Saturday, May 9, 2009

News from Toronto


The swine flu scare was very obvious at the Minneapolis International Airport. While looking for a place to eat, I saw several Asian-looking girls wearing face masks.


Then at the gate for the final leg of my trip back to Toronto, there was a group of Chinese tourists all wearing masks. I looked around and the locals (Americans) were only wearing either a smile, because of the warmer weather there, or a frown, because the boarding gates were so far apart which meant longish walking while dragging one's luggage.


Back in Toronto, the first sight that greeted me was the price of gas. It was selling at 95 cents a liter. When I left, I gassed up at 85 cents per liter. So, there was a ten-cent increase. I've been away eleven days, so it means that the gasoline price increased almost 1 cent per day.


Then, instead of taking a cab, I took the TTC bus from Pearson International and the local train all the way home. There were lots of cabs parked outside the airport but more people preferred taking the public transport. I guess the hard economic times have caught everyone by surprise. With public transport, you pay $3 ; by cab, you pay $55 plus tip. Go, figure.


At home, Tommy, the male budgie was already asleep. When I peered into the balcony, I called his name, and he moved and slowly showed his head. Then after my dinner, I peeked again and this time, I saw Ugly Betty on the upper perch, side by side with Tommy Boy. Lucky Boy!

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