A Transit Tale
Ronald Charles Epstein
When Italian-Canadians celebrated 1998 World Cup soccer victories by
turning St. Clair Avenue West’s Corso Italia into a giant street party, I sought
alternatives to the St. Clair street car, such as the Keele 98 bus. Bad move.
I had to get past a belligerent young man with a large white terrier, who was
denouncing the driver for refusing to let him and his dog on the bus, due to
regulations forbidding animals at rush hour. I then take the bus to Eglinton
Ave. W. and switch to the Eglinton West 32 bus. A young man in shorts, using a
cane, gets on at Oakwood Avenue and tells me that a certain guy on the street
is a mooching crack addict. He also complains of “burning sweat” (!?) and
flying (nonexistent) bugs-perhaps he was also a bit wasted? Still, the stoner
was better company than the angry young man.
(This was published in v117 of cc&d, the January 2000 issue)
