Or, as Jim Reeves intoned so many years ago (in my youth) – Welcome To My World!
This project began with me having no clear idea on theme or subject matter to focus on as a ‘blogger;. So, I’ll present my thoughts in the form of a monologue or ‘a stream of consciousness‘? I engage my muses when I write..
Although I have travelled a bit, I don’t consider myself to be a seasoned traveler; and so, none of this should be taken as travel advice. Usually, when I travel I do so from the perspective of the outsider (truly the tourist) observing the ‘natives in their natural habitats‘. You can say that I’m a people watcher.
But, I enjoy travelling for the pleasure that I derive from exposing myself to the variety of social and cultural experiences that is available to us (shed a tear for the less fortunate of the world, if you must. Now let’s move on).
After my completion of high-school, I emigrated to a major Canadian city in South Western Ontario – Toronto. This was the early 1970’s; and also the first time I had literally left Home (You know, that place you always refer to as an indicator or nexus of all that defines you as a person or individual and used as a beacon that leads back to the invariable question “from whence do you come? Hither or thither?”
The culture shocks were enormous.
Though I have lived in Canada for 40+ years, I still see myself as the ‘Outsider Looking In’ vis-a-vis Canadian or North American culture(s). After all these years of being embedded within) it’s as though Toronto has not really changed all that much. By that I mean it may appear so to the unobservant Torontonian or occasional ‘visitor to the city‘ .
But, YES – the Transit System Network is showing the strain of clogged arteries. The politicians rested too long on the accolades that the city and its Public Transit system (TTC) initially received in 1986. Now, it really and truly SUCKS!!
Take The Car, not TTC, is still the better option for those denizens of the city who need or are intent on navigating through the city’s core transit network.
The outlying sleepy neighbourhoods and a reliance on public transportation are long gone. Riding around the streets of Toronto in a ‘Red Rocket‘ is not the ‘thrill‘ that the marketing folks would have you believe still exists. The thrill is definitely gone!
Of course, those are just ‘some’ opinions. But my biggest gripe I’ll hold in reserve for the newest claimants of ownership of the city’s arterial roadways – The (Militant) Cyclists.
For now, consider this visual demonstration of the ‘cycling crisis’ that supposedly beset both the city of Toronto and that of the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
The outlying sleepy neighbourhoods and a reliance on public transportation are long gone. Riding around the streets of Toronto in a ‘Red Rocket‘ is not the ‘thrill‘ that the marketing folks would have you believe still exists. The thrill is definitely gone!
Of course, those are just ‘some’ opinions. But my biggest gripe I’ll hold in reserve for the newest claimants of ownership of the city’s arterial roadways – The (Militant) Cyclists.
For now, consider this visual demonstration of the ‘cycling crisis’ that, supposedly, besets the city of Toronto versus that of the Dutch of Amsterdam.
Clearly, the ‘crisis‘ in Toronto is one of perception, no?