Homeward Bound and many more

I not too long ago took a trip back to Ontario Canada to visit with my family and also with some old friends I once worked with in the field of comic book publishing. It was an interesting week with lunches with my Dad and a weekend train ride into Toronto with an old friend to be awarded with a Hall of Fame Citation for my accomplishments in the early days in the indie side of comic books.

Packing for a trip is always frenzied and I always seem to leave it until the last minute, and then try to plan in advance for the weather three thousand miles away. I have came to understand over the years to travel in comfort. I always wear a pair of comfy stretch pants on the journey, after a couple of years in a row of having the metal brads in my jeans set off the metal detectors at airports. It does not hurt that they look sleek and make it easy for me to stretch out a little in the back of the plane on long trips.

Slip off shoes have of course become almost a necessity when traveling, so I always find myself having to pack my walking shoes and wear some simple slipper type shoe for the flight. I was contemplating on doing some gardening at the house my brother is house-sitting for my journeying sister and her husband, and my family loves to walk and talk, so a dependable pair of shoes would be vital to this trip.

There is something almost enchanting about walking through a town you lived in almost thirty years ago, speaking with family and just noting the modifications in the town. The first thing my brother Michael and I did after my five hour trip was take a prolonged two hour walk into town, via the town park and back to the house where I would be staying for the extent of the trip. Just the act of wandering around, after a day dealing with airports and customs, sitting and breathing recycled air for five hours is enough to invigorate your body and mind.

Knowing that I would have a few days of gardening, an pastime I have missed since moving into my apartment, was also a thought that reinvigorated me. I may sit and write about horticulture for my organic garden fertilizer site and my grass seed planting tips site, but nothing beats the real thing! Fingers in dirt, unveiling a full season of growth since the snows receded and clipping back spent spring bulbs to uncover a new crop of wild strawberries emerging in the front yard rock garden. That is my notion of a fantastic day.

On the weekend, I took the train up to Toronto with my old close friend Sally and we checked into the accommodation that the Joe Schuster Canadian Comic Book Awards show had reserved for us. It was so fun hanging out in Toronto, a city I used to love to see when I lived in Kitchener but had not been to for nearly thirty years. We strolled through Kensington Market, ate at a little outdoor cafe that served delightful Indian food, and relished the sixties flashback quality of that amazing vibrant neighborhood. We passed street musicians in tie-dyed tops, women in multi-colored long skirts and hair, bell-bottomed college kids selling and buying goods from open-air markets, and chalkboard sandwich boards proclaiming what local bands would be playing at the coffee shops and bars that night. The air was filled with the aroma of gourmet coffee, Indian spices, fresh baked bread and incense. The sidewalks were so packed you had to share the narrow streets with the cars and bicycles to get from place to place.

It was a great afternoon to lead up to the awards show. We returned to our hotel, changed into our dresses and headed out to the University Hall where the Awards Show was happening. It was a little event, maybe 75 people there in all, but well ordered and it was special to see the work of the new kids who were honored for best cover, best kids comic book, best writer, penciller, inker and of course best comic series. There were more than a few people being inducted in the Hall of Fame, some I knew and some I simply knew their work. I had not written any kind of thank you speech, not being sure how that part of the award show would be dealt with. But everything went effortlessly, I was able to draw on everyone elses comments when they received their award, and even to talk on stage with my presenter.

It is funny- I am always concerned about it, but never really nervous when I have to speak before a crowd. But I never recall what I say so I have to evaluate by what people say after if I was any good. But everyone at the bar after the event thanked me, so guess I did okay. Thank goodness that in this day and age somebody is always video taping something like this and I could check out my talk on the internet at YouTube after I got home. Nothing special, but at least I did not sound like an idiot.

The train back to Kitchener was enjoyable and Sally and I had more time to catch up on each others lives and speculate how we might do more vacationing together in the next year or two. Back in Kitchener, I had time to spend with my Dad, who at 93 is still defeating everyone at bridge and shooting pool with a bunch of young whipper-snappers in their eighties. I hope I am half as effective at being a senior as he is.

I even had a bit of time to open my laptop, brought in the mistaken idea I would get a few hours of work done just about every day while I was there. But I did get a bit of work done revamping one of my websites about building an interlocking retaining wall. It is always fun to spend some time exploring something you do not know and learning from the research so I can write articles on the supplies and building principles used for these walls. That is what I love about creating these sites I am always learning something new. And that is what makes these trips so interesting too. I get some time for new learning, old reminiscing and time with my folks all mixed together. What could be better!