Utopia Moment sketches and writing by Jack Ruttan and friends

One of the things I do, since writing gives me such a loose schedule, and I’ve been involved in movies and such, is play an extra, or “background performer” in local shoots.

It’s kind of fun, if you don’t take it seriously, and you get a bit of money, and sometimes hobnob with stars, or at least the people who like to be with stars. I’ve collected stories, sometime, for some projects, which are in the air at the moment.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I was in a costume as above, playing a train passenger in the 1970′s for a film of the Mordecai Richler novel, Barney’s Version.

I was only there for a day, so don’t expect to see me much in the movie. Mainly I’ll be walking in the background by the train, in my Salmon pink leisure suit. I also get a fun thing to do in the train window as it pulls away, which is arranging luggage for my daughter. Something like “Mr. Bean.” Again, I doubt if anyone’s seen this.

My mailman once saw me make a fool of myself in a disco nightclub, in a French Language TV series. I also spent a summer besieging a castle, and my own peasant village, in the movie Timeline.

Sprinkled in this post are 2 pages of sketches I did. Not much time to do sketches. Note the old gentleman in hat and trenchcoat. A ringer for Morgan Freeman.

During one of those later park walks.

Still pretty broken up about this. That was very tough, but at least I was there. Anyhow, below is what I’ll read at the service in Calgary this Monday. They advised us to keep to the cheerful, positive stuff. Sadly, going to two services in September for friends prepared me a little. One good thing, it’s brought me closer to family.

Finally, they put his obit up: [link]

Maybe later, I might be able to come up with something more searching. Probably not for the blog, however.

The things I’d like to remember about my Dad is my growing up, and having a really great childhood, despite a lot of challenges. Moving from city to city. Finding a new home, having to make new friends. We took some excellent trips, to Montana and the western coast of the US. Went skiing a lot… and our family was one of the first in Calgary to take up cross country skiing. People would come up to us and ask about the flimsy wooden skis on top of the car. Were we ski jumpers, or something?

More personally, from Dad I remember help with school, sharing spy and historical novels, and fooling with model airplane engines. After school, I’d sometimes go to his office at the Calgary Board of Education, and play with the computers. They were a lot bigger, and slower in those days. I still like computers. Not a programmer, though.

We had our differences, politically, and otherwise, but things never got out of hand. He loved to challenge me, and taught me how to solve problems. That was his computing and management background coming out. Above all, he taught me not to give up, no matter what life throws at you.

My mom’s death in my last year of university affected our whole family deeply. Dad, I’m afraid, most of all. Living in the east and working as a writer, I miss the family stuff. Still, it was great, even in the later years to take him for a little walk in the park.

My sister Paula did most of the work taking care of him in the tough times, despite her own responsibilities, and I’m always grateful for this. As a poet said, “What thou lovest well remains, the rest is dross. / What thou lovest well shall not be reft from thee.”

That’s just a (possibly misheard) song lyric from Wendy James, that I thought would make a neat title. Otherwise, these are new sketches, from my recent trip to Calgary to visit my Dad, who passed away.

This and the other two below are from the Toronto Pearson Airport.

Little horse, drawn on the plane:

Server at the Ship and Anchor bar, in Calgary. He had great arm tattoos, which you can fill in, if you want:

Women at the bar. Sorry!:

Some fanciful German World War One guy:

Imaginary plume of smoke rising:

I’m blaming terrible personal stuff, which I may or may not write about, for the lack of blogging. But I’m still drawing things. So, I thought I’d throw some more up here, and try to do that daily.

These are all from my mini-sketchbook. It’s hardbound, and about 3×5 inches. I like it. Sometimes it’s hard to scan from.

They’re not the absolutely latest things I’ve drawn, and I don’t have a theme or comments about them. Maybe later drawings will give me the chance to tell more.

This is sort of an angry Peter Mansbridge. But I was really just practicing my shading and crosshatching chops on an old pencil sketch.

Below, two old outer space farts, from the Dark Side of the Force:

Last, my portrait of Cat Boy. At age 13, he’s sort of an old fart of the cat world:

…just haven’t been putting them up as much. Will try to pay more attention.

Remember my note about the Laundromat on my street that closed? Well, the windows got whited out, and renovations have been going on. As I was going by on my bike a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a sign on the front door underneath the usual work permit:

It reads: “Opening Soon: Restaurant – Sexy Servers!” And gives some names.

That’s daring. Usually the word is “Serveuses” – female gender. There are actually a few strip clubs near the busier streets, and a “Sexy Serveuse” restaurant as well. Even at one time, an “Erotic Carwash” east of here (since closed).

I was amused enough to take a picture with my ever-ready little camera, but decided pretty quickly that this was a practical joke, probably among the renovators. After all, “coming soon” signs don’t often name the employees.

Anyhow, I got e-mail from a fellow local blogger (check out his site!) saying that people in the neighbourhood had seen the sign, and were sincerely worried. After all, they didn’t want quiet Rouen street to become part of the Red Light district. (it sort of has been, at least around the area. I can still sometimes see crack hookers hanging out on rue Dufresne, near busier Ontario street, right out my window.

In years earlier, you could also be picking up syringes and condoms on the street, and sometimes unconscious people. But this neighbourhood is changing now, becoming more gentrified. Lots of kids with parents of all kinds of ethnicities. Even English can be heard spoken around here now, in this once solidly French area.)

At my advice, my friend did the sleuth work, competent internet journalist that he is. He passed by when the door was open, and asked what they were building. Turns out the laundromat is becoming a private residence. How boring. And the “Serveurs” sign has been taken down.

I’m of two minds. I don’t miss the junkies in the bus shelters, the scary punks, and the crime. But nothing’s wrong with a hint of spice amidst the blandness. It was kind of fun to point to the “erotic carwash.”