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Slowing Up Time, Get Some Lonesome, Beth Parker 3
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Once a summer I get a week by myself at a cottage in northern Ontario. The idea of being somewhere all by myself, with just me to take care of (plus a dog and a cat), fills me with anticipation. The very mention that someone might “drop by” and make sure I’m not “lonely”…
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Thank you, mysterious stranger: Dundas Street East, Toronto
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On several occasions, individuals unknown to me have acted with kindness. The humanity of their actions always renews my faith in people. It assures me that kindness exists. It is ours to give regardless of economic or social status. And sometimes it can feel like it’s the only thing that matters in this world. This…
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Urban Gardens the Most Interesting: Magical Gardens of Leaside
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My early days in Leaside were filled with mystery each year during June when lawn signs popped up announcing a garden tour. Groups of people, usually wearing straw hats and carrying maps, were seen walking the streets, chatting and pointing out various plants and trees. I eventually realized that this wasn’t some kind of…
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Slowing Up Time, It’s All in the Details, Beth Parker 2
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As my research continues, it’s clear I’m not the only one fascinated by the idea that time can go by quickly, or slowly, depending on your age and what you’re doing “at the time” (no pun intended). Grodin Explains Why Time Flies Simon Grodin is a psychologist at Université Laval in Quebec, Canada who…
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As Time Goes By – Too Fast, Slowing up Time, Beth Parker 1
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I’m haunted by her words, a dear friend now deceased who greeted us at her home one New Year’s Day. With a touch of judgment, she commented on our rush to fit her party in between a hockey tournament that morning and a trip to Costco over noon hour—all in preparation for an out-of-town…
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Parker’s Toronto, Leaside at 100, Still the Small Town, no. 8
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This year’s 100th anniversary celebration for the Town of Leaside (actually, no longer a town but part of the City of Toronto) is a reminder of how new Toronto is, as a city. I know people who are almost 100 years of age—it means that many original Leasiders are still around to tell us…
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Parker’s Toronto, Training musicians at the RCM, one exam at a time, no. 7
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I still get goose bumps entering the building, my heart races when I hear music escaping from the walls as if it’s my turn again to wait for an examiner outside one of its tall doors. The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) on Bloor Street may look like a refurbished building on the inside…
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Parker’s Toronto, Garage sale fever in Leaside, no. 6
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At first, it felt like a lazy, early June Saturday morning but then I hear the clatter of card tables and voices. No sleeping in this morning—it’s garage sale day—a common phenomenon on the streets of Toronto in the summer months. You’d expect it in a small town, but garage sale fever is alive…