So far so good

The barbershop was crowded. Everybody was in a good mood. Summer!
Just Chillin’ was ready to go. He put up his hand and asked everyone to be quiet, quiet…  and said, “Did you know that Bob White does not write that column for the CommunityCONTACT? I found out what he does. He goes around to different barbershops with the regulars of the Ways and Means Committee, gets the 411 from everybody and then submits it to the CONTACT.”
Like the other day, they were talking about the West Island Rhythm and Blues Festival, although the organizers call it the West Island Blues Festival. “It was a slam dunk because they had the best artists that money could buy entertaining: Freddy James, Dawn Tyler Watson, and the legendary Michelle Sweeney. All they needed was vocalist Skipper Dean, who is very busy getting ready (rehearsing) for a major 4th of July gig at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.”
It’s unfortunate, the problems Dan Philip is having at his organization because other people want to take over. All they have to do is have a meeting. For over fifty years he did good work, but at his age whatever he was trying to accomplish if he hasn’t done it by now it will never happen because of his age.
To prove that we are right look what happened to the NCC, the Elks, and Black Studies Center… And we don’t own the building the Union United Church’s congregation worships in, and they will never own the building. It’s all (about) economics. Brothers and sisters should take some courses at John Molson School of Business. It’s all economics, because we live in a system called capitalism.
One of the Regulars of the Ways and Means Committee was explaining to Downtown Don that back in the day Montreal’s Carifiesta was “the largest summer gala… not in Canada, North America. And the city of Montreal didn’t like it, so the powers-that-be refused to list it in the list of summer festivals so tourists could read and get to know about it. But the word still got out, and tourists flocked here to see it.
While this was going on two guys were watching… They used to promote shows in clubs and their dream became reality when the government changed. So they approached the government and demanded not thousands, but millions, of dollars to start a summer festival. The government was very happy to give it to them so they wouldn’t have to give it to the people who were organizing the Carifiesta. Because those two guys didn’t know of the inner-workings of the Carifiesta, Toronto now has the largest Caribbean summer festival in Canada, Caribana.
As we now know the city of Montreal has 103 city councillors and only one among them is Black. This is the history of Montreal. Never mind what they tell you this is the real history of Montreal.
One of the regulars of the W&M Committee interrupted: “Here’s something that just came to mind. I would rather be naïve and rich person than be a wise person and know the truth, but poor…”
Money raised his hand and told everyone to be quiet. He said “Listen to me, don’t hear me, listen to me. You cannot tell someone that you’re happy and have nothing; that’s an illusion. There are over 200 religions and I don’t how many cults, but they all believe they’re right. But the truth shall set you free.”
“Here are some happy people: P. Diddy, Beyonce and Jay Z, Charles Chenault… They are living… not an illusion, living…”
And when the hotels call the barbershop about tourists who want to be taken around the city, the brothers and sisters will give them a tour, a real tour of Montreal because the people at the tourist board don’t know the history of Montreal: Rockhead’s Paradise, the Club St. Michel. Also, the people at the tourist office don’t know if you’re on the corner of Mountain and St. Antoine and want to get to Notre Dame and Mountain you had to cross a bridge. The tourist office don’t know about St. Lawrence market where the Black people used to shop, and go into the garbage because the grocery store owner would throw the collard greens [the top of the turnip vegetable was garbage] into the garbage. The farmers didn’t know that people in the U.S. were selling it, because it’s very high in vitamins.
Here’s another situation. Back in the day we would walk tourists through the major hospitals in Montreal and tell them that Black people used to die of cancer, prostate cancer; there was no publicity about that. As soon as white people started dying of the same illness there was all kinds of publicity.
Last week, a group of people did a walk on Mount Royal and raised a lot of money for prostate cancer. But when Blacks were dying of prostate cancer it was hush hush.
0ne of the top doctors for prostate cancer treatment in Montreal is Dr. Keith Matthews.
Ask the director of the Jubilation Choir, Dr. Trevor Payne; he would tell you about a doctor in Montreal that saved his life. It wasn’t Dr. Keith Matthews, but another doctor.
Montreal is celebrating its 375th birthday next year. How can that happen without statues for Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, Matthew Dacosta, and Marie-Josee Angelique?  How can Montreal celebrate a 375th anniversary without honoring the 12 twelve kids that drowned in 1954?
All they have to do is simply put a park bench with the children’s names on it. That would not cost a lot of money. Not the 40 million dollars it would cost to light up the Jacques Cartier Bridge.
Professor said, “Did you hear what Trevor Williams said, did you know that it was Bob White and Earl Divine who got the basketball court for the kids in Little Burgundy?”
“If you don’t believe just read the short article in The Gazette, Montreal, Wednesday, October 10, 1979 (P. 45 to 56). City to build west-end sport park: “The city of Montreal has decided to build an outdoor sports park in the Little Burgundy area after two years of pressure from the West End Sports Association.”
“Association representative Bobby White sought help from The Gazette five weeks ago “for these kids who have nowhere to play sports.”
Earl Devine, executive director of the association, said yesterday he was  excited …that after years of working for this the city is finally being good to us.”
“They also got he co-op on Guy Street just below St. Antoine, and now he’s pushing some people in government to get a gymnasium for fall and winter. There’s no gymnasium the kids can use to help get them off the streets in the fall and winter in Southwest Montreal. That is why the Ways and Means are happy that the government changed; the one before was invisible.
With this new government in place, along with the Minister of Youth, it’s so far so good: “It’s Miller time now.”