September 1: A touch of philosophy

A few wheel turns from bustling University Avenue’s new bike lanes is St. Michael’s College.  Fashioned after British universities, the University of Toronto is an umbrella to several colleges, including this Catholic university. Further to the British-ness, some buildings are fashioned after those in Oxford and Cambridge. This college was established by Father Henry Carr, a Basilian priest who supported Catholic schools within secular universities.

A lovely oasis--obviously tended by a gardener who takes pride in his work.  The laneway leads to a house where Professor Marshall McLuhan taught. The Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Canada’s 21^stprime minister, also resided in this house during his student days.

 

Marshall McLuhan, a world renowned Canadian philosopher you may have encountered in passing:  he coined the term “global village” as well as the expression, “the medium is the message”. He predicted the world wide web 30 years before its existence.  His life was relatively short—he died at age 69 in 1980, not long enough to see the WWW come into being.  

August 20: Island vibes a short ride away

I am falling into a bit of a rut—cycling either east or west along the lake shore.  For a change, I take the ferry to the Toronto Islands.  The 15 minute ride takes me far from the downtown bustle.  Though I see the islands every morning, I seldom visit. I disembark at Ward’s Island, a small island community with cute cottages enhanced with singing wind chimes, artsy patio furnishings, and flowers almost gone wild. No cars in sight: homes are accessed by bicycles or on foot on streets the width of city sidewalks.  

The larger island, Centre Island, has a formal garden and fountain, reminiscent of the 1960’s era.  A pier extends into Lake Ontario. Centreville, the amusement park is closed. A few kids have the water park all to themselves.

Quiet prevails at Hanlan’s Point—a rarity prior to the pandemic proclamation.  Porter’s Q400 fleet grounded for now. Nor is there noise from the amusement park and baseball stadium of yesteryear, where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run. 

 

https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/09/06/the_mystery_of_babe_ruths_home_run_ball.html

August 10, 2020: Life in the interim—Part 1: Ecuador January 2020

As promised, I will give you glimpses of life in the past 9 years since I last blogged actively.  I will start with more recent events and work backwards towards 2011.

 

January, 2020:

 

The Galapagos Islands have been on my bucket list for a long time but travel to Ecuador, let alone the Galapagos, was costly and unwieldy logistically—flight through an American hub, overnighting, then another flight. Air Canada introduces a new route:  direct flight from Toronto to Quito for less than $500 CAD round trip.  Carpe diem! Three weeks in Ecuador in January 2020! 

 

Ecuador is much more than Galapagos. Even before the plane touches down, I am treated to Cotopaxi standing tall in the early morning light.  The plane drops between the surrounding mountains, below the mesas and gaping fissures, giving the illusion that the airport may be a bunker.

 

I wander through Quito’s UNESCO designated old town centre, visit the equatorial line (Mitad del Mundo), get pampered at Pappallacta hot springs, immerse myself in Kichwa culture in an Amazonian ecolodge, spend hours watching the antics of macaws, shop in Otovalo’s market stalls, then finally head to the Galapagos. 

 

I visit several islands,  spotting boobies, showy frigate birds, Sally lightfoot crabs clinging to rocks, marine iguanas sunning themselves, as well as the rarer Galapagos short ear owl, a school of dolphins, hammerhead sharks, rays, and turtles.  What I didn’t see were giant tortoises in the wild—did not realize they were not on my itinerary!  I try to alter my itinerary to correct this but alas, not without major disruptions and unknowns. I come to terms with this omission.  One cannot expect to get everything in life.  And the wildlife I did encounter was still spectacular.

 

 

I head to Cuenca, a chill place to just hang out. Nearby, is Ingapirca. I recall how my first glimpse of Macchu Picchu stirred emotions deep within me. Wandering through Ingapirca, a significant yet relatively obscure Incan site, to a lesser extent, still moves me.  

 

I work my way north to Baños to cycle down the Ruta de las Cascadas to the Pailón del Diablo.  Mostly downhill but with the altitude, even my cycle-fit body thinks I am climbing. The sheer volume of roiling water is by far one of my most memorable sights in Ecuador.  I overnight in Quilotoa to experience the achingly beautiful crater lake.  Three weeks packed with lots of sights.  I return home just in time to hear reports of the first COVID case in Canada. What a way to end my travels in the pre-COVID era.

August 6: Remembering Hiroshima 75 years later

Lovely twilight beckons.  Instead of lazing inside, sheltered from the crowded waterfront, I head out, an evening stroll’s path to be determined by whim.  At Toronto City Hall’s Nathan Phillips Square, I come across a small ceremony marking the 75^thanniversary of the Nagasaki bomb.  Small group, dressed in traditional Japanese clothing launches lanterns into the pool while 3 native women drums.  The event is patched into some other event purported to a larger audience far away.  In my search for the patch, I discover Setsuko Thurlow.  

 

Setsuko Thurlow is likely the Canadian Nobel laureate that you’ve never heard of.  Or more precisely, she is one of the founding members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) coalition, which received the Nobel Peace Prize.  She is a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb 75 years ago.  In 2017, through ICAN’s efforts, UN passed the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.  Later that year, ICAN was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons". 

 

https://www.icanw.org/setsuko_thurlow

 

Years ago, I visited Los Alamos.  Fascinating.  I dialogue with my American aunt, who views that the use of the atomic bomb was justified. I differ in this view.  The number of civilian casualties, the long lasting effects of an atomic bomb, unproven need of use of such force in the war made the use of this indiscriminatory weapon immoral.  Now it is also illegal.  

Hiroshima's Atomic Dome, visited in March 2019

August 3: A very short lesson in geology

 

I seldom visit the Evergreen Brick works, more because of inertia rather than lack of interest.  Today, instead of riding by the entrance, I decide to head in to explore. I have enjoyed previous visits: the memorable Picnic at Brick Works fundraiser event in 2010 when some of the top chefs in Toronto provided tastes of their skills. I still remember the simple yet delicious tomato soup made by Teddy Corrado that led me to declare him one of the top chefs in Toronto.  Then to stop by for Jamie Kennedy’s superb fries, done to perfection using a two-day process. 

 

Until the 1980’s, this area was a quarry and brick making facility that supplied many of the significant buildings of the city: Massey Hall, Casa Loma, Old City Hall, the Queen’s Park.  The factory shut down and was heading towards urban blight as many factories that become obsolete. A developer bought the site.  One can imagine the uproar: condo buildings rising from the Don Valley: a doom worse than abandoning the site to the fate of neglect. After a long and expensive process, the site was acquired by the city in 2010. Now it is protected with a heritage designation.  The buildings are is dedicated to showcasing cleaner lifestyles:  farmers’ markets, artisan markets, do-it-yourself bike repairs, exhibitions on better city planning. 

I wander past the buildings to paths wending past ponds and streams. A sign makes known that this ecosystem is of importance and recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site.  Really? Is there a world heritagesite so close to home that I did not know about?  I check out its claim.  Alas, I don’t think it is. I search extensively and cannot find any proof that lends truth to this claim. No matter.  A pleasant day it was.  

 

https://www.evergreen.ca/evergreen-brick-works/

eBook on the history of the site:

https://www.evergreen.ca/downloads/pdfs/Transformation-EBW.pdf

August 5: Huffing up the hill

Many times I have zoomed past the chimney of Todmorden Mills heading north from the downtown core on the DVP.  I slow down today, travelling at bicycle speed and even stopping.  

 

After 3 months of daily cycling, I am ready to tackle the Pottery Road hill. Cyclists use this short but steep stretch for their hill climbing workouts.  I huff part way up to find a perfect stop to catch my breath: Todmorden Mills.  This collection of buildings is the remnants of a mill and larger community. A community theatre is here, a welcome change from the wide range of professional theatre in Toronto, the 3^rdlargest theatre city in the world (after London’s West End and New York’s Broadway).  Of course, no show is on.  Nor will there be any scheduled in the foreseeable future.

 

I continue to the top.  One repetition is good enough exercise for the day.  I might tackle this hill again.  Or maybe ensure that I am heading in the opposite direction on my next ride on Pottery Road.

August 2: Waterlogged

No sunscreen needed.  I am dodging raindrops which soon becomes dodging lightning bolts.  Though soaked, the freedom to cycle unencumbered by any other user of the road is exhilarating. The cop at the end of the closed roadway asks me if appreciate him closing down the road just for me.

 

I head over the Humber River bridge to explore the conservation area.  Storks and herons, among other water fowl, do not seem bothered by the rain.  Not quite the fauna I encountered on my recent Galapagos visit but pleasant nonetheless. 

 

I stumble upon the Air India Flight 182 memorial. One day 35 years ago, June 23, 1985, a bomb was activated over the Atlantic Ocean. This memorial is relatively small and hidden to mark the largest mass killing in Canadian history: 329 lives were lost. On this rainy day, I am the only one here.  But even on a sunny day, how many take the time to come and remember those lost in this deadly act of terrorism? Ten years after the attack, June 23 was declared National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. But only just now, I become aware of this.

https://youtu.be/pJhUsmznY2k

 

July 29, 2020: Further Immersion into Van Gogh

I return to the Van Gogh exhibition space to paint my version of Starry Night onto a T-shirt.  I take my time to do my masterpiece -- 2½ hours instead of the estimated 30 minutes. How long did Van Gogh spend on his Starry Night?  Surely more than half an hour. The result pleases me. The addition of scattered stars cover up paint splatters and mistakes, but they elevate the shirt from normal to fun.  I place a tail on one orb to represent the comet of recent times: the Neowise.  The $40 shirt is almost as priceless to me as the original work.

July 27: Bloomin' Irises

I pay $40 to experience of one of the few public health sanctioned diversions this summer: the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Any outlet for a bit of enjoyment is welcome.  

I spent the past 1½ decades living a couple blocks from Toronto Star’s iconic address at 1 Yonge Street, yet I enter its doors for the first time.  Outside, embedded into the pavement is a marker for Yonge Street’s KM 0, once proclaimed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest street in the world, meandering 1896 km through most of Ontario into the next time zone to Rainy River. The street has now been redefined and is only a mere 56 km long.

Inside the cavernous room that once housed the paper’s printing presses, Van Gogh’s tableaux are brought to life.  I wander around from circle to circle, marked to ensure appropriate distance from other participants, as I immerse myself in the 35 minute multimedia show.  Supersized irises bloom and stars twinkle over Arles. 

I leave the exhibit to step inside the reception area of the Toronto Star. Investigative journalism is a strong part of its mandate. Among its many great writers was a young Ernest Hemingway.  Robin Doolittle, one of its talented investigative reporters, revealed Rob Ford’s crack cocaine use. I do my part to help the paper’s survival, getting a literal paper copy delivered to me every weekend.  My colleague remarks,”How old school is that!”

July 23: Exploring Scottish poetry

I sign up for University of Glasgow’s MOOC course on Robert Burns to extend my limited knowledge of the bard, limited to 2 words: “Scottish” and “poet”. My first encounter with the name happened 24 years ago when my supervising professor, Dr. James Trotter, himself an alumnus of the university, mentioned a Robbie Burns supper.  The curriculum includes Toronto on a photo credit so I head out to search for a Robert Burns statue. I had expected a long search among many statues, tediously reading faded inscriptions in search of the one.  Instead, I find the Burns statue prominent—the only one in Allan Gardens. It keeps company with the newly reopened Allan Gardens Conservatory. My only visit in the past was a decade ago, shortly after watching Atom Egoyan’s film, Chloe, where one scene was filmed. A glassed domed greenhouse might not be that enticing in the 30 plus degree summer heat.  Only 2 others are visiting—good for distancing measures, not so good for hydration.  Sweat pours forth as soon as I step inside.  Such a lovely place would certainly be more enticing when enveloped in its warmth in wintry months. 

One line of Burnsian poetry rings true of the times:

    "Of best laid schemes of mice and men…"

He must have been prescient of today's world--of pre-pandemic plans being upturned…

July 21, 2020: Christine Writes Again

Are you still out there?  Was I missed?

Ten years ago, I started this blog, journalling my discovery of art and beauty over a year.

As expected, much has happened in the last 9 years since I stopped writing actively.  Today, I will reintroduce myself to blogging—putting pen to paper once again.  In time, I will give snippets of life in the past decade, updating readers of the twists and turns one traverses in a decade of living.

In April, when staying in place was dictated to most of the world, I searched for ways to satisfy my curiosity.  I head out on my bicycle daily, exploring a different street each day.  I embrace empty streets during early pandemic times.  Normally, all my attention is concentrated on safe biking on Toronto streets.  For the first time in years, I take short glances at the many buildings that had been erected in the interim.  I have the luxury to stop and admire, no longer rushing at my usual frenetic "life to the fullest” pace.  I search for beauty, whimsy, surprise.  I spy an ornate art deco archway, a curious street art tableau, an expressive sculpture, new public spaces.

Dimensions of my world has shrunk:  boundaries delineated by my stamina on a bike. Yet much is here to inspire.  Let me take you on this renewed journey to explore the world.