I get serious and formal for some good humour. I attend McGill’s annual Stephen Leacock luncheon to celebrate one of Canada’s wittiest personages. I am surrounded once again by McGill med graduates--class of 1980 on my left and class of 1960 on my right, along with the other McGillians filling Royal York's ballroom. We chat about attendance in Leacock’s lectures at the university (way before my time: he was professor from 1903 to 1936). Apparently, absenteeism was a rarity in that class.
I am briefed on the upcoming mission. One big glitch: my vaccination card is in the Red Cross office in Ottawa and I need it for entry into Cameroon. Some scrambling ensues.
With my departure on June 18 and my return on September 24, I will be missing all of summer in Toronto. Maybe I should give thought to staying longer. What is the use of returning to Autumn's greyness?
I pack in lots of socializing. I meet with John, a longtime friend who is in town from Florida visiting his parents. We try the Asian version of candied apple--a skewer of frozen candied haw fruit. Refreshing.
I literally say goodbye to him and walk across the street for my next social engagement, dinner with another friend. I give thought to what I would like to consume prior to my departure and opt for a big platter of stir fried snow pea shoots in garlic.
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