The Joy of Jazz.

CNE - a yearly event glossed over by Torontonians

Morning lite and morning fog-ged by local blahs,

I miss the morning calm and summer blues in a city called Toronto,

Dundas Square must be open now for free concerts

while grills are out still for barbeques

and chips and beer flow,

And St. Clair buzzes with store sales and the salsa dance night,

The subway line at Danforth moves to a standstill as the Greek food festival brings flavour to the west end,

It's August and summer still rules

'Tho the cool breeze can be felt by now,

Car windows are drawn open and kids flood the neighbourhood parks and alleys,

The oldies are off to their morning runs

while bikes rule the busy avenues,

And pools splash and backyard decks glow with sounds and smell of rap, jazz and hotdogs and burgers,

I miss the summers in Toronto and my jazz in the morn and in the eve,

I miss the moon and the stars and the twink of the sun.

Home away from home.

For Pinoys who've been away from the country for so many years, staying around takes a lot of patience... including from people around him or her. 

It's difficult to adjust to 'foreign surrounding' again. Some would say, " chill out, nobody dies from germs," when I notice aloud about flies, mosquitoes, wet bathroom tiles, thin toilet paper, etc.

This morning on our way to the Megamall for the morning mass, I was forced to make a detour because the village church had a mass going on when a tricycle blocked my path on a narrow inside street.  There were vehicles parked on both sides of the road and I was passing a parked car on my lane when the tryke appeared on the opposite lane.  The driver just moved ahead and wanted to pass first.  I drove to meet his tryke.  He stopped and blocked my car. 

The tryke didn't move and actually wanted me to back up.  I waited and rolled down my window and yelled at this early morning pest; I reminded him that he was driving a public transport inside a private property. Of course he had to give way but he was mumbling something as I drove away. 

My navigator thought I was being aggressive.  I had to summon my patience and explain about "rights and privileges" and about homeowners paying maintenance fees in private villages and about rude public transport drivers menacing residents.

In TO, we also got rude public transport drivers, and they belong to strong labour unions.  One time a rider spat on a rude bus driver who immediately filed a sick leave because he felt threatened and depressed by the incident.  

Home away from home for me would always be P.I.  No matter what incident nor pest blocks my way.

Why TO?

Normally, I don't watch much TV, not in Canada nor in P.I. But earlier tonight, I found myself glued to television watching for updates on the latest typhoon, "Pepeng." I have vested interest in the typhoon after all the flooding that took place in my sis' house last Saturday.

I was also supposed to meet a couple for dinner this evening but I cancelled last minute due to my sis' prodding - there was a malicious text spreading about the new super typhoon turning into a hurricane. True or false, I decided to postpone till weather turns a bit sunny, because you'd never how much the streets would be flooded even with just the tiniest of rainfall.

Last Thursday, I drove from Sucat and took the Roxas Blvd - Espana - Quezon Avenue route and a fifteen-minute heavy downpour caused Espana and beyond to flood en pronto. It took me three and half hours to reach Q.C. and I made so many detours to avoid the flooded streets and terrible traffic. Aside from the flooded streets, a portion of Quezon Avenue was being paved so traffic got clogged from as far back as U.S.T. up to the Delta Circle.

The detours I took exposed me to the narrow and squatter-filled neighbourhoods wherein "tambays" collected coins/money from passing motorists as "road tax" for using their no-flood streets. And never in my life have I seen so many mini-billboards from politicians extending their warm wishes for a "Happy Fiesta" in such and such barangay/s. Some of the politicians with brand names resembled female models for whitening soaps and dermatological clinics.

I got so hungry on the road I forgot about "proper driving" and drove like hellboy.

Now, why TO, or Toronto? The more I linger in Manila in this flood-mode times, the more I think of my Toronto as a safe haven and city. Even while there, I already entertained the notion that TO is a better place than Vancouver (where I thought of retiring perhaps) or any other city in Canada.

In the years that I've lived in TO, I've never experienced flooding nor trees falling down into my car due to high winds, although surrounding areas have had them from time to time. Water from tap is safe to drink. And of course, traffic and driving are so manageable you'd never, never think of "peeing" while stopped on a busy traffic (saw a man last Wednesday who just stood against his side of the van and let Nature rolled freely into the flood water).

The weather hazard in Toronto is mainly the snow; that's the equivalent of the Manila flood.

Manila, as always, is a good place to come home to, from time to time. But I still prefer the Holiday Month of December to visit.

The next time I visit, I'd make sure my head is clear and my heart tuned to reality.

Hello. I'd been spiked.

Toronto, Ohio and BELOW - Spike with his New Butler

Spike, the min pinscher, travelled with me from Toronto, Ohio to Toronto, Ontario. Why?

My sister was about to give away Spike to a neighbour's brother; they could not take care of the dog anymore. And when Spike kept on following me, I knew I had to bring him home.

So my trip back home took a bit longer because I made several stops to let Spike go to the bathroom and to stretch.

On this trip to Ohio, I was also able to attend a friend's wedding and on the same night, to hang out at the VFW Father's Day karaoke and country dancing celebration. Anyway, I did not dance nor sing; just watched the folks and drank my beer.

Inside VFW Hall
With bro-in-law. As former Navy, he got to visit Subic Naval and Clarke Air Bases.