Streetcar Wedding

This photograph is from a wedding I did a few weeks ago. Most people from Toronto will recognized City Hall in the background. I met the happy couple outside the main entrance shortly after their civil ceremony, and led them in procession with their guests with a giant processional cross to a Streetcar stop on Queen Street. From there we hopped aboard a vintage streetcar that had been chartered to take us to the reception site. While we travelled, I blessed the marriage using the "Blessing of a Civil Marriage" rite. Leading the group of people while wearing full vestments (cassock, surplice, stole, cope) through the streets of Toronto was exhilarating. We got lots of attention from by standards with cameras--all of it positive. The groom and several of the male guests were wearing kilts (mine was hidden under my vestments when the picture was taken), and that just was icing on the cake as far the visual delight of the day goes.

I preached about love on the streetcar--short and sweet--but I could have also preached about intersections. Things have a way of coming together in people's lives, and here we had a heady post-modern mix of civil/religious and public/private happening. How fitting it was to bring all these things together in one shining moment with my friends who live this same tension daily. Because so much of life is dominated by the pastoral persona, I forget how complex that interface can be for people who are faithful, but don't wear their religiosity on their chest the way I do.

When we arrived at the reception site I took off my vestments and spent the rest of the night rocking my new kilt. It's worth a blog entry of it's own, in truth, as it is a garment of epic coolness!

-t

Bixi - How To

With summer coming to Toronto it's time to bring bikes out of storage and onto the street. For the first 3 years we lived in Toronto we were without a car, so I used my bike a lot. When I became the Incumbent (Rector) at Church of The Messiah, I pretty well figured I would need a car and got one. But I kept my bike and used it frequently until it was stolen out of our back yard! Ever since then I have been bemoaning the lack of a bike. People kept promising to give me old bikes they no longer used, but that never happened, so in the end I just decided to buy a new bike.

George, as I call him, is a "Dutch City Bike." Designed for cruising on paved roads without getting your clothes greasy, he has hub-enclosed gears and breaks, narrow tires, and very upright riding posture. I love it--so smooth. Many thanks to people at Curbside Cycle for taking the time to walk me through this decision.

But I'm not the only one with Bikes on my mind. The city just introduced an initiative called Bixi which puts rental bikes all over the downtown core of the city. You can rent these for short, one-way trips. It's a great idea, and I hope it is wildly successful. I've already seen some people using them, and with the weather improving I expect it will explode.

Here is a short little video (three minutes) that describes the system and how to use it. Very helpful.



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RIP Mrs. Patel

On Dupont Street, just a few blocks from the church and my home, there is a well-known Restaurant called "The Indian Rice Factory." Betsy and I have only been there once, but man did it make an impression! Some of the best Indian Food I ever had. Turns out the chef/owner, known as Mrs. Patel, is famous for basically introducing the city of Toronto to good Indian Food back in the 1960's and 70's. James Chatto has a wonderful telling of the story that he also related in his book, The Man Who Ate Toronto:

There were only two Indian restaurants in Toronto in 1967 (India House and Rajput) when Mrs. Patel arrived in Canada, a young nurse from Bombay. One afternoon, she decided to have lunch at the Inn on the Park hotel, at Eglinton and Leslie. The hotel’s restaurant, Café de 1’Auberge, was famous for sophisticated French cuisine, but it was the buffet of the day that aroused her curiosity – a culinary event entitled “From the Chafing Dishes of India.” In those dishes were examples of the curious travesty of Moghlai cooking that European chefs were trained to prepare: chicken, shrimp, or beef in a sort of bechamel sauce coloured with curry powder. Mrs. Patel called the manager and gently tried to explain that this was a little less than authentic.

When the conversation moved into the kitchen, executive chef Georges Chaignet listened politely and then invited Mrs. Patel to come back next day and cook him a meal. She obliged; he was stunned. As Stratford Chefs School instructor Jacques Marie, then Chaignet’s sous-chef, recalled: “She showed us what curry is really about. It was a new world to me.”

To the kitchen’s eternal credit, Mrs. Patel was hired to teach the team all that she knew. After a year, she moved on, first to Julie’s Mansion on Jarvis, working her magic in the casual upstairs dining room called the Bombay Bicycle Club, more famous in those days for the lissom beauty of its sari-clad waitresses than its buffet, and then to the Hyatt Regency.

In 1970 she opened her own place on Dupont Street, called Indian Rice Factory. The tiny room would be considered avant-garde even today. It seated barely a dozen customers who sat around an open cooking station, choosing from a short and frequently changing list of dishes on a blackboard tied to the back of the fridge. Slender, beautiful and always elegantly dressed, Mrs. Patel radiated a soft-spoken confidence as she worked, preparing many items à la minute, and explaining her recipes to anyone who asked. (Source)

By all accounts, she was a major force in the development of the Toronto Restaurant scene. She was generous with her time and recipes and something of an institution. You can find some of her recipes on the Indian Rice Factory's website.

It's telling that the website for the restaurant discusses the spiritual implications of Indian Cuisine. She had deep knowledge that craft to those places of art and truth. "Cooking is an art we savour and a ritual that we take seriously."

She died in August after a long battle with breast cancer. She had been the owner and chef of the Indian Rice Factory for 40 years. Her son had become increasingly involved over the years and now is taking her place.

A few days ago we had the planning team for the Music that Makes Community Conference at Church of The Messiah. I invited them over to the rectory, but had no intention of cooking for nine people on short notice, so I suggested that we order out. Many of the group were from San Francisco and complained that they can't find good Indian Food there.

I realized, then, that I didn't actually have any Indian takeout menus, so I googled the problem while Betsy got them drinks. As soon as I saw a reference to the Indian Rice Factory I knew it would be perfect, but it is not the kind of place that usually does delivery.

I called them, and they said they would make an exception since it was a relatively large order (9 people) and since the owner happened to be there with a car. The host helped me through the menu and made helpful suggestions about things that were particularly fresh or good that night. In the end, he also through in a few free dishes compliments of the house.

Forty-five minutes later or so Mrs. Patel's son, Aman, came to my door with a truly memorable meal. Our guests from San Francisco were impressed. Aman gave me a "Namaste" kind of bow after I thanked him profusely and complimented his restaurant. I didn't realize, yet, that his mother has passed on. I think I should send him a note saying that the meal we had was a great tribute to his mother.

I'll end this little obituary with one her recipes:

Butter Chicken in Three Easy Steps:

The Chicken

2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken

Marinade
12 cloves garlic
2 inches ginger
2 tsp coriander powder
Lime juice – 2 limes
4 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp cumin whole or ground
½ cup yogurt
1 tbsp red chili powder
Salt to taste

— all Marinade ingredients except the salt into blender and puree. Add salt to taste such that Marinade has a salty tinge. Put chicken in bowl, add Marinade, mix to coat thoroughly and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Basting
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp dry fenugreek leaves
1 tsp dried mango or lime powder
1 tsp roasted black cumin powder
Salt to taste

Garnish
Pinch of Garam Masala
½ fresh lime

— mix all ingredients together and have basting brush ready
— Prepare the marinated chicken either by grilling, broiling (cover with foil so as not to burn) or baking in a hot oven (350°F) until done. Baste regularly with Basting. Once done, set aside and garnish with sprinkle of Garam Masala and light drizzle of fresh lime juice.

The Butter Sauce

Butter Sauce
3 oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp fresh lime juice
4 green chilies – slit
6 tomatoes – cut into wedges
2 tbsp whipping cream – unwhipped
— in a pot, melt butter and sugar over a medium-high to high heat until brown (not burnt); add lime juice (watch out for splutters and splashes!!) and quickly follow with green chilies and let cook for a minute, add tomatoes and reduce to medium heat and cook until tomatoes break down, add cream and reduce to a slow simmer. Set aside.

The Chicken Goes Into the Butter Sauce

2 oz unsalted butter
1 tsp red chili powder
4-6 green chilies – fine cut
6 firm tomatoes – quartered
2 inches ginger – grated
— in a pot, melt butter over medium-high heat, add red chili powder and Butter Sauce, bring to boil, reduce to medium heat, add the chicken, tomatoes green chilies and ginger. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
— Remove to a serving dish, add small specks of butter, pinches of roasted cumin powder and finely chopped coriander as garnish.

Serve with plain Basmati rice or Naan (or both). (source)

Namaste!
-t

Splitting Wood

A busy Monday. I tackled a couple of projects around the house--the most ambitious being to split and stack a bunch of wood left over from a tree that fell last year. It has been drying for the last year by the side the house since our landlord and his son-in-law cut up with a chainsaw. The landlord has been suggesting (for months and months) that I should split it up and use it for our fireplace. But, honestly, I've split wood by hand before, and it's one of those jobs that is best done with your shirt off to impress the Mrs. If your real purpose is to get wood ready for winter, than you ought to simply rent on buy a hydraulic wood splitter (IMHO).

The weather is turning in Ontario. Time to start packing up the deck furniture and get ready for the snow. If that wood is going to get split, I decided, it was doing to be me that does it! So I bit the bullet.

First stop, Canadian Tire. There I picked up a little 4-Ton Log Splitter. I don't think they sell many of these downtown in Toronto, but they managed to find one in the back! I took it home and was pleased with the performance--it had no trouble splitting everything I through at it. It has a little 1.74HP Electric Motor that runs a hydraulic pump that moves the ram. Bigger models are probably faster and can handle even bigger pieces, but this little guy is perfect for home use. But even with this little beauty it still took me about 3.5 hours to split the pile and stack it on the back deck. Ah, well.

I was inspired to tweet some Haiku:

A new power tool
Splitting wood in Autumn Air
Fall in Ontario

There is something very distinct about Fall in Ontario. I really need to get going on getting some apple cider fermenting in the basement. I also want to make some more apple sauce--I'm just using up the last of last year's batch and boy is it good stuff. And easy, too!

After I picked up Henry at the Daycare I got some take-out from my favourite Thai place: Flip Toss and Thai. Those of you living near the University should know about this place--terrific Thai food at a cheap price. The folks that work there are clearly a family, and enjoyed see Henry with me.

-t

The Trump Tower!

Hey, I know that guy! That's Chris, one of my closest friends here in Toronto. He's the Superintendent for Construction on the Trump Tower at the corner of Bay and Adelaide in downtown Toronto. This video has him talking some about the project.



The video doesn't say this, but Chris and his wife are from Seattle. He was brought to Toronto for this project because he has experience with a particular construction technique called pre-stressed concrete. If understand it correctly, if you put concrete under load laterally via cables running through the material, it can bear more weight for a given thickness than more traditional floor designs. I can safely say that Chris knows more about concrete than anybody I know (including my architect friends)!

-t

Google Streetview of COTM

Google's "StreetView" of Toronto is now working. You can actually zoom into a pedestrian-eye view of Toronto streets. For example, this is what my church looks like from the Avenue Road side. Remarkable, isn't it? Notice that most of the people as well as license plate numbers have been smudged out for privacy reasons...


View Larger Map

I can tell by various cues that these pictures were taken this summer. Around 12:40 PM according to the bell tower clock! I notice, also, that our Daycare Manager's car is in the parking lot.

-t

Video of Union Station B2CS Event

Here is a video based on the bishops' event at Union Station this morning. If you are interested in knowing more about Back to Church Sunday in the Diocese of Toronto, I heartily recommend Rev. Michael Calderwood's blog. He discusses it in more detail than I've done in these pages! You might also look at the Diocese's Back To Church Sunday Resource page.



-t

Operation MITRE

Philip + with Fr. Michelle in background

Colin + with Fr. Jeff in background

Regular readers know I'm one of the people in the Diocese of Toronto involved in making the Back to Church initiative happen. This is a programme coming out of the Church of England that encourages parishioners to invite people to church with them on a particular Sunday (this year: Sept. 27th).

The planning group met with Bishop Poole last week and decided that we needed to do something big to get some media attention and to encourage local churches and parishioners. So we decided to have the bishops stand in front of Union Station in Toronto handing out invitations to church! We ended up sending down four bishops (Colin, Patrick, Linda, and Philip) in full Regalia (alb, cope and mitre). Each bishop was given a chaplain in case the episcopal presence necessitated a major pastoral need. So Michelle Childs, Jeff Kennedy, Angela Emmerson, and I were there to field anyone who felt the need to have a longer conversation. We also had our Diocesan PR person (Stuart Mann) plus a consultant brought in to help with media relations.

First surprise: lots of media. Even before we left the Diocesan HQ at 6:40 A.M. Philip+ had done a radio interview for CBC. Two TV stations sent crews to meet us at the site. They cut live into Breakfast Television (a show on CityTV) for interviews with the bishop. We may be on CTV and CP24 tonight. For print media we had people from the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and The National Post.

Second surprise: the media lingered. The reporters seemed quite engaged with the scene and stayed the whole time (about two hours) we were there. They snapped pitures and took man-on-the-street interviews.

Third surprise: we were received well by the crowds. We handed out 2,000 invitations in about an hour and a half. We had very, very little negativity. Most people accepted the invitations we handed out. A few declined. Others went out of their way to receive our handouts. Some were really glad to see us and greeted us enthusiastically. Two or three asked us to pray with them. Very few had anything negative to say, and that is remarkable!

So we walked back to the Diocesan offices to debrief feeling pretty good about ourselves! Certainly we managed to create some buzz!

Early press: Toronto Star....

Bishops make pitch to startled commuters
Denise Balkissoon
Staff Reporter

Idling taxis, hot dog stands and four smiling Anglican bishops in full regalia. That was the sight greeting sleepy-eyed commuters leaving Union Station during this morning's rush hour.

Sporting long, damask robes of pearly white or sky blue, heads topped with pointed bishop's hats, the clergy passed out cards encouraging the Bay Street hordes to make their way to a house of worship this Sunday. Most people accepted the handout drowsily, without comment; others seemed startled or amused at the group's elaborate outfits. A few passers-by stopped for quick chats before scurrying along to their offices.

"You invite people to baseball games or to the movies," said Bishop of Toronto Colin Johnson. "Traditionally, we've not been good at inviting people to come to church." .... (source)

The whole thing felt very Ninja-Priest like. I mean, there we were right in on the busiest spots in all of Canada, saying, "Good Morning!" Naturally, I got some video. I'm working like a madman in Premiere Pro editing it together...

Here's some of the National Post's take:

In full regalia, Anglican bishops go to Union Station seeking parishioners
By Matthew Coutts

A sight more commonly saved for Sunday, or not at all, greeted commuters leaving Union Station this morning: Anglican bishops in their ecclesiastical vestments welcoming them with a smile.

Wearing the white pointed hats, or mitres, and flowing gowns reserved for the leaders in the Anglican community, several area bishops gathered to invite passerby back to church.

Four bishops, including the Bishop of Toronto Colin Johnson, and several volunteers, canvassed Union Station as part of an international Christian initiative that designated September 27 as “Back to Church Sunday.”

“People have been falling out of the habit of going to their churches or places of worship,” said Bishop Philip Poole, area bishop for York-Credit Valley as he handed out simple cards inviting the recipient to be a guest at their local church.

“This isn’t about Anglican proselytization, this is about promoting a return to your place of worship.”

Bishop Poole said while most people will rush past to get to work, many people stop for a brief chat. Some of the most receptive were people from other religions, he said, who were open to discussing their connection to the their faith.

Dressed in a flowing baby blue gown, known as copes, Bishop Poole caught the eyes of a number of pedestrians as Bishop Linda Nicholls chatted with a young man while wearing a similar white and red outfit nearby. .... (Source)

A great way to spend the morning!

-t

Busking...

This is from a well-known social experiment done a few years ago by the Washington Post. It has been repeated in other cities with similar results. I often think of this when I see Buskers trying to make a little money on the street or transit system of Toronto:

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

-t

Monday Betsy and I went to the Canadian National Exhibition. This is kind a big-city version of the county fairs I used to go to in Kansas, except here in Toronto at "The Ex," there are a lot fewer animals and 4-H competitions and that sort of thing. I mean, they still have a few cows and chickens and milking demonstrations, but it's much smaller scale than even the smallest county fair in the midwest! Replacing the critters are lots of kiosk versions of various chain restaurants. Lots of fast food. But the grace comes from some of the independent outfits. One such operation providing some very nice BBQ ribs for our lunch. Another provided us with funnel cake for dessert!

We caught a show--an Ice Capades-style extravaganza of singing, skating, and acrobatics that was loosely themed on popular movies like "Top Gun" and "The Godfather." Mostly it was for the kids, but I still enjoyed it!

We picked some cat toys from a very enthusiastic vendor/maker and called it a day. A very enjoyable day.

Heck of softball game in the evening. My team lost, but I played pretty well, including making two nice catches of fly balls. After the game another guy and I started sparring Karate-style for fun. I haven't done this in MANY years, but I held my own pretty well. I got in some nice shots and even threw my opponent (who studies Karate currently) off balance and onto the ground. He came back and pretty soon we were grappling like Judo wrestlers. At that point it took him two or three attempted throws to return the favour! We decided to call it a draw after that. Fun, but exhausting. I also managed to skin my knee pretty badly when I went down. Oh, and I jammed one of my fingers pretty good. There is something very satisfying about having your wife dress your sports wounds! I was quite proud.

All-in-all, a very satisfying day-off!

-t

The Toronto Song

Sometimes Betsy and I have what we call "Canada Moments"--things that strike us a particularly Canadian to remind us that we do live, in fact, in a different country. I mean, so much of what we encounter is pretty much the same as what we would experience in an American city--until a "Canada Moment" comes along.

So here is the hilarious, but totally earnest, song that was selected to be the official song to celebrate Toronto:



Only in Toronto...

-t

Post-Rathnelly Day...

Sorry for the lack of postings... It's been pretty busy since my mom has been here. Friday we picked up mom. Went to brunch, then grocery shopping and I picked up my costume. "Rathnelly Day" on Saturday was a lot of fun. Great to meet more neighbours and to spend time with them. My costume was a hit.

Church this morning was also intense. Full-on Gospel service followed by BBQ and then a softball game in Ramsden park. Came home and took a nap. I'll post some pictures tomorrow or the next day.

-t

Learning about the City

Yesterday I went to my second softball game with my new "league." Really it's just a bunch of guys that meet at a certain time and place with beer and gloves who organize themselves loosely into teams and play until it gets too dark to continue! I had a respectable day at bat, managing some nice hits. A lead-off double in the second inning, however, was my best play of the day. As I was coming up to second base I could see that the second baseman was about to catch the ball and possibly tag me, so without even thinking about the consequences I slid into the base to roaring applause. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea considering that I was wearing shorts. Nasty scape on my left thigh!

Looking up at the Toronto skyline, smelling the cigarettes and beer, I find myself thankful that I live in a very cool city. I find Toronto much more livable than, say, L.A. For one thing, as my new softball friends demonstrate it is much easier to get to know people in this city!

Today I spent most of the day at a "Pastors' Day" Workshop held at the Yonge Street Mission. We met in a brand new, immaculate community centre the Mission just built. Most of the workshop was taken up by a presentation by Dr. David Hulchanski analyzing demographic data for the last 39 years in Toronto. He and his team have done some amazing work just documenting trends involving poverty in the city. In a nut shell, since 1970 the income desparity in the city has gotten much greater as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. But it's also true that the neighbourhoods have become much more segregated both by income and race. The well-off have established themselves in the core of the city (think everything south of the 401 between Bathurst and Leslie) while the poor have moved to the northeast and northwest of the city. Indeed, there are really three different cities in Toronto that equate to three distinct experiences and cultures of Toronto City Life.

This map shows the change of average income by neighbourhood from 1970 to 2005. Pretty interesting, isn't it, too see how much the city is changing. There was a time when some of those blue striped areas weren't upwardly mobile at all!

To learn more about this check out the Greater Toronto Urban Observatory or read Hulchanski's paper: The Three Cities Within Toronto.

It seems most likely that this trend of increasing income disparity is the result of lots of little policy changes that were made in the late 80's and kept through the 90's. In particular, the cuts to social services and various forms of "deregulation" seem to have had a role. But at Dr. Hulchanski pointed out, if this trend was caused by lots of little decisions it could also be reversed by lots of little decisions.

(Interesting factoid: 50% of all immigration to Canada settles in Toronto.)

After the presentation and lunch we spent a few hours brainstorming about possible responses our church could have to the problems arising from these patterns. After that I headed back to church. I felt very in touch with the city as I read the Metro on the TTC Subway and digested more of the presentation I had just heard.

Back at church... Ordered some business cards (for some strange reason I never got around to doing that before). Answered some e-mails and returned some calls. Getting ready to call it a day...

-t

Adam Vaughan

Today I had a meeting with Adam Vaughan, the city Councilman who represents the church's Ward. The meeting took place at the City Hall, which is a rather grand building built in the sweeping 70's style that reminded me of either 2001: Space Odyssey or perhaps one of the sets from a James Bond super-villain. I thought it was quite attractive, actually!

One of his assistants met me at a reception desk and we chatted briefly about the building. I noted that all his staff (that I could see), were young women, and I wouldn't be surprised if this position is functionally a kind of internship. His offices were compact, but not overly cluttered. He was finishing up his breakfast as I came in, and he joked about how sometimes he ends up having lunch and dinner together and at home. "Half of politics is explaining why you are ten minutes late to a meeting when the last one was only supposed to be five minutes long," he said throwing away his wrapper. One of his "Constituency Assistants" sat next to me with a steno pad taking notes. The councilman kept his own notes in a small notebook with graph-ruling with a mechanical pencil. He tends to use key phrases organized linearly, sometimes underlining or circling for emphasis.

At first we talked a bit about the church. What kind of people come to Messiah and what ways we serve the community around us. Then I asked him about his perception of the needs of our community. He immediately zoomed in on 250 Davenport, a 25-storey community housing high-rise just Southwest of the Church by a hundred metres. Originally it was to be senior housing, but eventually evolved into general-purpose community housing. They have had problems in the past with drugs, and Adam didn't hesitate to use the language of pathology to describe the effects of that on the health of the building as a whole. He also talked about the loneliness and isolation of many of the people living there, and suggested that it was a place infected by the social disease of poverty.

I told him about how the church once had ministry to the children living there, and he liked the idea of a "movie night" that we have been kicking around here at COTM. Now Adam Vaughan was wearing a button on his lapel that had a one-way sign made into a "two-way" sign, a clear invitation to negotiation? So I told him one concrete way the city could help us make such a thing possible. He said that he might be able to find a little money for what I had in mind in one of the city budgets. Nice to see that give-and-take works well. No guarantees, of course, but he would like to see a proposal from us in writing. After that our short (20 minute) meeting was over.

Once in the outer office I told his Constituency Assistant about some of the problems the church has been having with parking tickets (they are not supposed to ticket outside churches on Sundays) and The Epic Garbage Battle of 2008-09. Many moons ago the city garbage inspectors gave the church daycare a citation for illegally dumping garbage in the park across the street. When we investigated we found video footage of a street person taking our garbage from the back alley and dragging it off (presumably to the park where it ended up). The city prosecutor still wants to take us to court, but next time we are bringing a trial lawyer who is a member of the congregation. He plans to kick ass. "If I lose in garbage court to a city prosecutor I'll never hear the end of it at my firm!"

Incidentally, the garbage thief has been back, and took more than trash. He stole some stuff from the church playground this time. The police have been called.

Anyway, I'm not sure the Councillor's office can make this nuisance go away, but it doesn't hurt to try. Another reason why having this kind of meeting every once in a while with your civic leaders is a good thing! I'm all about the partnerships....

-t

Memories of New Haven

Bernard, one of the Holy Cross Brothers, was providing spiritual direction to students at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale this year. I'm an alum of that great school, but in my days we didn't have the kind of strong relationship with OHC as a school that has developed in the years since Joseph Brinton took over as Dean. I'm really happy that the students have an opportunity to receive spiritual direction, and I know that Bernard has a real gift for that work.

Bernard also took the opportunity to learn about Yale and to enjoy the pleasures the University and city have to offer. His friend, Lewis Folden (also a Yale Alum) gave him a very nice tour that you can read about on Lewis' site.

Reading about their visit to New Haven makes me a bit nostalgic for the five years I spent I spent there (three for my degree and another two twiddling my thumbs waiting for ordination and then doing a CPE Residency). It's the longest time I've spent in one area since before High School!

I miss getting real Pizza like they make at Sally's or Pepe's. New Haven pizza has a cult-like following, check out the Wikipedia page on it if you don't believe me. Thin-Crust, wood-fired, not too cheesy.

I also miss a wonderful Turkish place, The Istanbul Café, that used to have Belly Dancing on Friday nights and even hosted occasional classes on Turkish cooking. They had an area where you could sit on the cushions on an elevated floor to enjoy your Meze. Now that I've been to Turkey, I'm sure I would enjoy it even more.

But it wasn't all just good food and grand buildings and the wonders of Yale. I worked in a homeless shelter at nights for a year and then later as a Hospital Chaplain. I also worked as a Personal Assistant to an African-American woman who was an advocate for various causes relevant to the urban poor in New Haven. Those experiences exposed to the underside on New Haven. One of the thing I did for her was research into her family history. I spent many hours in the vital statistics vaults in New Haven, Bridgeport, and other cities looking up old birth and death certificates to track her family all the back to slavery days. In the process I heard a lot of stories about what it was like to be black in New Haven now and in the past.

I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to go back to New Haven. Now that I have a close friend in Bridgeport I have a reason to be in that area, at least....

-t

Man Walks Down the Street with a Katana...

When I was walking down the street today I saw a man coming towards me with a Katana wrapped in a cloth in his left hand. Now, it was the way he was holding it--like one holds a Japanese Sword--that caught my attention. Looking closer I confirmed that it was, indeed, a Katana wrapped in the sort of carrying cloth you something see to keep the scabbard from getting scratched, etc. It's possible it was just a Bokken (wooden practice sword) except then why the very nice-quality cloth covering? I don't think he realized that the Katana was perfectly obvious to anyone who knows anything about martial arts. As he passed close I said, "Nice Katana," but he ignored me. Probably because he was listening to his iPod.

Speaking of Katana--check out the new computer wall paper I found. I've been using it lately as my desktop wallpaper. I find it... calming...

If you don't recognize it, this is what a Katana looks like when it's been disassembled. The Katana is one of the finest pieces of craft, workmanship, and technology even conceived. No living master can accomplish what was done at the height of the Japanese medieval age.

So when I saw someone walking down the street with this legendary weapon I did a double-take. Hopefully he was just on his way to the Dojo at the end of the block...

-t

Subway Hero

Every so often you hear one of these stories. A guy falls off the Subway platform. Someone else jumps in and saves him. This recently played out in New York. Here's the Good Samaritan's perspective (Chad Lindsey):

“I’m kind of zoned out, and I saw this guy come too quickly to the edge,” he said. “He stopped and kind of reeled around. I felt bad, because I couldn’t get close enough to grab his coat. He fell, and immediately hit his head on the rail and passed out.”

Mr. Lindsey said he sensed a train was approaching, because the platform was crowded. “I dropped my bag and jumped down there. I tried to wake him up,” he said. “He probably had a massive concussion at that point. I jumped down there and he just wouldn’t wake up, and he was bleeding all over the place.”

He looked back up at the people on the platform. “I yelled, ‘Contact the station agent and call the police!’ which I think is hilarious because I don’t think I ever said ‘station agent’ before in my life. What am I, on ‘24’?”

The man wouldn’t wake up, he said. “He was hunched over on his front. I grabbed him from behind, like under the armpits, and kind of got him over to the platform. It wasn’t very elegant. I just hoisted him up so his belly was on the platform. It’s kind of higher than you think it is.”

He stole a glance toward the dark subway tunnel that was becoming ominously less dark, with the glow on the tracks, familiar to all New Yorkers, signaling an approaching train.

“I couldn’t see the train coming, but I could see the light on the tracks, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of this hole.’ ”

He remembered the subway hero of 2007, Wesley Autrey, who jumped on top of a man who was having a seizure on the tracks and held him down in the shallow trench between the rails as the subway passed over them. “I was like, ‘I am not doing that. We’ve got to get out of here.’ ”

People on the platform joined the effort. “Someone pulled him out, and I just jumped up out of there,” he said. With time to spare: “The train didn’t come for another 10 or 15seconds or something.”

The man lay bleeding on the platform, and the police arrived. Mr. Lindsey soon got on another train. A large group of riders who had been on the platform entered the subway car with him, smiling and clapping him on the back and saying thank you.

“Then I sort of freaked out, and I was nervous and shaky. These five women opened their purses and gave me Handi-Wipes. I was covered in blood and dirt from the subway tracks.”

The fallen man was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan and was later released. (source)

I'm glad there are still a lot of people in the world willing to take this kind of risk for strangers. Our epoch is often very cynical, but there is still much to be thankful for!

-t

Chef-In-Chief Michelle

I'm very pleased by the new initiatives taking shape to promote local, organic, healthy foods. I really believe it's the next wave of the larger Green movement--and one that brings with it important reforms in food production and safety. I felt so strongly about it that I even sent a letter to President Obama asking him to make the White House an example. I wasn't the only one.

Apparently they got the message. Michelle Obama has been championing real food since arriving in her new post. The New York Times has a nice article summarizing her efforts so far:

In her first weeks in the White House, Mrs. Obama has emerged as a champion of healthy food and healthy living. She has praised community vegetable gardens, opened up her own kitchen to show off the White House chefs’ prowess with vegetables and told stories about feeding less fattening foods to her daughters. (source)

Typical of the new regime's style, Mrs. Obama asked the White House Chef give a speech about nutrition, a first so far anyone can remember.

Back here in Canada, one of my parishoners suggested using a patch of grass that is concealed from the street to grow a small vegetable garden. I think this is a brilliant idea and plan to pursue it as the weather changes! Its an area about 10 feet wide and 25 feet long--not huge, but we could probably do some nice stuff in there. My only concern is veggie-theft, but then again if people are that hungry I'm not going to feel too badly about them stealing a few tomatoes.

I've also been thinking about the possibility of a neighbourhood garden for Rathnelly Republic (where Betsy and I live). My current favourite spot for a community garden would be between the Toronto Hydroelectric Sub-Station and the High Level Pumping Station. You can see the area I'm talking about in the satellite image below:

Right now I don't have time to organize creating such a garden, but if anyone wants to pick up the flag note that the City of Toronto has resources and processes available to help communities found such gardens. They even have a city staffer to help. Neat, heh?

This is the sort of thing I want to bring to the Rathnelly Area Resident's Association and see what they think. It's possible they already have something like this in the works. Betsy and I did volunteer ourselves for the committee putting together the "Rathnelly Day" party that the neighbourhood holds bi-annually.

Rathnelly is a very colourful neighbourhood. It's called a "Republic" because they tried to secede from Canada in the 1960's. They elected a queen and organized all the children into a militia (called the "Rathnelly Republic Irregulars," I think). The kids were given hellium balloons as an "Air Farce." So every-other year they have a big block party with a parade, contests, food, dancing, etc. This year's theme is "pirates." I'm already thinking about my costume....

-t

In Praise of Kozlik's Mustard

My brother-in-law asked me what Kozlik's mustard was. I shake my head sadly. It's not his fault--he doesn't live in Toronto and he certainly doesn't go to the St. Lawrence Street Market...

I'll quote from the Market's website about Kozlik's....

Kozlik’s Mustard was established in 1948. Jeremy has owned the business since 2000 and has expanded the product line. Did you know that 90% of the world’s mustard is grown in Canada? Or that mustard is the second most popular spice in the world next to black pepper? Their website has many interesting facts, useful information and recipes for mustards.

Kozlik’s Mustard presents many unique flavours of mustards, all made fresh in Canada, in their factory located at Lawrence and Avenue Road in Toronto. They use fresh, all-natural mustard powder, seeds and cracked seeds in the manufacturing process; no preservatives added. From these three bases they create an amazing variety of flavoured mustards. Some of their most popular mustard varieties are: maple, balsamic, fig & date, "Double C" Dijon, horseradish, cranberry and honey. They have over 35 flavours of mustards and are developing more.

On Saturdays they offer sample tasting of their mustard flavours with complimenting meat samples for customers to experience. (source)

It's one of the things I almost always do when I'm at the St. Lawrence Street Market--go up to the mustard stand and try some super hot mustards with a bit of P-Meal Bacon. Yum. Luckily you don't have to go down to the market to get Kozlik's--it's available in my local grocery store.

Good mustard can really transform a sandwich, IMHO. Of course, my brother-in-law won't get to try this Canadian delicacy until he (and my sister and nephew) come to visit...

-t

A Quick Trip

After Church on Sunday Betsy and I rented a U-Haul van and drove down to New Jersey to my mom's place. On Monday morning we packed the van with her old dining room table and chairs. It had been in my sister Lynne's place since she graduated from college, but now that Lynne and Bob have moved to Manhattan she doesn't have room for it. Hence Betsy and I picking up the heirloom. Packing it gave me an opportunity to play with rope. Mom had some clothesline she didn't need, so I cut that up and used it to tie down the table and chairs. I mostly used bowlines and rolling hitches. I'm thankful that I've taken the time to learn to tie proper knots--it comes in handy.

After packing up the truck we headed into Manhattan to see Lynne, Bob, and Charlie. She is a first year student at Union Theological Seminary and enjoyed showing us around her new digs. I reminisced about my own seminary days. Bob cooked a great dinner and Betsy presented them with an edited version of their wedding video.

Betsy stayed overnight in NYC--she was going to see friends and then attend two conferences related to her field. Meanwhile, I spent Monday night at my mom's place and drove the truck back to Toronto on Tuesday.

The drive was long--more than eight hours thanks to some delays due to construction and the border. Crossing into Canada I had to renew my immigration papers. I sent my application in by mail back in August but still haven't received the reply, so I was forced to apply for renewal at the border. I qualify for a temporary work permit under two different categories and thus chose the more convenient option.

I arrived in Toronto with barely enough time to unload the truck and get it back to the rental place before they close. The friend I was going to call to help wasn't available, so I ended up moving the entire dining room set by myself--the table was especially difficult.

After I dropped the truck off near Queen West and Ossington I walked about half way home. Queen Street is one of the more interesting parts of Toronto and I enjoyed peering into the gallery and shop windows. At Spadina I started walking north through China town. This is a fantastically colorful part of time to be walking through in the evening. I think Betsy and I should probably spend more time enjoying this part of the GTA.

I hailed a cab at College Street and went home to play with the cats and recover from a long, long day.

Today I'm back at work doing the usual stuff: e-mail and contractors.

-t