There’s something inherently shabby and doomed about corner stores, even when they persist over many years; even new or renovated, they tend towards an atmosphere of decay and fatigue. The official story is that my neighbourhood is gentrifying, and over the past few years, house prices have skyrocketed in confirmation of this claim. However, the houses…

Three boys are playing an impromptu game of hockey in front of the bus stop at the corner, using a crushed old Coke can as a puck. No goalie, not even much interest in the sport, as far as I can tell, except for the one who’s struck that classic hockey pose: bent at the…

Ten years ago today, Brook and I were married; the lovely but very short event (15 minutes!) took place in the beautiful, 70s-style concrete wedding chambers at Toronto City Hall. It was windy and a bit snowy and more than a little cold that day; I had bronchitis or the flu or something and was…

I was born in Nova Scotia in the merry month of August, so chances are 50-50 it was foggy that day. The province of my birth is a drear place that I suspect secretly believes itself to be the set for a Victorian murder mystery. It has some extreme weather episodes, mostly in winter, but is…

And so it has begun: the annual battle royale more popularly known as the Christmas season. I threw myself into the ring today, knowing that the longer I left the little bit of shopping I really can’t avoid doing, the more violent and destructive it would become. It wasn’t very unmanageable since it was the…