The Deedle-Eedle Truck

(or, “Wakey Wakey, Mfers!”)

Sylvain and I have long heard legends of the snow removal siren–an eardrum-crushing klaxon that sends Montrealers staggering into the street to move their cars before the tow-trucks and snowplows come through. Since we’ve never spent an entire winter in Montreal and, uh, we don’t have a car, it’s one of those unique Montreal cultural experiences we’ve never had.

However, we have now been initiated into the summer equivalent: the street-paving siren (or, as I call it, the Deedle-Eedle Truck):

We’d already received notices taped to our door warning us about the upcoming repaving, and temporary no-parking signs were posted up and down the street several days before. We groaned and readied ourselves for two weeks of dumptruck noise, dust, and the smell of hot asphalt.

But we were not mentally or physically prepared for the Deedle-Eedle Truck, which first made its presence known last Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m.

It was bizarre. It was relentless. It roved up and down the street and NEVER STOPPED DEEDLE-EEDLE-ING.

The D-ET sure was effective at getting cars out of the street–sleepy owners scurried out their front doors and relocated their vehicles toute suite.

Unfortunately, the Deedle-Eedle Truck does not discriminate. We non-car-owners were also jolted awake despite being innocent of blocking the road. The screaming DEEDLE-EEDLE, drawing ever closer, left us stunned, confused, wondering if we were meant to run to a fallout shelter or hide from invading space aliens.

We eventually figured out what was happening, but there was no way we could return to bed after being DEEDLE-EEDLED like that.

But the Deedle-Eedle Truck is not without compassion. The next day as we were again being deedle-eedled, we observed that the D-ET will go silent if passing a pedestrian. Clearly, the Deedle-Eedle Truck does not wish to harm us.

It even seems that the Deedle-Eedle Truck wants to be kind, and to be liked. Observe how he quietly passes the man in blue, and how I get a friendly shrug and smile from the Deedle-Eedle Driver when he sees me filming:

If all goes to plan–and it may not, as we’re experiencing historic heat and humidity spiked with intense thunderstorms–there will be no more street paving or waking to deedle-eedles after next week. In the meantime, we get to enjoy this:

Do you have a Deedle-Eedle Truck in your town? Tell us about it in the comments!!

Hope you’re having a happy summer thus far, and may the Deedle-Eedle Truck Driver ever smile upon you.