edwards block

Well, I’ve finished my work in Cleveland. This afternoon I fly back to Toronto.

I had another chat with Ed the guard this morning. I was rolling a travel case out to the loading bay (it’s quite large), and Ed said “Aha! I’m onto you. You’re Canadian. You’re smuggling Americans into Canada in that thing.”

I responded, with mock drawl, “Yup, I’ve gone and rescued me a bacth of draft dodgers”.

Ed waved at the case and said “Bye-bye” as though he was happy to be rid of my draft dodgers, and returned to his desk. During our chat this morning, he revealed that he was a conservative who had been pleased to see that last of Bill Clinton, but now he would be pleased to see the last of George W. Ed isn’t a christian fundamentalist, but he is a conservative.

Many who despise the American right wing are quick to stereotype US conservatives, and many Canadians ones, too, as loony nutcases, but this is not always the case, and I would suggest that leftists and centrists do their own movements more harm than good by continuing to subscribe to the theory that it’s only a matter of time until the old nutcases die off before liberalism once again becomes fashionable.

I had a few hours to kill before my plane, but not really enough time to explore the city in detail, so I took a walk through the downtown core. It really is attractive, in many respects. The lobby of the theatre in the Keith Building is beautiful, and there are several galleria that house artisans. However, there really isn’t much to do, so I went back to the hotel to do some writing.

Unusually when travelling on business, I’m not really feeling all that homesick. There are a few people I miss, and I’ll be glad to take another walk to Beaver Lake, but otherwise, I kind of like the feeling of being free and easy, materially. It’s just me and a suitcase. I don’t feel burdened by the pile of possessions that await me at home, and which are effectively my dependents. I work to provide a home for a mountain of books and piles of kitchen accessories, most of which are seldom used.

Perhaps I’m just manifesting the purge that I have planned for the spring, in preparation for my next midlife crisis, which will result in great changes in my lifestyle. Maybe when I get home, I’ll be more ready to start taking the necessary action.

So much for Canada. Now I’m in Cleveland. One of the computers here crashed, and as I was the closest stooge (I mean, technician), I was nominated. I never did get the work done that I was supposed to in Toronto, but I did go to a lovely dinner party at the home of some friends in the Beaches. I’ll be returning to Toronto on Tuesday to complete the job. In the meantime, here I am in America again.

At the building where we house our computers, there is a lobby security guard named Ed. He’s quite a friendly guy (for an “Ed”), and we’ve had a few good chats. I often find it rare to encounter Americans that I find interesting conversationalists (for some reason though, when I travel in Europe, some of the most interesting people I meet are American). Ed is obviously quite intelligent and we discussed a wide range of topics. He grew up in LA, and told me a bit about what it used to be like when he was a youth (he’s probably 60ish now).

Cleveland, like most of the US cities I visit, has a downtown core that is dying a slow and painful death, the majority of businesses having relocated to suburbia, following the money. It’s not as bad as some (St. Louis springs to mind). However, like St. Louis, there are many beautiful old buildings. In Cleveland they are generally in better shape, and more utilised, but things are still pretty quiet compared to downown Vancouver or Toronto. You can’t get any food after 11:00pm unless you get pizza delivered.

Did I mention the air and water in Cleveland? The first thing I noticed (after the frigid temperature) was the air. I can taste it, and the taste is reminiscent of much-handled pennies. The water has a similar taste. Perhaps it’s all those smokestacks I see on the horizon (in between the cooling towers of the nuclear power plants).

Cup of acid rain, anyone?