The Beach

Routed from the East Coast, through Northern Ontario, I dropped into the GTA with a thump. I landed on the waterfront, near the CN Tower & Union Station. It took me 6 months to identify The Beach as my next home. High Park retained the alert aloofness of Eastern Europeans. ChinaTown was aluring, but didn’t seem to want me. Queen West/Parkdale was the most affordable; however, my boyfriend took me on evening drives “to demonstrate the ‘terror’” of the district.

I finally located a place where the puppies took on the relaxed ‘wish I was in San Francisco’ qualities that seemed to ring my bells. In the last few years, Marketing has made the area an ‘investment purchase’ choice, rather than attitude recognition.

The Times They Have A Chang’d: The City now has a FINEABLE partial ban on Puppies in Lake Ontario due an their e.coli. drive (“Blue Flag”). Sure, we all know it isn’t the raw sewage the ‘Golden HorseShoe’ traditionally pumps into Lake Ontario, nor is it the Deep Lake Cooling projects, nor even the masses of Canada Geese that contaminates our Lake & Beaches.

”!! Its YOUR DOG !! Knock it off BEFORE THE BABIES DIE !!”

Anyway, ranting aside: its still a wonderful place to visit, as long as you can’t remember what it used to be. Canada’s Haight Ashbury didn’t get seedy, it be GENTRIFIED.

So let my anti-corporate grump ring out a rally cry: “HAPPY PUPPIES – Take back our BEACH!!”