Day's Events

Yesterday, on my way to Spadina station, three girls around 6 or 7 and their two fathers passed me, on their way downtown. On my way back from my grandma, as I left Spadina station, they passed me again, this time on their way home. "Do you remember all the reptiles we saw?" one father asked his daughter.

Later that night, at University College, I saw a Russian man scavenging for books in the recycling dumpsters. The dumpsters were full of old castaways. I took about seven, among them a Hebrew translation of a book by James Fenimore Cooper, "Sex and the Family in the Jewish Tradition", a beautifully illustrated Haggadah, and a book on Portuguese communities in Canada.

Today, as I waited my turn at the ATM on Kensington Avenue, I watched a man standing to my left, a little ways away. He said hello to every girl that passed by, and asked them how they were doing. Some responded, without slowing down. Others stopped to chat for a minute and then moved on. I withdrew my money from the ATM, and went to the organic store to buy some recycled toilet paper. When I came back he was gone. Whether he met the girl of his dreams, or simply gave up, I'll never know.