Toronto Islands

Starting in 1992, I used to have a reoccurring dream when I was a resident and student archivist studying the history of Lake Quivira, Kansas. These dreams continued for eighteen years, long after I completed that work until I moved away from the community in 2010. The dream would start with me walking west from the dam road usually alone, turning south to wind through all three hilly tiers of streets climbing up from the lake. I would pass the unique houses familiar to me from walking the roads, and reviewing old photos and maps in real life. To this point in the dream, it would be just like reality but as I got to the south side of the lake my imagination put together a grid of streets with very flat terrain filled with cottages, dirt roads, and walking paths through secret gardens. This terrain met up with a small city circa 1940s which included low rise apartment buildings and store fronts. I would awake suddenly and spend another hour in bed pondering if these areas were: a part of Lake Quivira that was planned by the original developers but never realized, or had it been there at some point in time but destroyed from progress, or was I transported to another location of the real past and attached it to the southern edge of Lake Quivira? Having repeated dreams of these vivid images at least three times per year was weird enough, but the topper was Bill also had these similar dreams on many occasions as well.

Enough reminiscing, it is now 2011, our first summer as Torontonians. Since we moved here in April we have wanted to take a ferry to the Toronto Islands. We finally did that today since we had the time, the weather was perfect, and as luck would have it the residential islands of Algonquin and Ward’s were having their annual garden tour this weekend. As we strolled through the first couple of streets of Ward, I said to Bill, “This looks and feels familiar but I know I have never been here or seen pictures of it. I’ve only been to the park in Centre Island two or three times many years ago.” Then we looked at each other straight in the eyes and I said, “These are the imaginary streets in the Lake Quivira dreams.” He said, “I know just what you mean, remember I dreamed of them too.” Even though neither of us had thought about these dreams in over two years, we didn’t feel creepy, but instead content. We were just happy the long standing mystery of the dreams had been finally been revealed to us. Indeed, this was the real place first built in the 1940s…the cottage streets. The cityscape was the old Toronto we had only recently seen in photos. It was only Lake Ontario between these two areas that was missing in the dreams not allowing us to identify the mysterious area attached to Lake Quivira before today.

I think there could be two explanations. The psychological one: both our subconscious minds were placing together our life at Lake Quivira and many family vacations taken since the 1960s to Toronto to visit my sister and her family. Or the physics-based: We experienced the Theory of Relativity using our dream world to transport us through time and space to experience our future in a different location. If you find yourself in Lake Quivira or in Toronto it may be useful to know one end of the wormhole is located just South of Duck Island in the back yard of the second house on the right at Lake Quivira, and the other end is located at Ward’s Island two blocks East of the soccer field. Both explanations probably apply and could only be fully explained by Freud and Einstein.

We proceeded to walk along the south side of the lakeshore viewing the open waters of Lake Ontario. One can see for miles at this vantage point, and on a very clear day see the faint buildings of the other side of the lake to the city of St. Catherine’s and sometimes even the mist of Niagara Falls. It was exciting to see the large sailboats and other vessels and look far into the horizon because this is something that cannot be done from inside the city at street level.

We pressed on away from the lake walking past the Rectory Restaurant, then over the foot bridge to Algonquin Island. Every house had something special to it, but my favorite one was at the corner of Seneca and Dacotah.

We concluded this magical day with iced coffee on the porch of the Island Café. The island’s resident youths sat to one side of us frittering away the day. The server at the ice cream counter asked one of them if they wanted the scrapings at the bottom of the three ice cream buckets. It was well received and attracted a few more local kids to the porch to part take in the freebie. After wishing we were one of these kids to have grown up here (just like we used to do at Lake Quivira), we walked over to the ferry dock to return to our city home where we could watch the boats from high above and a short distance from the lake. We were once again happy to be us, feeling lucky to have lived in some great places, knowing a lot of wonderful people, and making our dreams real.

If you would like to see the photos full size click the small album icon below:

Toronto Islands

NXNE

There is a local music promoter and publicist here by the name of Richard Flohil. He was the promoter for the Stacey Earle show the other night. I wound up becoming Facebook friends with him the next day and introduced myself. Richard suggested that we meet and I agreed. I sort of thought that might take place at some vague time in the future, perhaps before or after a show. He thinks a little differently and we wound up meeting for coffee the very next day. We met early that afternoon and for nearly two hours exchanged stories and histories at a mile a minute. He is a vigorous man in his seventies with shoulder length white hair. You should read his bio at this link to get a sense of his energy and enthusiasm. He has been involved in the Toronto music scene for thirty years and knows practically everybody in the business and written countless album liner notes. I told Richard that by meeting him that I had probably in that instant doubled the number of people in my personal ‘six degrees of separation’ game. He agreed. Our time was up and we went our separate ways at the corner. He had snagged a cab before I even crossed the street. I found out later that he had three more appointments that Saturday afternoon.

A few days later he suggested we see another act he was promoting as part of a showcase for NXNE, Toronto’s version of SXSW. The artist’s name is Jadea Kelly and she was the third act of eight scheduled that Friday, again at the Dakota. We were already considering going as I knew the first act, the Wiggins Sisters for over ten years through selling their album at Village Records.com. This made the decision much easier, that and the fact that we were familiar with the venue and the route to get there as well.

I enjoyed meeting the Wiggins Sisters face to face for the first time. They put on a great show especially considering the time constraints of the showcase format. There is only so much you can do with a 50 minute set. We wound up surprising ourselves and stayed for four acts getting us home well after midnight.

For an added bonus we met a couple sitting next to us who once lived on our street and they gave us some great restaurant tips.

Stacey Earle And Mark Stuart

Last week we finally got to our first Toronto concert. Stacey Earle and her husband, Mark Stuart, were performing at a small club on the west side. She is the younger sister of Steve Earle and has been releasing her own CDs since the late 90s. I have been dealing directly with her through Village Records from the beginning.

It was a Thursday show but it was an early show, advertised to start at 7:00. We took the King Street street car and transferred to the Ossington bus which literally dropped us off right at the front door of The Dakota. We got there early enough to get dinner there which turned out to be one of the better meals we have had out. For a bonus we were treated to Stacey’s sound check.

Between sets they took a short break and I was able to speak to Stacey for a while. We haven’t been in touch for a few years as her recording output had slowed considerably and I wasn’t sure she would remember me. She answered that with her big friendly bear hug and we quickly caught up until it was time to get back on the stage. We loved the show, they mixed the familiar with several surprises and great vocals and guitar work throughout. They also took advantage of the house piano by finishing the show with a quick instrumental “Heart And Soul”.

I encountered something new at their merchandise table after the show. In addition to the usual collection of their CDs they were also selling USB drives that contained their entire recorded output, all of their albums plus 60-something unreleased tracks. I think she said there were 241 songs total. The drives were selling well and Mark and Stacey managed to squeeze their autographs on them as well.

I didn’t mention how I found out about this show. My friend, John Matterface, alerted me to it a couple of weeks ago. He lives on the southeast coast of England. From six time zones away John manages to make sure that I don't miss these great shows in my own back yard. Thanks John. The small world keeps getting smaller.

More Canadian Cousins

Steve and Cherie at our apartment.

Dawna and Bev.

They are first cousins, the same generation, with 30 years difference in their ages.

Recently we had our first out of town visitors. My second cousin, Steve Cullen, contacted me to let me know that he, his wife Cherie, and his mother Bev, were passing through Toronto on their way back home to Ottawa. Bev is my Mom’s first cousin and they were also neighbors as children in Montreal in the 1940s. Toni and I got to meet Steve and Cherie a few years ago when we were all in Montreal. Steve shares my interest in genealogy and it was through that common hobby that we originally connected a few years back. Steve has managed to track down some lines that I had given up on and considered dead ends.


They arrived at our apartment for the first part of our reunion. We gave them a quick tour while talking a mile a minute. From here we all squeezed into Steve’s car for a quick ride to Cousin Dawna’s house in the Beaches neighborhood.

Dawna put together a last minute cookout for us. Her husband recently refurbished their deck and they were happy to try out their brand new barbeque. She has a wonderful ability to throw something like this together but make it come out like she had planned it out for weeks. Their house is situated on the side of a large ravine and the lot is heavily wooded. We had perfect weather and the dense shade of their back 'yard' made it even more pleasant.

We are enjoying getting to know all these long lost family members. I know there are many more to come.

I don't think that I have mentioned this before, Cousin Dawna is an actress and most of her recent work has been commercials. We see her on TV from time to time and it is always a treat. Here is a short clip sampling some of her work. My favourite is the museum tour on vacation bit.

Health Care Part One

I really had no intention of writing about the health care system in Canada but I have received many requests to do so. Much of this is the result of a little article that was written about me and appeared in the Kansas City Star a week ago. So here goes. I don’t know if I will be dispelling or confirming the stories that get passed around America.

Here are some statistics comparing Canada and the US.

Canada/United States.
Longevity, 81.3/78.1.
Infant mortality per 1000 births, 4.5/6.9.
Nurses per 1000 people, 9.0/10.6.
Physicians per 1000 people, 2.2/2.4.
Per cent of gross domestic product spent on health care, 10.1%/16.0%.
This last category is important in that the US spends 16% of GDP without covering the entire population. Okay, that is out of the way. I will try to avoid dishing out numbers going forward.

I will start off telling you that this is simply our experience and I will not sugar coat anything. What I write here will include just the facts, positive, negative, or neutral.

We are in Ontario and fall under their provincial health care. I mention that because there are many variables from province to province and I will only be reporting on the one system. For example, other provinces cover optical and dental expenses that aren’t covered on Ontario.

We knew that we would not be covered until after we lived here for ninety days so we purchased interim coverage from Blue Cross. It has a high deductible but it only cost $500 for the full three months, but they had no concerns regarding pre-existing conditions. Obviously this is only for emergencies and for everyday medical expenses it would come out of pocket.

Shortly after arriving in Toronto Toni went to a nearby general practitioner who was taking new patients. Her sister had helped us find this doctor. This is one aspect that is different. You are free to go to any GP you prefer however they have caps on the number of patients they will accept and the majority of them are at their limit. I don’t know if the caps are government imposed or self imposed. If you don’t have a GP you can alternatively go to a walk in clinic and basically get your needs met. They also have lists of doctors who are accepting new patients and will help you connect with a practice. So, it sounds like a hurdle at first but it is easily overcome. The GPs are there. You just may have to go through an extra step to get one. There was some expense here as we are not yet covered. Toni paid $250 for the visit and consultation and prescription renewal. At the pharmacy she paid $12 total out of pocket for a drug that previously cost $10 for the copay in the States with her company provided insurance. This drug would have cost $35 in the US without insurance.

The next step was to get our Health Cards underway. I went to the local office for Health Canada. I showed them two pieces of identification, my lease to prove residency, and a one page form. They took my photograph and told me to expect my card in the mail the end of July, ninety days from the date of my lease. I was in and out of there in 15 or 20 minutes. Toni went in the next day and reported the same story.

Then last week Toni had something come up and opted for the walk in clinic. Here is her report that she posted on her Facebook status:

Been having a minor medical issue so thought I better get fixed: 9:30 am went to walk in clinic (no appointments), 9:40 saw Dr., 10:10 completed lab test, 10:30 filled Rx, 10:45 home. Total cost with Rx: $100, after Aug. 1 when I have provincial coverage, total cost: Free, except for $20 Rx that is not covered.

That is all there is to report for now.

Shopping

Eaton Centre

Toni takes the wheel today:

I never thought I would be writing about shopping. Plunking myself down in a different country for the long haul has put me in a perpetual hunter-gathering mode. Not only are we figuring out where to purchase food, household items and clothing, but we had to select services and providers for: banking, currency trading, cross-border accounting, cross-border legal services, medical services, and supplemental health insurance.

Groceries: I am obsessed with buying the highest quality for the least amount of money, something I honed in NYC. For most items, Grocery Gateway is the way to go…this is my online service with a good website and fast and reliable delivery. Price and quality are great and makes it worth paying the $12 delivery charge. This will be invaluable when the Canadian winter sets in. Within the overwhelming St. Lawrence Market I have found my favourite individual vendors for fresh baked bread, fresh baked desserts, raw nuts in bulk, imported cheeses, and blueberries. It’s worth a street car ride to shop for spices and health foods in The Kensington Market neighbourhood. For prepared, frozen foods like cooked, deveined shrimp the M&M Meat Market at just a block away is great. Between M&M and the St. Lawrence Market is the Metro grocery store which is a super market and is open 24 hours. The Metro is nice to know as a back up just in case Grocery Gateway is out of stock on something. I created an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of where to get what and when, like I said, I’m obsessed.

Alcohol: The local LCBO store for wine and spirits; Beer…the beer store. Yes, beer is sold in a separate store. To explain this there will be a future blog post.

House: I love Costco.ca, but if I want to see something in person or need smaller things Canadian Tire is the place. It’s kind of like Target. The Bay is the equivalent of Macy’s and we got the bedding and towels there.

Clothes: Eaton Centre has all the familiar “Mall” stores and is connected with a skywalk to The Bay. Both have their lower levels connected to The P.A.T.H. and the subway system. Like Grocery Gateway, underground shopping and transportation will be essential to survive the Canadian winter.

Cross Border: Expertise is necessary so that we know what country to pay taxes to, and to confirm the validity of our wills. Luckily my second cousin is a cross-border accountant whose office is 2 blocks away from our apartment. He recommended a currency trader in his building who we now use when we have to turn USD into CAD to pay rent, the telephone bill, stamps, and cash. For everything else we are using our American credit card which converts our CAD purchases to USD plus gives us cash rewards further saving money. Until USD and CAD are at par or if USD becomes stronger than CAD we won’t convert much of our funds into CAD. Working directly with a trader cuts the conversion fee by a third compared to letting the bank the trade, a lesson learned the hard way.

Health: Although our health insurance will be through the Ontario government starting August 1st, we still had to find a family doctor (general practitioner) and a dentist. My sister helped us find those close to our house. Government insurance does not cover prescriptions, dental, vision, and ambulance services so currently we are researching and getting quotes or if it is even worthwhile to get that coverage. We may just pay those out of pocket. Bill will post more on this later.

Finding the merchants, remembering where they are and what they have, and trusting so many new companies with private information has been a daunting learning experience stretching my flexibility to the max. I’m happy we have found what we needed so fast, but to say the least my brain and body are a little worn out. The subtle culture and business differences (more about that in future blog posts) can be both interesting and draining. Bill has had to remind me on more than one occasion it could have been a lot harder if English was not the primary language and our apartment was not almost fully furnished. I’m looking forward to having a little more routine and relaxation with shopping going forward now that the foundation work is almost over.

The Neighbourhood: Part One

We are located in a neighborhood known as Old Town. This is a ten block area so named because it is the site of the original town of York that was established in the 18th century. There are no remnants from that era but there are lots of 19th century buildings in the area. Some of them are factories and warehouses that have converted to lofts and other uses. Directly across from us to the north is Central Fire Hall built in 1886. This was the original location of Toronto’s Second City troupe where Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy, and Mike Myers all started their pre-Saturday Night Live careers. Second City was in this building from the early 1970s until 1997. The western boundary of Old Town is Church Street so named for the three 19th century churches located within blocks of each other on this street. We enjoy seeing the steeples of all three from our windows. Most of the buildings here are two and three storeys. There are a handful of apartment buildings that are like ours at twelve or fourteen storeys and the Holiday Inn Express next door to us but those are the few exceptions sprinkled throughout Old Town.

The Old Fire Hall and Second City

The neighbourhood immediately to our south is called St. Lawrence named for the St. Lawrence Market which dominates the area. This building is a huge two storey indoor market with dozens of permanent vendors. This is open five days a week year ‘round. There is a second building that houses a Saturday only farmer’s market with regional produce in all but the winter months. The vendors spill out into the sidewalks on nice days and buskers are sprinkled throughout both buildings. Another interesting thing about this area is that it was all originally below water level and it was infilled to create more industrial area at the lakeshore.

Interior of the St. Lawrence Market



The oldest Flatiron Building in North America

St. James Park straddles the two neighbourhoods. This is a medium size park that was formerly the cemetery attached to the St. James Cathedral. The park is criss-crossed by sidewalks with areas of lawn and flower gardens between and centered around a nice fountain. This area also attracts buskers and practicing musicians who we can often hear from our windows.

St. James Park in full bloom

A couple of blocks to our west is the Financial District, the most densely built up area of Toronto, location of the tallest skyscrapers here and all the bank’s national headquarters. This is also the location of the lower end of the north and south subway lines. Having these elements and all the related support services within walking distance has already proven invaluable a half dozen times in our few short weeks here.

Our Old Town neighbourhood reminds me of a college town with all the older buildings mixed in with newer ones, the small shops, the church bells chiming every fifteen minutes, and the old park. It is really odd to see this butted right up to some of the largest buildings in North America. We have the best of both worlds it seems.

St. James Cathedral