56. A Connection is Made

How to be a Person, the Newsletter for Monday, June 16th, 2025

Sitting across from me in High Park is a Polish couple in their 70s. They have a tiny dog lying on a pillow. Beside the dog is a grey bunny. To my right a grandma teaches her grandson how to walk. According to her, he’s not looking down enough. He isn’t seeing what his feet are doing. The kid makes it to the bench and then begins climbing up it, which takes about 45 minutes. Humans at the beginning and the end.

Last weekend I volunteered at the Wanda Rd. Street Festival. It was the 25th anniversary. It’s a party that benefits Romero House, a non-profit that houses new immigrants for their first year in Canada. There was music and games, a dunk tank, face painting and a bubble station. And I got to help serve over 400 meals. For someone who loves to feed people, this was a real thrill.

When people come to Romero House, they have absolutely nothing. And you can see it in the adult’s eyes: a look of shock as to be starting over, as to what they’ve been through to get here. The kids are different. The kids just start playing. At the talent show that night a boy newly from Ecuador butchers Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan. And who knows, maybe this 8 year-old does know the pain of unrequited love and is ready to go hungry and black and blue for someone. Or maybe he went hungry for another reason.

Friday night on Bloor at Barrett Ave., a woman across the street yelled at me, “Is something burning?”