Bonnie’s Babble: Why I Moved to Pointe-Claire

Welcome to Bonnie’s Babble, a monthly column for the Pointe-Claire Record where I will be poking a little fun and satire about life in our wonderful city.

First, allow me to introduce myself. I have written news stories and satire for the Montreal Times and West End Times newspapers and some of my stories have appeared in the Montreal Gazette. And I am happy to now be doing this for my fellow Pointe-Claire citizens. Let me begin with why I moved to Pointe-Claire.

Back in 2019, when we were living in Montreal, there was more and more construction happening around us, and green spaces were getting smaller and smaller. So we decided that after all the years we spent there, it was time to make a change. It was also at that time that my late sister had been diagnosed with cancer and I wanted to be closer to her.

We had visited the Pointe-Claire area on several occasions and slowly fell in love with it.
There were more green spaces, the lake, the villages, and more. And so, we made the move and are happy we did.

Now that said, in time, we also discovered that the city did have a few faults – but its charm took precedence.

So, what are said “faults,” you ask?

Well, for one, Lake Saint-Louis was more known as “Lake Saint-Phooey” due to the combination of rotting vegetation and low water levels. It smelled like rotten eggs and our water (taps and washrooms) was an earthy yellow colour... quite gross. Even the toilet bowls looked like someone forgot to flush.

Then there are the things I find quite quaint, like naming parks after restaurants. Or the “chutzpah” (meaning nerve, gall) in politics, like that going on about the restoration and preservation of the Pointe-Claire windmill. And I can sum it up in one word… OY.

However, Mayor Tim Thomas, or “Tim-Tom’’ as I like to call him, finally announced after the September 6th, 2022 meeting that a “memorandum of understanding [is] to be signed between the City of Pointe-Claire and the Archdiocese of Montréal, for the restoration and preservation of the Pointe-Claire windmill.”

“I am very pleased with the upcoming signing of an agreement between the Archdiocese and the City to restore and preserve the Pointe-Claire Windmill [sic], our emblem,” announced Mayor Tim-Tom. “This heritage building must be restored and preserved so that our history will live on for all future generations.” I’m not sure which word fits best: “Bravo” or “Finally”?

What I also love about our fair city are some of the posts on the “Pointe-Claire News and Discussion” Facebook page, such as: “Was the Aurora Borealis visible in Pointe-Claire last night? If so, I’ll go out tonight to look!” or “Come on! Another power outage — really?” And let’s not leave out all the wonderful “Sidewalk Sales!”

Well, that’s it for now. Check back next month for the next Bonnie’s Babble. Feel free to contact me through Facebook Messenger with any ideas you may have.

Bottom line (literally)… I LOVE living in Pointe-Claire! 

Bonnie is local writer, stand-up mirror comic, hamster tamer and twist-tie collector.