CN Tower - Up Up and Away!

B stared out the windows of the observation deck of the CN Tower, thoroughly fascinated by the view. "Which way is North?" He asked. Simone duly pointed out all the cardinal directions, feeling pleased with herself that, after all these years, she could finally manage to differentiate between them. "Would you like to go up to the highest part of the tower?" Simone asked. B nodded enthusiastically and up they went. Together, they leaned against the guard rail and looked down the angled glass at the people gathering for the baseball game in the open stadium below. They watched planes take off and land from and at the island airport, an entirely different experience when viewed from above! Finally, they took the elevator down to the glass floor level. Simone led B onto the glass and he followed willingly. "Look down," she told him. As soon as his gaze went down, B's face blanched. Cautiously, ever so slowly, he retreated from the glass floor to stand on the relative safety of the carpeted area. "Come here, Mom," he begged, extending his hand. "Wait! I'm going to take some pictures," Simone said. B threw the stuffed Mario doll he had with him at his mother each time she took a picture. Finally, Simone left the glass and B gingerly pulled her into his arms. "You're safe now," he whispered into his mother's belly. "I love you."

La tour du CN

Par un beau jour de mai ensoleillé, Simone et B s'aventurèrent vers la tour du CN. B n'était jamais monté dans la tour et sa taille imposante, surtout vue du pied, fit un peu reculer l'enfant. "Je crois que je vais arrêter de regarder le sommet," annonça-t-il après quelques instants. Ça tombait bien puisque la ligne d'attente pour acheter des billets s'acheminait sous un auvent. Une fois leurs billets (à un prix exorbitant) en main, Simone et B partirent vers les ascenseurs. Avant les ascenseurs, passage obligatoire à travers une machine de sécurité qui soufflait des petits jets d'air. B, pas impressionné, hésita un peu puis passa, les mains bien collées contre l

es oreilles. Simone le suivit et quelques minutes plus tard, ils montaient dans un ascenseur. "Regarde le plancher," indiqua Simone. B eut un moment de recul puis, fasciné, il garda les yeux fixés sur le sol de la tour qui s'éloignait à toute allure. "Waouh!" S'exclama-t-il. En effet!

Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce labyrinthe???

Simone, son mari et leur fils était en route vers Philadelphie où le père de Simone habite. Leur vol les déposa à Washington où ils devaient récupérer une voiture de location. Enfin, ça, c'était ce qu'ils avaient prévu. Malheureusement, 20 minutes après l'atterrissage, ils erraient encore à la recherche du dépôt de bagages. En effet, l'aéroport de Washington offre un service de train souterrain qui mène les voyageurs d'un terminal à l'autre. Sauf que là, ça faisait franchement bizarre de se retrouver à trois seulement dans ces passages souterrains, sans jamais trouver la bonne sortie et sans trouver de salle de toilettes - car ça commençait à presser. Tout cela avec une odeur de voiture neuve un peu partout. Finalement, le mari de Simone trouva ce qu'il estimait être la bonne porte. Celle-ci était gardée par un agent de sécurité armé et était bien décorée de pancartes qui avertissaient les voyageurs qu'il n'y avait aucun moyen de rejoindre le souterrain un fois sortis. "Avec tous ces tunnels," maugréa le mari de Simone à l'agent de sécurité, "On se croirait chez Ikea. J'espère qu'il y a des boulettes de viande suédoises de l'autre côté de cette porte, sinon, ça va barder!"

Space adventure

Simone, hubby and B settled into the chairs in the planetarium. Simone gestured to the domed ceiling and told B, "This will allow us to see the stars and the planets more clearly." B nodded, staring wide eyed at the dusk simulation above him as crowds of people filed in and took their seats. Soon the lights dimmed and the dome took on different shades as the live presenter pointed to various elements of the night sky. B listened eagerly, following the the presenter's red laser dot across the "sky". Partway through the presentation, some families with strollers headed toward the exit and left quietly. This did not prevent B from noticing. "Hey," he protested. "We're not really in space!"

LISTEN to me!

"Mom!" B called from the other room. "How many ounds are you?" Simone frowned. "Rounds?" "NOOOO!" B wailed. "Ounds! How many ounds are you?" "Um," Simone hesitated. Hands on hips, B entered the room where Simone sat on the bed, brushing her hair. He enunciated. "Pee-ounds. How many pee ounds are you?" Ah. Pounds. Gotcha.

Et puis quoi encore?

"Ne touche pas au poste de télévision!" Simone dit à son fils. Et B de faire une grimace. "Oh non! Est-ce que je vais encore passer une soirée au négatif?"

Anything at all?

The doorbell rang and, amidst a flurry of racing dogs and wild barking, Simone opened the door. Two young men, dressed in suits, stood there smiling. Ugh. "Yes?" She asked. "We'd like to speak to you about the bible," the one closest to Simone said. Simone firmed her resolve, having learned the hard way that it was best to simply tell them no. "I'm sorry. I'm not interested." Their smiles faltered only briefly. Then the young man furthest from Simone chimed in, "That's fine. Before we leave, is there anything we can do to help you? Anything at all?" Simone opened and closed her mouth a couple of times and considered asking them whether they could do roofing work before sending them on their way...