A Tell of Two Cities

After a recent encounter, family suggested that I could temporarily relocate back to Ottawa during these uncertain times. I was amenable to it since I could see elderly relatives more often and even started making tentative plans after a long chat with a sibling. I began clearing out old and unused items from my place. Despite living a monkish life, I threw out bags of stuff and still had several bins of personal belongings. Compared to anyone else, it was sparse. But my youthful days of being able to leave with just a suitcase was over.

Thursday night, I felt tightness and an ache down my left side and needed a short Yoga practice before bed to loosen up. The next morning, I knew anxiety had caused that bodily response. I took a walk through several neighbourhoods to settle my thoughts. It became clear there were 2 competing visions. Ottawa, in the large, had family and security but the day-to-day was dull. Toronto, in daily life, was pleasant (like this walk), but featured isolation and precarity in its overall arc.

I grabbed a slice of pizza near Spadina Ave and talked to the proprietor. Their story was similar to many immigrants to Canada. In the early 80s, they bounced around the slum tenements of Parkdale before their family escaped to the green lawns of Mississauga. After decades of hard work, their children now lived comfortably in Markham and elsewhere. The Canadian winter was hard on their bones and they thought to flee its windy clutches for a few months every Christmas.

I decided to get a little pick-me-up and enjoy the sunshine. Mango Like Desserts has taken over from Pink Canary at the entrance into Kensington Market. After looking over its menu, I chose the Mango Grass Jelly Rainbow Mochi ($8). As the name suggested, it was a colourful concoction. I couldn't really taste the coconut milk and the main texture was chewiness. But it was a nice, light follow-up to that pizza. This small shop was also the downtown site of Ida's Cookies.

Little things like greasy pizza, long-acquainted owners, and new discoveries make daily living enjoyable in The Big Smoke. But come night-time and I think about home-cooked meals and blood relations. "Summertime and the deciding ain't easy/Summertime when the Covid is nigh".