Saturday, December 11, 2010

December 11 - Mikey Of The Mountain

WWhen I was in the 8th grade I had a math teacher by the name of Mr Low. Mr Low was a quiet man who dressed in slacks and a button down shirt. His English accent was broken almost to the point of being a racial stereo typed cartoon of himself. Instead of traditional dress shoes or sneakers he would wear a form of booty. A soft fabric covering rather than a shoe. Because of his soft footing he would often appear as if from nowhere to right beside you in the blink of an eye. I clearly remember one day glancing up and seeing him at his desk, then looking down at my work and then looking up moments later to discover that he had gone and to my horror was directly behind me. This man, as ninja as he was, was always friendly. He would inform me that my last name Delamont, in fact meant "of the mountain". Many people have told me this over the years and seem surprised that I know... I guess forgetting that it is the name I have always had? The cute thing about Mr. Low is that he would infact tell me this fact about my surname EVERY time we passed in the hall. It is my fondest memory of him.

People through the years have often misspelled my last name. Of course the most common is Delmonte thanks to the fruit people. Most commonly its delmont, or sometimes just pronounced in an odd way. I pronounce it DELamont. Many though choice for the French influence and call out delaMONT. Either way.... I like my last name. Heck I even like my first name.

When I was in the 4th grade another Mike arrived in my class. I had been fortunate enough to go 4 years of being the sole Michael in my classes which, looking back, is a miracle. When Mike Thompson arrived, the discussion was thus. Do we both go as Mike but with the addition of a last initial? Does one go back to Michael? At the end of the day, Mike Thompson would be Mike, and Mike Delamont would henceforth me known as Mikey. Starting in grade 5, less than a year later, my name would be brought into question. Some teachers felt it was a bit childish and maybe I should go back to Mike/Michael. The adult in me now says I WAS ELEVEN! IT WAS A CHILDISH NAME BECAUSE I WAS A CHILD! OKAY!?!?!

I grew up in a small town of 16,000 on the eastern side of BC in a place called Cranbrook. I still love Cranbrook. The Apollo Steak House, Idlewild Park, Fort Steele, Fisher Peak. Delamont Jewelers. Its a place I miss a lot. Something that I have is a very strong "scent memory". Smells can bring me back to a person place or time with ease. At my work here in Toronto we have a huge wreath in the entrance made of pine branches and the smell of Christmas floods your nostrils every time you come into the building. It reminds me of the time that my mom said I should trim the tree. I didnt see why I needed to... but I got out the scissors and diligently started to cut at the needles. The smell of Jen Glennon's Calvin Clein perfume is one that even now when somebody walks by me I am right back in my grade 6 class with a crush on the girl from down the block. I love it all. I never know when its going to happen or what its going to bring me to... but I enjoy it very much.

A few of the stores in Toronto have decorated their windows. Some are amazing! Some are cleaver toyshops and the like but tonight I saw one that blew me away. It was a Christmas scene of a mother and father on Christmas morning watching their son play with a toy. The only thing is, it was a family of AT-AT's. Now for those of you who dont know what an Imperial Walker is, they are the big metal camel looking things from Star wars. 4 legs... shoots lasers. ANYWAY! Its a family of AT AT's juat hanging out. Dad Smoking a pipe etc. In the back there is a small nativity scene done all with star wars figurines.

Does anybody else watch a Mr Bean Christmas? I love that! I am a massive Rowan Atkinson fan, and some of his stuff still kills me even though I have watched it many times before. Muppets Christmas Carol, Wonderful Life, Love Actually and Mr Bean Christmas top my must see Christmas movie lists. Havent seen them all? You now have 13 days to change that!

Happy movie watching!

Mike

1 comment:

  1. Without question my favourite xmas movie of all time is the 1951 "Scrooge" (US title is "A Christmas Carol") starring Alastair Sim. The movie is just note-perfect Dickens from beginning to end. If you get a chance, I encourage you to rent it.

    2nd favourite would have to be "Santa Claus," an INCREDIBLY bizarre Mexican-made movie that got the MST3K treatment a while back. Without that, it's just CREEPY AND DISTURBING. With it, it's HILARIOUS.

    The ones you mentioned are all good choices too, though I personally am tired of IAWL after so many years. It is saturation-bombed on TV stations throughout the season. Thank goodness we have the Yule Log channel to cut away too, but yes it's honestly a great movie.

    Great news on the apt, I knew holding out for what you really wanted would work out!

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