Suicide Rate Soars in Toronto

SUICIDE RATE SOARS IN TORONTO!!

Not really, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I considered it freqently while spending hours in Toronto's traffic yesterday. I went to a JUMP MATH workshop at the University of Toronto and arrived 45 minutes late, even after adding an extra hour to the driving time suggested by Mapquest. It seems that Mapquest doesn't take heavy weekday traffic into consideration when calculating the time it takes to drive from one place to another. Two weeks ago, on a Saturday, my daughter and I calmly arrived in downtown Toronto after a carefree drive of an hour and forty minutes. Yesterday I arrived (not calmly) after three and a half hours of what I can only call EXCRUCIATING TORMENT!!

I don't know how Torontonians do it. Apparently it doesn't bother them to drive 2 or 3 feet at a time and then stop for a break, drive another 4 or 5 feet and stop for a little rest. Leaving aside my shattered nerve ends for a moment, I hate to think what all of this idling is doing to our air.

It wouldn't be so bad, I suppose, if one were a student of philosophy. I had plenty of time to think. I wondered why there were thousands of cars/trucks/transports on BOTH sides of the Gardiner Expressway and the QEW. Obviously people need to roll down their car windows and start exchanging phone numbers. The ones driving out of the city centre need to connect with those driving in - perhaps they could switch homes or switch jobs and they'd have no need to drive at all. Perhaps politicians could enact a law that prohibited workers from living more than 1 kilometre from their place of employment.

Then I noticed the Go Trains rattling by with room for hundreds at a GO. I decided then and there that if I was ever again stupid enough to travel to Toronto on a weekday I would take a train. Imagine, no thousands of cars trying to merge in front of you from all of those on ramps. No stop lights. The time to read a chapter or two while being whisked along at HIGH SPEED while your vehicle, if you have one, sits quietly at home - no wear, no tear, no pricey gasoline.

The only relief for my constantly roaming ADD-addled eyes was the sight of dozens of bikers, no doubt on their way to Port Dover for Friday the 13th. I was entertained by the variety of bikes, the outfits and the amount or lack of possessions. Some were loaded down with side bags and boxes and even a flashlight hanging by a rope where others were travelling lean and mean. But I could tell they were frustrated also as they had to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground - not so easy for those wearing flipflops and its NO way to ride a bike.

All I could do when I finally arrived home (traffic didn't start to move til after getting to Hamilton - took me two hours to travel 55 kms) was grunt to my daughter and lay down on the couch. I was disgusted that the round trip took seven hours in total and almost a full tank of gas. I just checked on the ViaRail website and a round trip would have cost me $69.50 - just a bit more than a tank of gas and much less time and frustration - they even have wireless internet!

Live and learn, that's all I can say.

Signs, Vows and Dairy Queen

I am having a tough time with my post tonight because of several things: first of all one of my favourite movies, Signs is on - I don't know why but I love movies about the end of the world and/or aliens. (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and most recently, Cloverfield). Yet, ironically, I am a very optimistic person and I don't really think aliens exist.
Also, today is my birthday (I'm not telling...) and I made a vow today - never to use a drive through lane again. You see, some London students were protesting at a local Tim Horton's a few days back and made the front page of the newspaper. They were asking folks to park and walk in instead of idling away in a long line of cars. The students were told that what they were doing wasn't going to make anyone change their habits but I, for one, disagree.


Most of the time I DO park and walk in simply because time and time again it has proven to be much faster. There is usually no lineup inside. I can often go in, order, pay and walk out with my coffee and see the same people still waiting in line. Sometimes I give a little wave implying - "see how smart I am?" But my first ever birthday vow is to never use the drivethrough lane again even if I think it may be quicker or more convenient and/or I am feeling particularly lazy.

Not at Timmy's, not at Wendy's and not at Dairy Queen (the slowest drivethrough lane ever!) Tonight we parked and walked into Dairy Queen and although the lineup inside was long, it wasn't nearly as long as the 20 cars all idling and idling as they waited and waited. The line inside moved quickly yet gave us time to peruse the menu, salivate over the pictures and decide what we wanted to have. AND I could understand what they were saying to me, it wasn't all tinny and garbled.


It isn't easy to eat a sundae and type at the same time so I have had to take many little pauses while I enjoyed my soft icecream, pecans and caramel sauce. Even though this post took twice as long to type, it was worth every mouthful!

An Embarrassment of Riches

My Can Cupboard

I've heard the first step in resolving a problem is first admitting you have one. Alright then...I have a problem. I call it my "Little House on the Prairie" syndrome and I have been this way since first moving out on my own....32 years ago!

As a young girl growing up I used to go to the village library at least once a week to take out 4 books. The librarian, Miss Lossing, knew my card # by heart, I didn't even have to get it out to show it to her (#222 - yes it was an easy one). Miss Lossing also served in the role of censor, shaking her head slightly when I veered too close to the young adult section of the library. Rats, caught again. Was it a coincidence they were located behind and just to the left of her desk? I think not!

As a result I read and reread all of the books in the Little House on the Prairie series and fretted along with Ma and Pa as they worried whether they had stored enough food in the loft for the upcoming long cold winter season. No trivial event to run out of food in the midwestern United Stores in the days before corner stores...or close well-stocked neighbours!

My Refrigerator

So while that is my excuse I really have no valid reason to stuff my cupboards, fridge, freezer and pantry with enough food to feed a small nation for a month. Believe it or not there is only my daughter and myself to feed. I could very easily not shop for a couple of months and we'd still eat quite nutritiously.

My Freezer

In these scary days of increasing food prices, looming food shortages, grain being diverted to make ethanol, drought, and dwindling reserves I feel embarrassed, nay ashamed, by the riches in my kitchen.

My Pantry

We are used to such variety in our diets. Although I eat oatmeal every morning (but that's another story best read about at my group blog) my daughter is quite accustomed to eating a different cereal each day of the week. Watching the Free Rice video where children were so grateful to eat rice for every meal made me feel kind of sick.

So, while I can afford to eat pretty much anything I want, should I? Will my good fortune continue in this uncertain world of vanishing resources or should I begin to prepare for a more meagre future? Where should I start? Well, I can think of a few places.... I need to get my food purchasing under control. No matter how long winter is here in southwestern Ontario I can think of half a dozen grocery stores within walking distance - I'm not gonna starve!!

Stay tuned for future developments.

Drought in Canada

Pictured above: Georgian Bay taken while hiking in Lion's Head, Ontario

I must apologize for something stupid I wrote the other day.... "I have an endless supply of fresh water" ...I stated in this post called Living Simply vs. Simply Living. Perhaps I can be forgiven for thinking that way as I live in an area surrounded by lakes - Great Lakes to be exact. I can take a short drive south (40 minutes, 30 if I hurry) and walk out into Lake Erie, pictured below.

I can cross the border and get up close and personal with Lake Michigan, pictured above during last summer's trip to Chicago.
Or I can drive for an hour north-west and watch the sunset over my beloved Lake Huron. All fresh water, seemingly endless.


However, I am wrong....very wrong. This chart shows where the world's water supply is located and freshwater lakes account for only 0.0070% of which 20% is located in Canada.

Estimate of Where the Earth’s Water Can be Found
Oceans, saline lakes and other saltwater 97.4800 %
Icecaps/glaciers, frozen and underground freshwater 2.5100 %
Freshwater lakes 0.0070 %
Soil moisture 0.0009 %
Atmospheric water vapour 0.0009 %
Marshes and wetlands 0.0009 %
Rivers 0.0002 %
Incorporated in biota 0.0001 %
Total 100.0000 %
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/freshwater/1

Approximately 60% of our fresh water drains to the north while 80% of our population lives close to the Canada/U.S. border. I sense a problem here. Also, over the past few years our prairie provinces have been experiencing drought conditions, and with the effects of global warming this situation will only worsen.

At http://www.goblue.org/ you can calculate your water footprint with a one-minute calculator. The average Canadian uses 125,000 litres of water per year while in Europe the average per person is only 73,000 litres per year. I was a little worried but then happy (sort of) to see that I am using less than half the national average. My water footprint is about 67,292 litres per year. That number still seems unacceptably high. The challenge at this informative website is to cut your annual water useage in half.

I think I am up for the challenge but I may have to cut a foot off my daughter's hair! Tee hee. Seriously though, I think there are some things I can do to decrease my water consumption. I am going to go over all of the tips at Go Blue and I'll get back to you.

Earth Hour 2008

Earth hour has come to London, Ontario! Check it out at www.london.ca/earthhour . Along with a link to the Earth Hour website, there were some suggestions about what to do during the one hour without gadgets and screens.


One suggestion was to play hide and go seek with your children. I was reminded of a game I used to play as a youngster with cousins and friends when the adults were "visiting" (read playing cards and knocking back a few) that we called Ghost Tag.


You could only play ghost tag in the dark and outside. It was similar to hide and go seek but scarier. Hunters could sneak up unseen on their prey in the dark and hearing the shrieks of your friends when they got caught just increased the anticipation/dread/heart attack when you were finally grabbed from behind without warning. It was great fun...for those who survived!

Check out http://www.earthhour.org/ for more information and sign yourself up. See if your city is taking part.