It's Called the Cat Speech (Video)

I have a feeling you're going to like this. You've got eleven minutes. I'm pretty sure when this speech is over, you'll be smiling. If you are, share it around! With apologies and love to Kate Alkarni....

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I'll be back in two and a half weeks– another sojourn, this time to Paris! More to come, as always. For now, talk to strangers, smile at grumpy people, take the courage to be honest, vulnerable, kind... let's retire "cool" as a thing to aspire toward, or rather perhaps redefine it with our own brand of excellence, not aloofness but a new approach, a new style, the type which doesn't rely on affectation or irony, but traffics in the strength of unvarnished truth, which at the end of things supercedes all else. The new generations don't need to know that apathy and guarded emotions were once vogue, and they can lead us in their enterprising joy to places we don't yet have the perspective to dream about.

Thanks for holding down the fort for me in this glorious city we call home!

Best,
Nathan

15 Comments

Ian - 10 years ago

Dude, have fun in Paris. Experience the wonder of a well-designed metro system. Aesthetically, my favorite station is Mirabeau on the 10. Check it out.

Nathan - 10 years ago

The system was unbelievable, as was how well it's used. Every two minutes, with each train full during rush hour! Intrigued equally by the super-old-school vehicles on the 11 and the brand spankin-new driverless vehicles on the 1 and 14. Also used the bus network extensively and loved it. Why don't we have maps, stop info, frequency info etc at all of our zones??

Julia - 10 years ago

Thanks for the story, very much enjoyed it!

Glad you liked it! It has nothing to do with buses, and it also had no relevance to the theme for storytelling that night (it was rehearsed for a few months earlier, but I never got called up in the random drawing til this time!), but I'm thankful people both here and there enjoyed it!

70 Librarian - 10 years ago

Please post about how you travel on a budget and where to stay while going solo for those of us who would love a travel guide de bus driver who talks with strangers. : )

This is a great idea. Will do. Thank you, Catalyst!

Though I need to add, as someone with truly terrible French language skills, I tended to be quite a bit more withdrawn than I normally am!

David L - 10 years ago

Nathan! I hope you're ok in Paris! Please be ok and SAFE!

David L! Thanks for the kind thoughts. I'm still swimming in that zone of not really having an opinion (or maybe too many opinions) of what happened.

It's interesting to me in retrospect how European the BC transit system is. By European I basically mean awesome. Truly world class. Also the design of the city, with no highway bisecting it, a la Paris and so many other major cities out there.

Linda Cheesman - 10 years ago

Nathan.. all your Metro friends and family are worried. Please let us know your safe.

Thank you, Lnda. The DDU announcement that went out confirming I was alive is truly humbling. It may sound silly, but I really had no idea that many people cared about my well-being.

Paul - 10 years ago

Nathan, please tell us you're ok.

It's so good to be back. Hoping I still remember how to drive one of these things for my shift tonight!

Kathi Duran - 10 years ago

Hey Nathan just found out you are okay, don't know the details yet but glad to meet you sorta kinda :)

Glad also to kinda sorta meet you in return! I'm glad I was there for a week before the attacks happened. I push myself very hard when travelling and had seen a lot just in the first week; the second week was a weird mixture of processing/wandering through empty streets/taking photographs (not much else to do), and watching the city gradually restore itself. I was happy when the movie theatres started reopening!