5 Cities and three days

So I woke at the sound of my alarm beaming at me to wake and start my day. My gosh, it is 5:30 am, normally I am peeking at the snooze button to delay my getting up. This time I don't hit the snooze button and rose at the instance. I have to admit, I thought about hitting the snooze button!

It takes me a good hour to get out of the apartment even though my clothes and luggage are packed and prepared from last night. The early morning bus is seemingly a culture shock or perhaps a flashback from my days of working downtown Toronto. The sounds of feet shuffling on the floor of the bus, jackets rubbing pass each other and the awful sounds of coughs and groans make me feel sick. It is not so bad, however.

downtown Toronto

No incidents on the subway just the usually alarms of the slight delay route which triggers my anxiety for a few minutes. It takes me approximately one hour to reach the bus station where I get my bus to Niagara then Buffalo airport. 

So I am at the greyhound station sitting patiently until the bus comes and hunger hits. My senses trigger me to buy a cinnamon bun and an orange juice at the over-priced-rate and I do just that. At this point it leaves a bad taste in my mouth mainly because of the sugar, so early in the morning. 

Big shout out to the Toronto bus station, it runs pretty smoothly like a well-oiled machine. Everyone including the passengers seems to know how it works at the station. 

On such a grey day my trip on the greyhound is working out very well. 

I hadn't taken the bus on long trips in such so many years, it feels good just to relax and let someone else drive while I do some sightseeing which by the way, is a brand new world ever since I started wearing glasses.  

Thoughts go through my mind of leaving the big city, what would it be like to live in a smaller city without having to worry about the stress and traffic. Those thoughts quickly go by just as fast as the small towns we pass on the highway. 

Canada-USA border

I can't help but admire the relationship that Canada and the USA have as two great nations doing business every single day. The border is a very busy place to be. Stress levels could be skyrocketed if you are border police without a level head. 

I am at the bus station downtown Buffalo and I can't help but notice the increasing population of African Americans compared to Toronto. What else is noticeable is the way Americans conduct business. As our new bus driver took over at Buffalo, his presence was felt immediately. He Was very authoritative, precise, and almost military-like. He was the kind of gentleman I felt safe with as the driver but I will be very glad to exit the bus once I arrive at the airport. 

Our Canadian driver had about five lines of instructions and our American driver had 25. Rules had to be understood.

Now I have arrived at Buffalo airport and again this morning of traveling is going smooth as silk. So far so good!  

Frustrations are setting as I am trying to get connected to WiFi to let my wife know that I am safe but it is taking too long. I finally ask a young man who works in the airport for some directions to a shop or a store which deals with cell phones. The young man politely asks for my phone and even contradictory to rumors of young African Americans he hooks me up with WiFi. 

I am thankful. 

Our airline captain to NYC loves to fly planes. I had a good look at his posture and the way he spoke and I knew that flying planes was something he dreams about as a kid. I can also mention that the way our pilot flew his plane, it felt like he enjoys his trips. Trust me this is all he does besides probably having a look at the skies on his days off. 

On this November day, NY city is hot, around 21 degrees Celsius. Having the AC on in November just sounds crazy but that is exactly what is happening. Now I am getting hungry but these airport foods aren't going to take my budget and leave a bad taste in my mouth again. I bought a cream cheese bagel and a hot tea and decided that was dinner for the night. 

airport food

My flight to West Palm Beach is almost ready, it is time to recharge my phone and chill out. My body relaxes while my eyes and ears wander around the airport. NYC is very unique with many different accents over the PA system. 

It's time to fly again and I board the plane. This time I am wearing down due to the lack of energy and protein, I believe. New Yorkers are loud, I found this out very quickly. We had a slight altercation on the plane before it took off. No need for cops or an air marshal it was handled very professionally by the Jet Blue staff. Shout Outs to Jet Blue! 

I am loving the domestic flights I wish Canada would make it easier for us to travel between provinces. I probably would travel more within Canada and could go on more adventures. These are the thoughts that go through my mind. 

beautiful palm trees

I watched basketball on my way to West Palm Beach and saw our Toronto Raptors lose their first game of this season. That is OK, we won our first five games and besides, it is a long season. I also flip-flopped between channels trying my best to keep away from the CNN news and politics in the USA. 

  

I arrive at West Palm Beach airport, looking around. It has been at least 10 years since I was here I remember bits and pieces about the airport and besides, once you tried one they are all similar. I am texting Mr. Roberts to let him know that I have arrived and is waiting outside for him to pick me up. Mr. Roberts and I will be partnering up this weekend at our big event. Our next business partner got stuck in Barbados due to airplane mechanical related issues. 

cruise ship at dock

A car pulls up and I recognize the driver from a previous picture sent to me by text. Its Mr. Roberts, I open the door introduced myself and we got going...

  

  

  

Creeping through the hallways

My curiosity always get the best of me sometimes and my sense of humor propels me to do odd things.

I decided to take a walk through my apartment building one night just to stretch my legs.  The first time I actually did it it was actually for the exercise but it is becoming a regular occurrence for my own curiosity.  My apartment building is very thin on the layers and I was quite amazed at the things I heard as I walked by doors through the hallways.

Your home is your castle but did you know that your castle is very revealing.  Those walls can talk and what those walls say comes directly from the source which is undeniable.  No wonder neighbors seldom get along with each other.  Have you ever wondered why your next door neighbor gives you that nasty look as you walk by or even as you tried to make the cheap conversation?  It's probably because they can hear everything you say about them.

So as I walked pass an apartment I heard the microwave beeping and I thought to myself, dinner is done!  Further along I can hear the TV show "The Voice" playing and a few chit chatters I would assume is about the contestants of the show. Some people are never at home as it seems, it's always quiet in some apartments.  I guess they are the ones with two jobs or perhaps a very active lifestyle of some sort!   The surround sound blazes and a movie plays with the sounds of gun shots and some yelling screaming through a door as I passed another. 

We have quite a few people with baby strollers outside their doors, I didn't realize people kept them outside the doors.  Like who will steal a stroller!  Also, many people leave their boots and shoes outside their doors as well.  I am assuming that no one will take someone's stinky boots but I am not convinced to leave mine out there.

Hallways can be very creepy I thought to myself as I
wandered through more of them.

Hi Daddy...

My body pumped and feeling explosive from the weights I pressured my muscles with.  I drank  a shake, powdered with tiny particles of protein powder in the hopes of doing something to my body which could compensate for some of my mind that has been lost of lately.  

I sat on the sofa, looked around and breathed in with an expectancy of something miraculous to happen.  I reached for the remote on the coffee table and pushed the tiny red button that powered on the TV. 

I seldom watch television these days but I guess once seated on the sofa it becomes a natural reaction to turn the television on.

My cell phone rings and I answer.

On the other end there is a sweet voice of someone saying "hi dad how are you" and I says I am fine.  I do not recognize the voice but it feels good to hear those words again which seem like an eternity. 

On the other end the person realizes that they called the wrong number and chuckles playfully.  I chuckled back.  She quickly apologizes and I said not to worry about it and it was all good. 

She hangs up and I smiled.

One day I will hear those words again, I pray to the higher powers that it won't be too late when it happens.  I also prayed that it won't be a another wrong number again, it felt good.

Baptism by lies

The straight shooters always seem to get the most criticism.  Let the truth be told or not!  Its always better to tell the truth than to lie.  Sounds familiar?

No one likes a liar according to most people I speak to on an everyday basis but I wonder...

I often beat myself up if I ever have to tell a lie, you know the little white lies that seem so harmless to you and many of us.   I very seldom have to lie and by the way I am no saint according to what I have been told about myself.

Everyday we face different struggles and when those struggles become unbearable most of us are forced to do and say things to help ourselves out of those struggles.  For instance the things you may say to get you a job when most needed may be far from the truth.  I am sure you may not have to stray far from the truth but when asked those questions which seem like the deal breaker you will consider answering appropriately.  The Human brain is a great absorber of information which consumes enough info to either inspire a person or simply turn them off.  If your story is wonderful to the person listening then your lie is really just an inspired thought to the listener and of course in a strange way the two minds matches.

I recently was sold a lie from a mechanic shop in my neighborhood on Kipling avenue  located in north Etobicoke.  I wont give specific details of the shop simply of fear of being sued for defamation of character which is always not cool.  It really pisses me off when I am lied to, when lies are bold and specific I sometimes try to see under the core to see what it is that propelled this lie.  This time I am really not sure besides a few hundred dollars which I lost to the shop, why would their lie to me over something very small.   I still have a broken car but now I have gained some valuable knowledge to never trust that business word again.  So now they have lost me forever as a customer and my friends wont ever go there.

Have you ever been lied to by a spouse?  Do you remember what that feels like after you found out that you were being fed lies on top of lies.  It hurts and no one likes to be hurt in no form of way.  You may laugh it off as much as you wish but those hurtful lies will place pain some where beneath your core and continue to rupture what is left of the goodness within you.  Surely we all get past the hurt and we eventually move on to be more aware and suspicious of people in our lives.

Politicians lie all the time to the public.  This is more intentional and deliberate yet we accept this behavior and condemn other types. Something must be wrong with us or clearly we just accept lies as it becomes a normal practice in our society.  I often see the same types bunch together and that old saying "birds of a feather flock together" really must be true.  Churches always seem to attract the liars who think they can erase what they have done, repent and be forgiven.

So it's accepted, easily done.  We forgive those who have accepted their past behavior and admits to lying.  What about the ones who have never admitted to their tendencies to mislead others and still be allowed to cause more damage?  They often forget that they are liars, their world is sealed with so many lies that they continue to lie to themselves and this usually helps them in a twisted way.

Husbands are almost forced into lying to their wives constantly.  On many occasions women want to be complimented on their looks and to be reminded how pretty they are.  To be honest, your husband will never tell you how terrible you look for fear of many things.  If you want him to be honest and be truthful to you then you may have to accept his honesty and realize that he isn't saying things on purpose to hurt your feelings.  Of course, that's not what you want to hear.

The Pallbearer

Thank goodness for global warming because I can only imagine if Toronto got colder.  Every where I go people are complaining about the weather or are they simply chronic complainers?  Bunch of winers some may say, grunts and groans about mother nature!  Just enjoy what is given to you and make the best of it. I have seen warmer winters before but it was around that time that we starting hearing about global warming and the dangers of having warmer temperatures here in the north. New York this past winter, I think, received more snow than Toronto, yet we complain. I am sure they are complaining in New York as well.

I recently attended a funeral of one of my old friends.  In my journeys I probably wouldn't  have seen this coming but as you probably know by now we all have an unwritten script that we follow.  Each and everyday that we go about our lives we sometimes think that we are in control but I am absolutely positive that the higher power knows it better than us. I was asked to be a pallbearer for a friend I barely knew.  This was special!  Friendships are grown in many ways, sometimes being nice to a neighbor or a simple hello can last a life time, absolutely wonderful! I wont speak for my friend who is no longer with us but I will say to you, if you have a friend in your life please think about that friendship and what it means to you.

Queens quay Toronto

Friendly reminders often come in many forms and signs.  Paying attention to them sometimes is harder to do especially in our hectic lives.  We are selfish, this includes you and your circle as well.  It is a culture we developed over the years and on most occasions it takes a disaster or death for us to really break the cycle and be more giving and understanding to our friends and neighbors. We celebrated our friend's life of 69 years and said goodbye to her and on this same day I visited my niece and said hello.  They are both doing fine now even though none of us will probably ever understand until we join them.

Its freezing cold now and yeah it may be miserable but I am sure there is something that you appreciate about this cold weather.

Give thanks to the father

I'm up every day at 6 am to get my day started. Some times I hit the snooze button a few times just to make sure that I am ready for a productive day in my life.

What inspired me to write this piece is something I saw the other night, I guess I would say it was very inspiring in a unique way. From time to time I have been challenged and inspired by many people and things that surround me. This time it clicked at first calling.

The bonding time between a father and his two sons at a fast-food restaurant was pretty awesome to watch. It's not like I haven't seen this before but this time it was epic!  There was no flashy jewelry with the father, he wore no brand names. He was bearded with a white beard and wore a toque to keep the cold from off his head. He spoke direct, showed the two boys that he was in control but remained in a manner that looked extremely loving to his off-springs.


The boys were teenagers, the main prize in this bonding affair is the burger. Dad uses this time to pass on life skills as much as he can and he knows that one day these two boys will become men. Dad doesn't show any coolness one bit. This is dad.

Dad does not pretend, he handles his business in the manner which only his closest friends can understand. Those burgers have to be eaten but will have to be eaten at a slow pace since the bonding has turned into teaching. He answers a call on his cellphone but makes it quick which clearly showed that his time with his boys mattered. Dad needs these moments to teach the qualities because soon these adolescents can turn into monsters if dad let some things slide. Dad doesn't need to be cool one bit because dad realizes that all the bling in the world means nothing if you don't know how to survive within this world.

So to all the not so cool dads out there, don't think that your time and efforts will go all for nothing. One day your cool sons and daughters will become that old person who isn't cool at all and their kids will start the cycle all over again. We as parents teach to pass on to the next generation. Hopefully, we are passing down meaningful skills or habits for survival to our children which can help them in their future.

Stay cool my friends