it's a hospital and a school
w/ 'cottages' for those less fortunate
(or so they would like us to believe)
in orillia ontario
out of sight, out of mind
dedicated to robert c. batho
it's nuclear cartoons
I just ran w/it
volume up/720p
labour of love
grandfather
mother's side - deaf mute in the 30's - 60's
bob & mona, same deal
married - 3 kids
he could read a whole newspaper
in 18 minutes! I clocked him once
ok he skipped half but still
dropping his paper in that dark living room
old musty furniture
looking at me
smiling
intelligent
well read - engraver by trade & painter/artist
truly gifted but he was damaged
hired then fired again & again
amazing work, but apparently?
difficult to work with
you know ... a little cuckoo (wink)
ok, he grunted a lot - always that scowl
that musky smell in those worn suspenders
he's been wearing for years
pipe smoke transgression
if looks could kill
when he laughed
I thought the ceiling would cave in
scary if you didn't know him
idiot, freak, retarded
I mean, he deserved more
grandpa batho was eccentric
and he smelled bad AND ya he was
a fucking freakshow
exit stage left
a necessary shift
for 'safety'
no one understood him
he drank and publicly
punched a policeman in the face
not good for a deaf & dumb, unemployed
intoxicated misfit
stamped and stunned
sent to St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital
for the rest of his life
we visited him there (60's)
it was actually quite humane
Huronia was a whole different story
more severe, detached
all relevant
if grandpa hadn't been British stock
he would have been sent to Huronia
I'm convinced of that now
our caste system
is still alive & well in Ontario Canada
money talks - and
we just pretend better
optimized for night vision
a jim lamarche remix
from the album THREE LIVES
assembled in logic audio & final cut
featuring the roland system 8
inspired by the CBC documentary
Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children
Directed by Barri Cohen
clip footage from
Carrieanne Tomkins
Memories of the Ontario Hospital School
Orillia
Directed by Mitchell Wilson
read more of Jim's blog posts here
see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>
a parting thought production
