Rolling Through Life On An Empty Streetcar & Canada Day Shout Outs

Sometimes you get lucky and get a seat on the streetcar. And other times you get lucky and get every seat on the streetcar!

Blast it all you want. We are all aware that it isn’t a perfect service. But thank goodness for the TTC because this is a pretty big city with a lot of awesome shit to get to and without the buses, streetcars and subway, I know that a lot of us wouldn’t get where we wanted/needed to go.

Here’s hoping that future discussions, future changes and future operations go well and we can keep on enjoying the TTC for a long, long, long time.

It’s Canada Day weekend. And I hope that all of you north of the border have enjoyed the heck out of it with friends, family, parades, music, fireworks and more.

I’d like to thank everyone who hung out this weekend. You’re all awesome.

Also, big shout out to Pride Toronto for putting on a good show with good times and sunshine and smiles and respect and love and celebration.

Another special shout out goes to No Frills for being open on Sunday when I really needed to stop in for a few things. You guys really came through for me.

Other thanks:
Lou Dawgs for being open late.
@videojey for bbqing.
@trishca for checking out my 1st Pride with me.
@blackbrownbeige for being awesome on stage with the Hidden Cameras at Harbourfront.
Jose Bautista for verbally not being happy that Edwin Encarnacion was snubbed from the All-Star Game.
Everyone who ever fought, rallied or stood up for the freedom of Canada and her citizens and visitors.

And to all of you living in the United States of America, I hope you have a great Independence Day later this week. Be careful with the fireworks and bbqs. Nobody needs to get hurt on a holiday.

You’re all the bee’s knees.

Be awesome.

Toronto The Beautiful – Streetcar Art!

I don’t know why – but I love the streetcars in Toronto.

We all know that the TTC is far from a perfect service. Prices are climbing, equipment is old, service times can be inconsistent and inconvenient.

However, I love the beauty of the streetcar. Maybe I’m the only one. Maybe I romanticize something that is outdated and a perfectly ordinary part of my life. I don’t know.

What I do know is that whenever I see a great photo of a TTC streetcar I stop and look. When I see a painting that depicts the Red Rocket cable car against the backdrop of downtown I wish I had it to hang in my apartment. Those pieces are some of my favourite and to me they always represent Toronto, a city that I love.

There’s a strong chance that I feel this way because I didn’t grow up in the city taking public transit on a regular basis. In fact, the first time I rode a streetcar would have been in 2002 on the 508 Lakeshore from Long Branch to the Humber College South campus. I didn’t see it as art then. I just saw it as a way to get from the train to school… I don’t even know when I started seeing them as beautiful. But somewhere along the line it happened.

I don’t know if streetcars will be part of the long term public transit plan in Toronto. I’m certainly not qualified to come up with such a plan. But I do know that for the rest of my life I will think of streetcars as part of the Toronto I came to love.

Observations While Crutching in Toronto

I’ve only been on crutches for about 24 hours and already I’m encouraged by the way that the people of Toronto have reacted. You guys have been awesome.

When I first got the sticks from Norman I hopped on the streetcar to head to the office and it didn’t take long at all to see that people were going to be pretty awesome. I took a seat near to the back doors of the streetcar and waited patiently for my stop. As we approached my stop I got up and accidentally bumped into a young woman who was standing near my seat. I apologized as I had done the bumping, but she then apologized and did her very best to move so that I could get to the doors and wait.

After I got off of my public transit chariot I made my way down the sidewalk and lost the rubber foot to one of my crutches (which I was now secured with duct tape) along the way. Another nice young lady picked it up and handed it to me so that I could put it in my pocket and move along. I smiled more because of strangers before 9:15 than some people choose to do all day.

The kids at work were more than accommodating throughout the day, which is exactly what I expected. I know they’re cool. There were fewer jokes than I was ready for, but they were funny when they came.

The way home was a pain in my ass because my armpits had started to hurt from leaning too hard on the top of the crutches. I hobbled down King to the streetcar stop and waited at the corner. When the 504 came I limped to the door and the driver was super cool about me getting my fare out of my pocket and letting me get stable before he jerked forward. It was a busy car and while nobody jumped out of a seat for me there was no fight for the first open seat that became available at the front of the car. And again, when it was time to get off everyone was great about moving and making it easy for me.

Side note: People are pretty great when you give them a chance and they take it.

This morning I made the same trip into work again and was just as impressed. The 504 driver saw me crutching my way to the corner and the stop and waited for me to get there and board. Even cooler – it was a green light in morning rush hour! I was able to take a seat and get comfortable for the ride. Because I don’t want to be a huge pain in the ass to other people I got up to move to the doors well early of my stop and again people were cool about making space. It helped that the car wasn’t completely packed, but I’d like to think that they would have made the effort either way.

Side note: TTC employees and passengers aren’t all the jerks that people’s Tweets and the local media make them out to be.
The walk to the office was complicated by construction blocking the sidewalk, but another awesome woman who was walking in front of me pointed out a spot where the puddles weren’t very deep or wide and let me know that it was probably the best place to step out. And as my luck would have it she came to my office building and stood waiting for me so that she could hold the door. How cool is that?

That brings us to now – me rocking the PC with the crutches at my desk. They’re not convenient or fun or cool. But I’m not worried about using them because aside from knowing that they’ll help my foot heal I trust that the good people of Toronto are on my side!

Thanks everyone, you really are awesome.

This Is My Toronto

My Toronto

I was born in a small town.  And I was raised in a small town.  And I love that small town.  But right now I live in the city.  And that city is Toronto.  And I love it too.

Now, I know that Toronto isn’t for everybody.  I know that it’s the butt of a lot of jokes.  I know that people that live in other parts of Canada like to rag on the city and the people that live here.  But it’s a pretty great place.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have come back.

The first time I lived in Toronto was in college in 2001.  I lived in the north east part of the city.  Pretty far from downtown, but still a whole lot more city than I was used to.  There were bars and malls and people, lots of people.  And you know what, I loved it.  I loved taking the TTC downtown on weekends to shop and drink.  I loved people watching.  I loved the shopping.  I loved the diversity.  I loved it all.  It was a lot to take in for a small town boy, but I did it.  And I loved it.

After that year in residence I bounced around between another small town, and a medium sized town and even another major Canadian city.  But none of them had the draw of Toronto.

It was that draw that had me applying for jobs that I wasn’t qualified for on my lunch break in Ottawa.  It was that draw that had me in Toronto to visit.  It was that draw that had me pack up my things and move back without a job or a place to live.

Note:  My family also played into that last part a bit.  But I chose to live in Toronto.  Not our small town.

When I got back here a year and a half ago I crashed on an air mattress in Mike’s apartment for a month and then moved into a dump of a bachelor apartment.  My God it was an awful little place.  But it was my place.  In Toronto.  Downtown.  In the middle of it all.  I loved it.

Last summer I was a street car trip away from the Rogers Centre and my beloved Blue Jays.  I was within ear shot of the Honda Indy.  We walked to the CNE.  Almost got swallowed in a mob of people during Caribana.  And I had only a quick jaunt to the Exhibition Go Train station to go to Oakville to visit friends, or to that small town to visit family.

Like I said, I’ve been back a year and a half.  And I’m glad I’m here.  There’s something about this place that amazes me.

When I was thinking about writing this piece I was coming up with a list of things that I love about Toronto and could mention.  The list just kept growing.  So I figured that the best plan of attack was to break a few of the things down so that you could see why I’m so in love with this place.

The TTC:  I written before about the TTC.  And almost every day I ride the TTC.  And when I wasn’t living in Toronto I missed the TTC.  That last part might sound silly to you, but it’s the truth.  When I was in college here I had a long trip to get downtown or anywhere really.  And that entire trip was taken on TTC buses and the subway.  I did a lot of reading, people watching, writing and even power-napping on those trips.  I got to be quiet and alone with my thoughts and generally just chilled out and got where I needed to go at the same time.  I don’t mind the bumps that the Commission has along the way.  It’s a huge operation that is subject to media scrutiny and public outrage every second of every day, shit is going to go wrong.  I’m okay with that.  But as long as the drivers and supervisors and riders all do their part to leave me alone and get me where I’m going, I’m going to continue loving the TTC.

The restaurants:  There are approximately 1 billion restaurants in Toronto by my estimation.  I have eaten at less than 1% of them.  There are restaurants that will serve you every kind of ethnic fare that you can think of or crave.  There are flavours that scare me, menu items that I can’t pronounce and lots of places that I still need to try.  And yet, even with my fear and hesitation, I love that they are all here.  The smells and stories and history and options are amazing.  At home when I was a kid we had Arby’s, Harvey’s, KFC, 2 family restaurants, a Chinese buffet, 3 pizza places and the grocery store.  Those were the options for food.  No Thai, sushi, Pho, French, Italian or Caribbean cuisine was available.  And I had no idea what I was missing.  The Shawarma dude on my street might be the perfect example.  I never, ever had shawarma when I was young.  I never had it when I lived in Ottawa and it was all over the place.  But this little family owned place on King St. West is amazing and now I don’t even have to order when I walk in, they know me and I know them.  I just smile, say hello and throw in a please and thank you to confirm that I’ll have my regular chicken wrap with my regular toppings.  Love.

Street meat:  Do I really have to explain this one?

The shopping:  If you have never been on Queen Street on a nice summer day you are missing out.  The stores and sales and people and clothes and things that you will find may amaze you.  There are novelty shops, chain stores, vintage warehouses, record stores, tattoo and piercing parlors, skate shops, shoe stores and those are just the things that I can think of off the top of my head.  Pretty awesome eh?  I remember the first one I fell in love with, The Black Market.  I bought a wicked awesome, way too small, yellow Batman shirt there while I was in school.  I think that it’s still in the closet somewhere, even though there is no way that I should ever try and put it on.

The way Toronto parties:  If you’ve never been in the city for the CNE, North by North East, Canadian Music Week, Canada Day, Caribana, the Santa Claus Parade, Pride Week or any other of the amazing things that this city puts on, you my friend, are missing out.  There are a ton of people here, and they love to party.  Just look at what happened at Dundas Square after the gold medal game for Men’s Hockey at the Olympics.  The thing shut down.  We’re not talking about Robson Square which is less than 2 km from GM Place where the game was played.  We’re talking just a little less than 4,500 km away.  There were people singing, dancing, playing street hockey, drinking, rejoicing and celebrating.  It’s what Toronto and Torontonians do.  Come to Pride Week and try not to party.  Visit the CNE and try not to eat funnel cake and mini donuts and play the games.  It’s impossible.  And if you love anything related to the Caribbean whether it be food or music or fashion or anything else, you will love Caribana.  Toronto hosts all of these things every year.  And while other cities may have their versions, Toronto’s are world renowned for a reason.

There are a lot more reasons to love Toronto that I’ve not detailed as well.  The Museums, sports teams, the zoo, the theatre, the Toronto International Film Festival, and more and more and more.

In the end there are going to be things that some people love and some people hate.  And my glowing review of the city may not be enough to change your mind if you’ve already made it.  But, if you haven’t decided to write Toronto off, if you’ve never been here, if it’s been a long, long time since you rode the street car, or if are ready to give it a second chance, these are some of the things that I love.

This is my Toronto.