Canadian Lyndsay

The other day, I contacted the office of Adam Vaughan, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 20, where Clarence Square Park is located.

Today, I received this reply:

Dear Lyndsay,

On behalf of Councillor Vaughan, thanks for your e-mail and for getting in touch with our office.

The plans for revitalization of this park have been underway for several years. A design has been prepared by The Planning Partnership, the same landscape architecture firm that was also involved in the recent revitalization of Victoria Memorial Square, near Portland St and Wellington St W.

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I thought I’d share with you all a few headlines from the news this morning.

From the Winnipeg Free Press on July 31, 2010:

• Teenager stabbed at party
• Family pepper sprayed
• From the same story…
  • Just before 2 a.m., a lone male with a handgun robbed the Lincoln Motor Hotel vendor in the 1000 block of McPhillips Street. The man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
  • And just after 2 a.m., a 19-year-old woman suffered multiple stab wounds to her upper body in the 500 block of Osborne.
  • And a 40-year-old man was stabbed in an altercation with a female known to him in the 800 block of College Avenue just before 5 a.m.
• Inmate accidentally set free

And people wonder why I want to leave Winnipeg.

Man, I love living in Osborne Village and I love working in the Exchange District.  Everyday, I see and hear things that make me laugh, or shake my head, or run away.

Today, while outside at work, I observed…

• Two people fighting at the top of their lungs.  I moved away because stabbing is a popular pastime downtown.
• A girl bawling her eyes out talking on her cell phone as she walked down the street.
• The poor Aboriginal man who sits on the stoop of a building across the street with an orange hat pointed outwards for money. He always tucks it into his jacket when the police or Exchange Patrol walk by.
• This crazy boat of a car that parks on the street every day, all day. Despite a two hour limit.  Not sure how the parking people miss this, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

This was just today!

Now, for Osborne Village. Today’s only real observance was the guy on his UNICYCLE, cycling along just like other cyclists on BICYCLES.  Interesting.

The village is hilarious because at night, you get people begging for money, but there’s often a group of young people with a sign that says something like “We’re not going to lie. We want money for weed.”

Ahh, only in the Village.

Dear Academy,

Since moving to Osborne Village a year ago, I have enjoyed many a beer and wing on your patio.  Yes, your patio is the best of the patios in the village.

But things seem to be falling apart. Why?  Just after Canada Day, you didn’t have many beers available.  Since then, a lot of time your draught beer has been flat.  Then was the day I wanted a steak sandwich from your menu, but you were out of steak.  Then came the revamped menu that appeared to be half of what it used to be.

The days you’re open are sporadic and unpredictable. I’ll drive past any day of the week and not know whether you will be open or closed.

And now, most incredibly, in this incredible month of April, where patios across the city have been jammed full for over a week, you still do not have your patio set up.

Dear Academy, my friends and I fear for your life. Are you soon to leave us? Why would you deny us the pleasure of your patio unless… unless there’s no point because you’re shutting down soon.

Please, have some consistency and look at your business plan. I don’t want you to go.

Love,
Lyndsay

PS – Get a freaking website! Put your days and hours on it!