9.30.2005

still alive

The Red Sox, that is. One game out with three to play against the momentarily first-place Yankees, and tied with Cleveland for the wild card. It looked all gloom and doomy last night, but I insisted on staying positive and I was rewarded. We are keeping the faith.

I haven't the slightest idea how this team will make it through the playoffs, but I know they can make it to the playoffs.

On tap for today, some Toronto exploring! I'm meeting wmtc commenter Marnie at Union Station; we're walking around and going to the St. Lawrence Market. Marnie, like me, is an urban explorer. She writes about her meanderings at You Are Here. I was trying to read the whole blog before meeting her today, but alas, I did not. But I will, because it's my kind of place.

I've been combing through old comments on wmtc, gathering up all the links and suggestions you guys have made, the ones where I said, "I'll look at that when I have time." Now I'm making good on that: creating, yes, another list. My life in lists.

One neat link I found, I believe from Lone Primate, was Pier 21. It seems to be the Canadian equivalent of Ellis Island:
From the twenties to the seventies, Pier 21 was Canada's 'front door' to over a million immigrants, wartime evacuees, refugees, troops, war brides and their children. This enriched our social and cultural landscape and uplifted the very soul of a nation forever.

Pier 21, a National Historic Site, has been transformed into a testament to Canada's profoundly emotional immigration experience. . . . Halifax's Pier 21 opened in 1928 and closed in 1971.
I've been to Ellis Island; my grandfather's name is on the wall there. Maybe I'll get to Pier 21 eventually, too.

Fifth Business, the first book of Robertson Davies's Deptford Trilogy, is so good that I'm hoping my editor stays away, so I can read it for hours. The narrator is an elderly man looking back at his life growing up in the small (fictional) town of Deptford, somewhere in Canada. He was the intelligent, curious boy who chafed at the confines of his small town; he remembers the emotion of the moment, but with the knowing distance of hindsight. He'll later become a distinguished author and professor of history; right now he's a young man in the trenches of France, 1917. The story so far is full of wry observations about small-town life, religion, and the Canada of the Scots. It's very funny, and often very poignant. Terrific.

Hey, guess what? We've been here one month today.

12 comments:

James Redekop said...

Sadly, No! shares your pain over the Sox:

Anonymous said...

Been to both Ellis Island and Pier 21 and Ellis is far superior. The idea behind Pier 21 is great but it had a somewhat sterile "Government of Canada" building feel to it.

Maybe I was just in a bad mood that day since my entire trip to Halifax had been such a waste up to that point as the fog was so thick and forecast for days that we simply took an early plane back to Toronto...Perhaps under better climatic circumstances, I would have appreciated it more!? That was August 2003.

Was anyone else in the Maritimes at that time? Perhaps you’ll see what I mean about the weather!!

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

You know, I've never visited Pier 21 in Halifax, despite going to visit family what seems like hundreds of times. I've also never been to Halifax when it was foggy, but it's anything like the fog in Saint John, then you can't see much except the hand in front of your face. Then again, there's so many touristy things in Ottawa I've never done, such as never having once been inside the parliament buildings despite living here since I was 13.

barefoot hiker said...

Maybe I'll get to Pier 21 eventually, too.

Well, in a way, you already have, if you see what I mean. ;)

laura k said...

never having once been inside the parliament buildings despite living here since I was 13

I bet you're typical that way. Today Marnie told me she's never been in the CN Tower or to the Hockey HOF. Most New Yorkers have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.

Allan, who grew up in Vermont, thinks fall foliage is boring.

laura k said...

Maybe I'll get to Pier 21 eventually, too.

Well, in a way, you already have, if you see what I mean. ;)


Yes, I do. Pier 21 came just over the Peace Bridge, at the Niagara River.

Rognar said...

I was born and raised in Halifax, moved away in '89 at the age of 23. I've never been inside Pier 21 although I have almost certainly walked by it a hundred times. Truth is, I can't even place it in my map of the mind. I guess it must look pretty non-descript from the outside.

Rognar said...

Then again, there's so many touristy things in Ottawa I've never done, such as never having once been inside the parliament buildings despite living here since I was 13.

Make some time and go, Kyle. They are well worth a visit, although I'd wait till they finish renovating the Parliamentary Library.

laura k said...

I was born and raised in Halifax, moved away in '89 at the age of 23.

You've lived in several different parts of Canada, then.

I want to visit Ottawa, too. It seems only right, as I've been to Washington DC so many times.

Rognar said...

You've lived in several different parts of Canada, then.

Yup, Halifax from '65 to '89, Montreal from '89 to '98, Halifax again from '98 to '00 and Calgary from '00 to present. I figure I will retire to Victoria, BC (a popular city for retirees) and complete my trans-national odyssey.

laura k said...

Cool.

zydeco fish said...

One month? My, how time flies. Fifth Business is wonderful. I hope you like St. Lawrence Market.