Past, Present, Future

 

In the summer of 2021, a big ol' tree in the Allan Gardens blew over in a wind storm. Not long after that, it was cut down, and the stump mulched flat. About a week ago, fast-growing fungus gathered on the site in memory of the tree.

In the spring of 2020, when no one could go anywhere, gas was cheaper than it had been in twelve years. Now, in the late spring of 2022, when it's OK to go back outside again, the price of gas is higher than it's ever been.

It was April 1 last time I was out campaigning for Dianne Saxe, Green Party Candidate for University/Rosedale. By the end of that shift, I felt chilled to the bone. At the end of my shift yesterday, I felt like I'd been microwaved. 

We were deep in the heart of Rosedale on Friday, my campaigning colleagues Evelyn and James and I. Dianne was elsewhere so I did more talking to strangers than I normally do. Even in Toronto's toniest neighbourhood, there are people who want to talk about Dianne and the Green Party.

And even when they don't, I sometimes hear mini-biographies like the one from the man who told me he had already voted and knew all about the democratic process because he'd been a crown counsel at Queen's Park for forty years ... 

Or the guy who works at George Brown College who's having a hell of a time as they reopen and plus it was a bad day so I should forgive him if he seemed a little impatient ...

Many of the people I talked to said they were grateful to me, a rumpled, warm-looking stranger on their doorstep, for doing my bit to keep the heart of democracy beating. 

Support for Dianne seems to be about the same proportion in Rosedale as elsewhere, as if concern for the future of the planet cuts across ethnicity, age and economic status. 

As in, about 5% of people are concerned about it and the rest, I guess, are not.

Thanks for reading!

Have a great week!

Karen