studying the map to see where we are. As they are studying the map the driver says "Oh S***T"...the navigator looks up only to discover they are on a two lane bridge that is one way...THEY ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY. So as the horns honk and people let them know their mistake they only can go one way and that is along the bridge to the end to have the chance to turn around. Tanis, Pat and I are howling when we hear this. But alas, it gets better. The same driver and same navigator are once again driving and reading the map and the driver says...I don't think I am on the right road"...the navigator says "yes we are going the right way" and the response from the driver is..."no I am not on the right road because I am on the BIKE PATH"...I am still laughing as I type this. A silver IMPALA going down a BIKE PATH!!! Trust me when I say these bike paths were not wide. There are huge trees on one side and concrete posts on the other and they would barely fit the widith of a compact never mind an IMPALA!! Oh my god I laughed so hard. Then...my cheeks almost exploded because our driving peep not only admitted this once but twice!! Yes folks, twice the Impala was driving down a bike path. And they say the Montreal drivers are crazy. At least their cyclists are safe.
So all of this happened in one morning...police station, wrong way on bridge and twice down a bicycle path!! And I thought we were working hard!
In Toronto, once you see the windmill by the Ex you know you are close. In Montreal it is seeing the roof of the "Big Owe". The distance in both instances is deceptive though. You think you are just around the corner but you are actually probably 8 kms away. So we see the roof and we are excited. At our last stop station before the end is it at 4kms. The three of us were tired but good. However, our friends Joseph and Karen, well, she was not doing too well. She is losing some toe nails and her feet are really giving her problems. We see Joseph first and ask how they are doing and he tells us about Karen. We see her on the lawn in the park on her back with her arm over her eyes. As we walk up we can see she crying. I am not telling you this to embarass her but rather to let you know what people go through for these walks. Joseph and Karen are another couple who are doing all the walks that I have mentioned earlier in the blog. We walk over to her and give her some words of encouragement and tell her we will be waiting for her at the finish. Well, let me tell you...sure enough she and Joseph finished the walk and she walked through and finished despite the obvious pain she was in. It was a special momemt to see them at the end.
As we leave Karen at the rest station, Tanis and I are convinced that after a short while we are less than 2kms away when we see our peeps yelling encouragement to the walkers and hanging out of the car. We are so happy to see them. I say to one of the peeps "we must be less than 2kms" hopefully...will that did not last for long because our peep replies "nope you are still 3kms away" well I guess the look on my face was crestfallen because as our peeps are driving away the one turns to the other and says..."I guess I should not of said that". Now, I can laugh about it. Two weeks later. Just kidding peep. However our spirits were soon lifted by this incredibly enthusitic cop who was driving his car the wrong way up the street with lights flashing and blaring over the loud speaker "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" and after the crushing news from our peeps his music and energy is just what we needed. Now that was a Montreal driver. Ok....he is a cop.
Finally, there it is. Olympic Stadium. People lined up clapping at us...yelling BRAVO....BRAVO....and then it hits me...hard. Pat and I have done it. 3 in a row. Back in May I did not think it was that big of a deal but I now realize the numbers. 180 km's in six days over a three week period. 360 km's walked since the first weekend in June...done in 12 days over two months. I now might be able to say to myself...maybe one day hopefully soon this will make a difference and it is just not for me but I can actual feel all of you with me. My "peeps, my friends who have walked with us in Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal and all of you who reached into your pockets and donated to this cause. You are all walking down the ramp with me into Olympic Stadium. The cities I have seen in this amazing country, the people that I have met along the way... and you. My feet have never felt as light...and my step has never been better. WE ARE ALL walking into this stadium that hosted the world 30 years ago and said...Welcome to Canada. You are in the best country in the world. I hope you have a sense of what I was feeling because all of you are so much a part of this. So the three of us dance our way down the ramp to the incredible reception that awaits us. A friend of mine put it best when they said that the people of Quebec are proud of their emotions. I think that is exactly correct. They are proud of their emotions and love to celebrate life. This was very apparent when we stayed for the closing ceremonies. The roar and applause that a couple of thousand people generated in that stadium sent chills up my spine. It will be a memory that I will never forget.
Thank you Montreal and to the people who live there. You have a fantastic city. I gotta say though...LOOK OUT TORONTO WE ARE BRINGIN' IT ON HOME AND I CAN'T WAIT!
To my Mom and Joanne...you are my courage and inspiration.
With love and thanks,
M.J.