Tag Archives: Cat Stevens

An incredibly fulfilling writing project!

03 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in Excerpts from Citizen of Ville Joie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,


I want to thank all of those who have visited this site and commented on my posts so far. I am half way through the first draft and I am amazed at what I am discovering as I go along, as a person and as a wanna be writer. I am remembering events and moments of my life as an orphan I had completely forgotten and the memories, good or bad are are flowing through my head at a rate I hadn’t predicted! I’m loving every minute of it!

Although I know there is still an enormous amount of work ahead of me, I am ready to tackle the second half and I can’t wait to share more of my childhood story through Daryl’s words.  I am so anxious to get to the first rewrite of the project. At that time I will be able to go back to my first posts and compare them with their corresponding second versions.

I hope you keep supporting me in this journey and you visit me from time to time.

Please don’t hesitate to comment and rate my posts, I need your input and suggestions…

Citizen of Ville Joie, Daryl recalls a memory brought on by the music of Cat Stevens

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by in Excerpts from Citizen of Ville Joie

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , ,


Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. Daryl describes a memory brought on by Cat Stevens.

“I have always refused to buy his albums and I have chosen not to listen to his music over the years but not for the reasons you might think. Whenever I hear, by chance, one of his songs either on the radio or anywhere else it happens to be playing, my mind immediately wonders back to my days as an orphan in Happy Town. I can feel again the simplicity of my times with Allan and my other friends and the peace of mind the educators allowed me while I waited for a family to accept me. The first note of a song by Cat Stevens can bring back the very smell of my first morning at Ville Joie just as easily as it can bring back the memory of my last night there.

I was so afraid to lose that magic, I never sought to hear his music and instead, let fate surprise me with precious and randomly chosen images of my past, reassured by the knowledge that his music only awakens the happiest of memories.

A few years ago I was running errands and I was parking the car near a grocery store when the song “Sitting” began playing on the radio. I stayed in my car to listen to the whole song and a very specific memory began coming back to me. Something I hadn’t thought about for many years. Something only Cat Stevens could draw out.

When I first arrived at Ville Joie, the state had just taken over the orphanage as it was previously controlled by nuns. By the time I got there, only a few of them had stayed to work there, such as our nurse, sister Anna. Since the state was involved, the educators had to be specifically trained or have some sort of university diploma relating to dealing with children such Special Education or Child Care Worker. This approach was fairly new and at one point a fresh group of students reached the part of their program where they had to spend some time in the field for their training. Sure enough, a few of them showed up at Ville Joie for their internship, which was scheduled to last a few months.

We loved our educators madly and we would never have traded any of them, even for all the marbles in the world, but the interns were new faces, new voices, new everything and to a child, “new” is irresistible…”

Do not reproduce or copy the content of this post as it is the sole property of citizenofvillejoie.com
Contact: steve.marchand@rogers.com

Citizen of Ville Joie – Which music put you to sleep as a kid?

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Excerpts from Citizen of Ville Joie

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , ,


Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. Daryl describes falling asleep in his new room at the orphanage.

“My progression within our unit was confirmed when I was promoted out of the main dormitory and given my own room in a newly built dormitory on the ground floor. We called these spaces “rooms” but it was really just a cubicle with a blue curtain instead of a door and barely enough space for a little table and a kid’s bed. Still, that space was mine and I loved it. No doubt my first night in my new room was my best night to date at Ville Joie. I laid in bed on my back with my hands behind my head and looked at the ceiling with a smile on my face while the educator on duty visited each of us to make sure we were set for the night.

Immediately after lights out something unexpected happened, something that had never happened in the old dormitory; I heard the sound of soft music. Sure, I knew what music was and I had heard songs on the radio before, but I had never really paid attention to the music itself. In this setting, a dark and quiet environment, it was impossible not to hear it and curiosity got the best of me; I had to find out where the melody was coming from. I got out of bed, slowly pulled open the curtain of my room and walked toward the entrance of the dormitory which was where the music was coming from. And there it was; a portable reel to reel player resting on a chair and the soothing voice of Cat Stevens pouring right out of it. I can’t say I fell in love with music that night, but it was at that moment I became aware of it. I kneeled next to the player, watched the reels spin and listened to the music until I got dizzy from both.

That night and every single following night I spent in Happy Town, I fell asleep to Cat Stevens’ voice and words. With the player set on “auto”, when the tape would reach the end, it would rewind itself and start all over again. All Cat Stevens all the time, just like tonight…”

Do not reproduce or copy the content of this post as it is the sole property of citizenofvillejoie.com
Contact: steve.marchand@rogers.com

Today’s excerpt from Citizen of Ville Joie. Daryl’s first morning at the orphanage!

17 Saturday Sep 2011

Posted by in Excerpts from Citizen of Ville Joie

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , ,


Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. This is an excerpt from the description of Daryl’s first morning at the orphanage:

“Next was a tour of Ville Joie with Luke and Denise. There was a tv room, a play room, a room for homeworks and crafts, the dormitory, the gymnasium and in the basement was the pool which looked very nice except that building was so big and had so many rooms, I didn’t think I would ever be able to find it again. Outside, the backyard was so big it seemed to go on forever. There was an ice rink, a huge slide and lots of trees. The other children were already there playing so Luke put his hand on my back and told me it was ok for me to join them. I just stared at the group of kids with my feet glued to the ground, unable to move. Denise smiled as if she understood what was happening and quickly turned to shout “Allan, come here my friend, I want you to meet someone”. The boy, who was about my age, proceeded to put the marbles he was playing with in a green pouch and then ran in our direction.

None of us in my neighbourhood had marbles but I would fancy them every time I saw them on the display near the cash counter at the convenience store where my mother used to send me to buy jars of peanut butter, which is to say I got to admire those marbles very often. Allan had so many of them, he had to put his hand over the pouch so they wouldn’t fall out as he was running toward us. When he finally reached us, Denise introduced me.

“Allan this is Daryl who will be living with us from now on.” Looking at the both of us, she continued “I think you guys you could get along very well”.

How right you were Denise. From that moment on, Allan and I were inseparable and made the other kids just plain jealous of the kind of bond we had, one that sprung the very familiar expression “Daryl and Allan”. We were together all the time, while eating, playing, preparing for bedtime, always looking out for one another. Thanks to him, I know that true friendship is not about what others can bring to you or even about them being there for you when you need them. It is about what you can bring to them and wanting to be there for them when they need you. That is the kind of friendship Allan and I discovered and shared every single day we spent together in Happy Town. To say I was heartbroken when came the inevitable time to say goodbye to him would be an understatement. I will tell you more on that later but for now, let’s take a break and when we come back, another song from Cat Stevens…”

Do not reproduce or copy the content of this post as it is the sole property of citizenofvillejoie.com Contact: steve.marchand@rogers.com

Citizen of Ville Joie, Daryl announces he will tell his story…

11 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in Excerpts from Citizen of Ville Joie

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,


Please read “About this project and the Author” for more information on my project. This is part 2 of the beginning of Daryl’s radio show as he prepares to tell his story:

“Good night and a great new day to all of you. This is Daryl Hart with you until six o’clock with music from the seventies and eighties. As my regular listeners have come to expect, in addition to the music, I usually present and reflect upon inspiring real life stories. I read these stories hoping they will help us pause the insanity of today’s life and remind us of what it’s like to simply be human, even if it’s only for a few moments. It’s the stories of others put into words so their lives could help us be more aware of the meaning of our own. Not for the drama of it, not for envy and certainly not for pity. It has always been about reflexion and I promise you tonight will be no different in that respect.

The stories I read to you were real, they were handpicked and carefully reviewed so I could present them to you in such a way they would fit into the vision I have always had for this show. “Mindful Radio” as my billboards read. My intentions were good and honest. But if honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom as Thomas Jefferson said, I have no other choice but to admit this : the way I went about choosing these stories was hypocritical at best. You see, I spent countless hours researching books, magazines and articles all written by complete strangers, most of whom have been gone for years if not decades, when all along there was one story I didn’t need to look or prepare for, because it was already written inside of me. Mine is exactly the kind of story I read to you every single night except until now, I simply chose not to share it.

Tonight, the music of Cat Stevens will be heard in the background of a story I never really told, not even to those who matter the most in my life. A story written not by me, but by the people who surrounded me in the early years of my life. An entire chapter I felt was too complicated and yes, too difficult to share but which became very recently, too costly to hide.”

Just as I finish that sentence, I’m startled by my phone vibrating. It’s a message from Annie who writes: “I’m listening”.

I feel an sense of relief knowing that she is there but I also fear her reaction to the way I chose to finally tell her what she has been so desperately wanting hear. I need to take a deep breath for the last sentence of my intro.

“When we return after this first song from Cat Stevens, the beginning of my story, Citizen of Ville Joie…”

Do not reproduce or copy the content of this post as it is the sole property of citizenofvillejoie.com

Contact: steve.marchand@rogers.com