Pride

Pride. Yup, we decided to be in Toronto on Pride Weekend. Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with Pride Weekend. I’ve got lots of Pride in my family. But Toronto, in the summertime, is always a congested place. This weekend, it was the usual construction, oceans of tourists, buses full of commuters, orange pylons, detours, those peculiar PanAm signs, rain and more rain. We were in the city for the Canadian Powerlifting Championship and the gym is in the old neighbourhood. As a matter of fact, the space where the event was held was just a few doors away from the house I lived in as a child. What’s not to like about that?

Do y’all remember the song Some Days a Diamond? That was this weekend. Being away for a bit, from the County, is a diamond day. Don’t get me wrong, the County is a diamond to me, but we hadn’t been home for months. Toronto is my hometown and is almost always good to visit. On Friday past, we sailed smoothly across Highway 401 toward the city. And then? Well, and then the traffic stopped dead at Morningside Drive. Dead. Stopped. From one overpass to another, Friday went from being a diamond to being a stone. From that point on LOML and I made a game of how many metres did we think we’d move in the next 15 minutes. Interestingly enough, while I thought our time on the 401 and then the DVP was rather stone-like, it must have looked very “diamond” to the people headed easterly, towards places like Prince Edward County. We began to inch slowly along, but eastbound it was bumper-to-bumper-tobumper— and sometimes bumper under bumper. And then? Well, and then LOML and I finally pulled into the underground parking at my family’s downtown condominium. Friday evening. And then? Well, and then we had the best view of our beautiful city as we sat on the balcony, with a glass of Prince Edward County wine in hand. And then the day became a diamond. Family, friends, wine and talk.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much a diamond, with a couple of stones thrown in for perspective. Nothing like a walk on Queen East browsing in quirky shops. My brother weighed-in for his powerlifting competition and “made weight”. As some of you know, who have ever had a weigh-in of any kind, after you “make weight”, you have lunch. And then? Well, and then we had lunch. And what could be better than having lunch prepared by our nephew, the chef. Diamond again! The wines on the menu were mostly from Prince Edward County. Sounds diamond to me. My brother, the powerlifter, not only “made weight,” but set a couple of Canadian records for his lifts. Some days a diamond.

And then? And then the drive back to the County. How many people could be heading to the County, on the 401, for July 1, I ask you? Diamond or stone? Drive decent kids. Have a splendid diamond of a Canada Day.

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca