London

25 Years and It's The Same As Ever

So I ended up back in London Ontario for the Month of December. I never imagined it would happen. I had no plans to go here. But here I was, back in a town I lived in a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. I decided that since I was going to be here until the holidays were done, I was going to treat London as if it was a brand new city. I hadn’t been there in so long I couldn’t expect the same things would still be standing from when I was a kid. Could I?

To me, the scariest stretch in the entire city is Cheapside and Highbury all the way to Huron and Highbury. Not one business has changed since I left the city from high school. That to me was frightening. Nothing had changed. Different workers in those buildings (thank goodness) but it’s the same buildings by and large.

London legit in some places is frozen in time. It always felt that way in some ways when I was a kid, but seeing it confirmed in real life years later convinced me that London is in its own time vortex. It was scary to watch that section of the city and know nothing is that different. It’s not quite the comfort to me it may be to you reading this. Especially for a city that large.

Now that’s not to say that London hasn’t changed. I saw a tent city in London Ontario going up Dundas Street for the first time ever. One of the common themes of Canada is that things are not going well in a lot of areas. I cannot stress enough the abundance Canada has in resources and land. The fact we as a country have this many people on the street is a crime, especially in weather like it was in December.

One of the other changes was that the mall I used to have chinese and dairy queen with my dad after we had comics is all but gone. The London public Library was there. But outside the building and under the underpass, the tent city residents would go under there to survive in really cold weather. To say that this is normal for Canada is a tragedy. That didn’t exist even five years ago.

But it’s not all bad in London either. There were lots of places I explored, and got reacquainted with as well. Giving a city a second chance after not being there, and trying to live with new eyes was a fun experience overall. I didn’t mind London.

As for where I stayed, for the most part, I stayed with an old friend. If you were to ask me what the greatest treasure in the world is, is friendship. Friendships are the rarest treasure on the planet. Ones that last the test of time are worth their weight in gold. Brad is one such friend.

He was at a low point when I ran into him here. It was odd to me to see him like what he was. He had gone through a medical crisis and it had changed him. He’s still recovering from it. His kids, who I had met when they were little kids are now teenagers. Although in some ways things haven’t changed. His daughter still owns him. She is the spitting image of his mother. It’s frightening.

But the relationships in the household were adjusting. Brad had made some decisions that has changed the dynamics of those relationships, and time will tell what comes of it, but safe to say, he was in a dark place. So I did what any good friend would do.

Kick him in the ass.

Beyond that, we caught up. We talked about life and where we’re at. In our forties, neither of us ended up quite where we thought we’d be. Brad in many ways is lucky. He’s got two kids who in spite of everything, adore him. Towards the end of my time there, I got to participate in mario kart scrimmages with the kids and brad towards the end. They are willing to hang with him. I hope he uses that.

It was cool to connect with him again though. I didn’t expect to see him, and I consider that a gift. Thanks Brad for letting me stay.

I got to connect with Jonathan Swain too. Jon is veyr much the man who probably has changed the least. We played magic and watched wrestling both times we hung out. Jon went out of his way to help me out when I was there. I want to thank him very much for all he did. Jon went out of his way to help me when he didn’t have to. So dude, if you’re reading this, much love. Thanks for everything.

I realize that I have a lot more to stay about London, so stay tuned.