10.48 The Mattress Revolution
The government wasn’t doing what it was supposed to be doing. It was the same then, as it is now. I’ve been thinking about this since the sightings of the mattresses. It’s been well established that I like to go for long walks around the city. Just to take in what’s around me, how people are living, to feel the space between me and everything else.
When I saw the first mattress, I figured it was just an isolated incident. The second one merely a coincidence. The third one, a confluence of timing. By the tenth one, I knew something was going on.
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10.47 The Hum
I just couldn't take it anymore. All the noise of trains, planes, streetcars, people yelling in the streets, everything. My apartment borders on the main train tracks that cut through the south end of the city. I used to be okay with it, content with the fact that this was just another noise alive in the soundscape of the city.
But then the jets moved in. A bit further east is the Island Airport. Once they finally got permission to land jets, this combination crossed the line for me. I'd be on my back in bed staring up at the ceiling at all hours of the night, the train schedule imprinted on my ears. It all just became too much.
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10.46 Riverdale Park
A few weeks ago, I was riding the streetcar along Broadview Avenue. During rush hour I like to stand. This isn’t because I am noble and chivalrous, I just want to no be judged for taking the seat from someone more deserving. Standing is definitely more uncomfortable, especially if you are in the small aisle between seats. You’re always in the way. People need to get past you and around you, and there’s nowhere for you to go. You’re just in the way.
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10.45 November Dispatches!
One of the best things about putting together a large-scale project such as our Stories We Don't Tell book is when it's finished. I don't mean this as a negative thing. I'm not pooh-poohing the experience in any way. I just mean that when you've put just about every ounce of whatever you got into something, and you still needed to find the strength to go just a bit further, when it's all done, a part of you does rejoice.
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