More Than Fiction #2
Impressions, thanks and more
First Impressions
When we began house hunting in Hamilton last year in an effort to downsize, we mainly considered homes that were in various states of disrepair and/or located in what seemed like dystopian parts of the city. Some houses were deep within Hamilton’s industrial sectors (mostly steel manufacturing plants). One beauty was directly across from a massive hydro tower park, leading us to buy an EMF reader. (Ghost hunters would have had a blast there.) We viewed houses with five-foot high ‘finished basements’, houses without basements at all, and more often than not, houses with floors having slopes that would make many snowboarders despair. Knowing we were leaving a home that our Kitchener agent referred to as “stunning” (in a good way), it was a difficult pursuit and we would seek what comfort we could find following our tours. That most often meant stopping for brunch.
There are a lot of great brunch spots in Hamilton, and while Motel Restaurant does not need our endorsement, this was our first find and it will always have a special spot in our hearts. For me, part of its appeal is a nostalgia thing. A bit of neon; some retro-sixties. Maybe a distant memory of a Howard Johnson from my early youth. It was where we took Sam when we were certain that Hamilton would be our new city. Now, every time he comes to visit from Toronto we are hard pressed to consider any other spot. How much chicken and how many waffles can one person even eat? They do have a wonderful, eclectic collection of dishes including sublime champagne pancakes, and a brussels sprouts dish recently discovered that is now a favorite, but damn, their chicken and waffles are among the best.
As mentioned in a previous post, we do like Hamilton quite a bit. The city has plenty to offer. Yes, there have been many pros and cons to our move which you may read about here later on once I’ve had time to process. But, from the Mordor-like view I encounter on my walks to all the great places we are discovering in our neighborhood, the spirit of Hamilton will hopefully motivate my writing for some time to come.
Thank You(s)
In a first of many, I would like to thank Jill Jorgenson who drew the illustration I use for my home image. As a life-long paving stone installer often performing intense physical labour in punishing heat, this image succinctly represents much of my life.
Jill, a good friend/neighbour, knew well of my years struggling to gain traction as a writer. Having received several of Jill’s beautiful hand drawn Christmas cards over the years, I was honoured when she agreed to prepare this sketch back when I misguidedly thought I could self-publish a new collection of short stories.
Jill’s collection of poetry, Looking East Over My Shoulder, was published by Cormorant Books in 2014. Over the years, her poems and art have appeared in creative journals, including The New Quarterly, Contemporary Verse 2, and Canadian Poetry, among others. Jill delivered the mail for 27 years but is now gladly retired. She lives with her partner in Toronto’s East York.
Not really a solicitation
I hope you have enjoyed reading my novel and short stories this year. I will continue to post my fiction for free to all readers as long as I have words to offer.
I am an unagented writer who over the years flirted (not well) with success (see A Journey Through the Past and Reviews). However, “writer” never did replace “paving stone installer” as my paying career. Despite being published in the past by “traditional” publishers, it has taken Substack to finally have my work read with a growth and consistency that I can only assume means people enjoy what they read. If you can afford to do so, please consider upgrading to paid for only CAD$4 per month or purchasing gift subscriptions for your reading friends, family, and colleagues this holiday season. I would be immensely grateful for your support AND I will send paid subscribers a signed original trade paperback version of Jim Kearns if requested.
I will post a new short story in December. The next chapter of Jim Kearns arrives on Saturday.