Mayor Andy Fillmore Communes with the Sky Spirit of Past Mayor Mike Savage

Ex-Mayor Mike Savage, notably alive, says he has no idea why this is happening.

It's becoming a familiar sight for Haligonians living and working in the downtown core. The normally breezy air along the waterfront abruptly stills and sparse clouds in the sky begin to coalesce. Gradually, the exact visage of former mayor Mike Savage forms and speaks directly to current mayor Andy Fillmore.

"Do not allow them to build bike lanes Andy" resonates a deep and ethereal voice, "Bike lanes are a hill you must be willing to die on".

"I swear before you and all my Mayoral ancestors, I will never allow more bike lanes into my city." answers a reverent Andy Fillmore.

The wind begins to blow again, softly at first, as the unnervingly realistic image dissolves. It is an event that lasts no longer than 10 minutes, but the results of these conversations may affect the HRM for decades.

"Look, it ain't me!" says an irritated Mike Savage as we sit around his kitchen table. He has grown increasingly frustrated as people continue to assume he is dead. "I've had people drop off flowers to me DIRECTLY, saying they are sorry to hear I passed away. They tell me they are glad I ascended into the skies to guide the city. All while they are physically TOUCHING me. What the hell is wrong with people."

Savage admits he is perplexed about the sudden appearances of himself in the sky. He insists he is not the cause of it and that the advice given does not come from him, though he admits he does agree with some of it. "I goddamn well hate bike lanes."

Exactly when these events occur has not been ascertained. So far they have all occurred during daylight hours, on mostly clear days with just a few clouds in the sky. But neither the time, day of the week nor the space between events is consistent. As such, Mayor Andy Fillmore has taken to hiring an assistant referred to as his 'Weather-Man' whose job is to 'watch the clouds'. An expense council says it cannot afford.

"We don't have the budget to pay for some guy just to stare at the clouds all day" says Councillor Sam Austin. "Plus, the 'advice' he's getting from the ghost of Mike Savage is awful; Just complete dogshit." When we informed Austin that Mike Savage wasn't actually a ghost because he wasn't dead, he seemed stunned "That doesn't make any sense. How the hell else would he appear in the sky? Clearly, he's dead."

As if on cue, former mayor Mike Savage can be heard outside, shouting while he storms up and down the waterfront. "I'M NOT DEAD! I'M NOT DEAD!" but his message falls on deaf ears. Another cumulus countenance has begun to form and mayor Andy Fillmore has rushed to receive its guidance. Though no one understands how or why these phenomena have come to occur, everyone stops what they are doing to hear the advice supposedly being passed between generations of mayors.

"Completely fill in Dartmouth Cove, Andy. Fill it in so good...."