Mourning Toronto And Moving On: How I Left
"I found myself looking back and mourning the loss of Toronto. This, I think, is causing me to stay still when I should be moving forward." Calgary. I’m walking on the path by the Bow River. This part was closed for days after the June flood. I miss coming here. We recently bought a townhouse in West Hillhurst that now feels uncomfortably close to the water. Still, walking on the Bow River Path has [...]
Window shopping: My obsession with the boots on display
“I’ve become a stalker, I say. I’m stalking a pair of boots.” Downtown Toronto. I’m walking home on slippery sidewalks, my husband’s dry cleaning in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. I stop in front of a shoe store and fumble in my coat pocket for my trusty to-do list. I look up, distracted by the display window, and that’s when I see them: a pair of black suede traditional riding boots. [...]
Turning Point Interview
Janique Farand-Taylor (Photo by Edward Pond) Janique Farand-Taylor was at the peak of her downhill skiing career and only a few weeks away from competing in the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, when she tore a ligament in her knee. “It happened while playing a fun game of soccer,” she says. “I heard the snap and started to cry – not because of the pain, but because I knew my dream [...]
For Better or Purse
5 p.m. Rush hour. I’m standing at the corner of Yonge and King in downtown Toronto, a banana from lunch in one hand, and my water bottle in the other. I’ve had a feeling of free-floating anxiety all day. I watch women walk by, swinging their arms, unencumbered because all of their things fit oh-so perfectly in their bags. I feel a surge of jealousy and know where all my tension is coming from: I [...]
A Flock of Geese is Landing on the Water – Or Not
This summer, I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about flocks of geese. There were other flocks as well. Although, don’t ask me about the other flocks, I’ve blocked them out. Tonight, on this quiet evening near the end of August, I’m sitting drinking a glass of red wine. I’m celebrating because I wrote my final grammar exam this afternoon. It’s over. I’m relieved that I survived my summer “flock block” and took [...]
Keeping up with the Obamas
AP/FILEPresident Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the Eastern Inaugural Ball in January 2009. How the new administration helped to bring out the romantic in a husband. I looked up at the TV to see Barack twirling Michelle around the dance floor. They were kissing, holding hands, and, at one point, he even dipped her. For the women reading this, I ask you, "When was the last time you were dipped?" "Obama [...]