Besides writing, which he cannot do for more than a few hours a day, René loves driving. He paid for his university education by driving taxi on weekends and trucks during the summer through the streets of Toronto. While teaching René acquired B class school bus license to take his students on field trips because he hated being cooped up in a classroom all the time. More recently his local school bus company had a severe lack of drivers because of COVID so René drove a regular school route for the better part of a year. He still drives charter groups to Toronto or Ottawa or Kingston in a big highway coach or school bus. Who knows? Look at the next charter bus driver closely. Maybe it's René.
René and Shirley still enjoy small town living in Eastern Ontario. They built their snug little home a few years ago and they did much of the building themselves.
The 12" thick walls are I.C.F. (foam blocks that stack like LEGO) with solid concrete and rebar inside. It is strong as an old Quebec farmhouse and they hope it will last as long as those marvellous old houses and be useful to many generations in the future.
This is René working on the front wall in 2011. He didn't get much writing done that year!
The big backyard provides firewood and a great view.
René's eldest son Adrian created a beautiful arched brick wall while René was the labourer and later did the trim.
Another project was a 'faux woodpile" dividing wall and pine beams in the basement.
