Jun 21 2006
A few reflections on my birthplace.
Our time here draws to a close. In just a few days Lisa, Jillian and I will cease to be residents of Toronto. All three of us were born in this city, and we three have spent most of our lives here. It’s a city I’ve always thought of as home, a place that has always seemed somewhat larger than life in my memories, and one that I’ve spent countless hours defending to others while living away from it.
As I sit here I can’t help but feel that I should be experiencing some remorse at our imminent departure. Sadly, no such feelings exist.
There is, at best, a sense of fondness for the city. Much of this place lives indelibly in my memory. The auto shop that my cars air conditioner was fixed at last week is on the same corner where my foot became caught in the spokes of my fathers bike as a child. My part time job was (until I resigned last week) within a block of the house that my grandfather bought when he came to Canada, a house that my father grew up in and one that our entire family knew from gatherings when I was young. Nightly my job takes me on a tour of the city, and as the hours pass I am assailed by a host of memories. Locations, people, experiences.
It, however, no longer feels like home.
I’m not certain if it is the city that has changed, or if it is me. Likely it’s a little of both. In the short time I have been back, I have had my pride in the city eroded by scandal after debacle. My sense of belonging was destroyed by Mayor Millers incessant and ineffective bleating about gun control, and his demands that gun owners like me be punished for the actions of the citys criminal element.
Perhaps most importantly, as I look around me I feel certain that this city is not one I want my daughter to call home.
So, Toronto, I wish you the best. The memories I will keep, the rest you can have.
While I can echo some of you sentiments I have to say, my little slice of Scarborough fits nicely. I have lived my entire life in Toronto. In fact, I’ve never spent more than 2 consecutive months away from this city, even when I lived out of it.
As a “downtown” kid, as Yonge and Eglinton is now considered, I laughed at hokey Scarberians. When I lived downtown and worked numerous times near the Yonge and Wellesley area, just blocks from the afore mentioned Ingerman dwelling, I reveled in the ability to get any food at wanted just about any time.
But sadly times changed. I couldn’t let my wife walk the dog without me at night. We had to go to community meetings to defend our neighborhood from an influx of crack-heads. And traffic REALLY started to suck! So we left he core.
We ended up in Scarborough. We’ve found a small group of like-minded people who look out for each other.
Now the downtown is something I race to get out of at the end of work. I have to admit, the only thing keeping me in Toronto is my chosen profession, family and friends, including my new-found ones. I have to admit that where once I let the cities troubles roll off of my back, they now seem entirely relevant to my life, and pocket book.
I lament your moving, but I’d rather you be happy than any minor quibbles about a metropolis that has out-grown itself. Toronto has gotten too big. I wish it could be frozen at about 2/3’s its present size, but it cannot.
Enjoy the new house every time you pull into your driveway, I know I do. And revel in every smile your daughter gives you as you take her around the town you almost decimated 15 years ago.
Toronto might suck, but I never kicked a cop’s headlights out here, unlike some towns you’re moving to which shall remain nameless.
I’m rambling, it’s late.
As my hip-hop clients say, with much less honesty than me I’m sure.
Peace
PS Don’t be no stranger, call and stop by you misanthropic freak!
Y’Know? A bunch of co-workers spoke of how much they missed Mel Lastman. I think they were serious, and I think it’s not because they’re deficient and don’t remember what he was like; I think it’s because during Mel’s Reign they asked, “Could it get any worse?” And then got their answer.
Calgary looks good…
Go West young man!! Good luck, that seems like a lot of roots you have there.
Ah, things do change
I remember when Toronto bragged about finally achieving a population of one million (1,000,000!) … back when Yonge Street at the 401 was out in the ‘countryside’, when the Don Valley was a valley … pre-Bayview Extension, before the DVP, we used to go down the (even then very polluted) Don River north of the Viaduct for camping outings!
I grew up in ‘Toronto the Good’, where Yonge Street at Dundas on a Sunday would be completely empty of people, where Eatons (remember Eatons?) would draw their display window drapes so no one could be so wicked as to go window shopping on a Sunday!
Ted … I went to school a block from Yonge and Wellesley … http://www.tgw.on.ca/Matti/echoes/echo1953x.html
Looks like a Victorian prison, no?
Erik … population of the Golden Triangle is now over 500,000, so it’s not like you’re moving to a small town!! Besides, all the ‘conveniences’ of the GTA are only an hour down the road
Best of luck with the move!
Theodore: Ayup. No regrets. I’m sure absence will make the heart grow fonder, and Toronto will be restored in my memory to the Toronto of old.
Mike: Kidding, right?
Keith: Hehe, we are. 100km West as it turns out.
-GRIN-
Dad: Oddly enough I just finished “The Accidental City” which you gave me some time ago. Fascinating history of the town, and some mishaps both good and bad.
Great read, thanks!
About the Lastman thing or Calgary?
Mike;
Yes.
Yes they missed him.
I only thought of Calgary because it’s the only city that hasn’t been raked over the coals by us yet.
Well perhaps it’s not fair for me to generalize about Lastman. I was living in another city for the bulk of that, and really have only been back (and attentive) for Millers (hopefully) abortive reign as mayor.
I suspect Miller has suffered by comparison as far as I am concerned primarily because I’ve only started paying any real attention to politics recently.
A sad commentary there as well.
My one serious regret with the move is that I will not be here to cast a ballot for someone other than Miller, but I suspect his his leadership speaks for itself, and he’ll be rewarded appropriately when the election comes around.
As for Calgary, not such a bad place based on my incredibly short visits in the past. I’m sure they’ve got their own scandals and headaches that the rest of the world is blissfully unaware of (much like Toronto).
I lived in Calgary for 13 years. Except for the too-frequent bouts of severe cold, I could be persuaded to move back and buy a really nice house with detatched garage for what I just paid for a 2-bedroom apartment. People are sociable and they get lots of sunshine in winter.
All you tough folks can have my ration of winter, wherever you live outside the Lower Mainland. Until it gets warmer in outher parts of Canada, here I stay. The things I’ve done to avoid snow…
Carbonman,
I’ll take winter, you take August. Good deal?
I think you’re lucky in someways to have been able to grow up in one city. I was born in Mississauga, er, Peel County, but my memories of it are sketchy at best. I’m considering doing a bit of a detour next weekend when I come out to see your new digs to drive past the first house I lived in.
Otherwise, my childhood was split between Mississauga, Whitehorse, Saskatoon and the various suburbs of Vancouver. Saying goodbye to what is your “hometown” is never easy, but like all things, your home town is quite disposable.
Could be worse man…you could have to live in Quebec!
Greg: Amen to that Brother! It’s not hell, but it in the tour guide for hell.