Famous....By Accident

An on-going theme for my time in Toronto is a lack of adrenaline rushes. In the old days when I was in my forties, I used to 'get my ya-yas out' by snowboarding or kiteskiing. I feel that, fundamentally, I need some sort of periodic thrill to feel alive. Getting an extra 40% off on Bay Days just doesn't seem to do it for me.

Yesterday, a big discovery, of sorts. Wendy and I went for a walk in Cabbagetown. The area we explored was east of Parliament Street  and north of Carlton. It was,quite honestly, the nicest neighbourhood I've seen in Toronto, so far. The houses were predominantly brick with architecturally significant adornments. Beyond the structural, people seemed to make an effort to make their properties eye-friendly. You could say the same for Rosedale but the sheer size of the massive Rosedale mansions gives them the nasty appearance (and associated connotations) of excessiveness (greed). So, three cheers for Cabbagetown, where you can still find a house for a million dollars!

On the far side of Cabbagetown was a sliding hill that led down into the Don Valley. Yes, the same valley that is home to the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway. The sliding hill is long with a generous grade, enough that you would approach terminal velocity by the bottom. It was the perfect place to find an opportunity for an adrenaline rush.

For Wendy.

Let's face it, in our family Wendy is the undisputed champion of the toboggan, especially if there's a jump! The reason that we were in Cabbagetown yesterday was to enjoy a brunch with an septet of C.O.C. Ensemble members. Haji, Claire, Aviva, Danielle, Michael (pianist), Clarence, Charlotte and two other singing Mikes plus a bonus semi-drunk mole (baritone) from UWO. While we were brunching, the closing ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics were on the large screen television. Some of the Olympic talk at our table led to talk of Wendy's Olympic calibre toboggan jump on Youtube. Fate smiled on our little party because the restaurant's television was wired to the internet. Andrew Haji, tenor extraordinaire and computer savvy techie, got us hooked up. I loaded Youtube and typed in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtndxGowmKg

Needless to say, it was the link to Wendy's hooo-leeee-sheeee-ittttttt moment in the sun, and air. All but one of the young singers had seen the video before, but they all roared uproariously (how else?) when seeing it again. For all Wendy's success as a soprano and a voice teacher, I do fear that she will become more famous for her gold medal worthy performance in the extreme sports arena. It may already be too late.

Anyone who is a landed immigrant in Toronto, please put your hands up.

Are you suggesting that Wendy and I are landed immigrants now that we're living in Toronto and I've professed an attraction to the town of cabbage?

Gawd no, I'm suggesting that Wendy puts her hands up when she lands.

You've seen the video?

At least seventeen times. It reminds me of that wipe-out they used to show at the beginning of ABC's Wide World Of Sports, perhaps the best wipe-out of all time. Here's a link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKEDD1i4oGk

This is pure gold too, no question. Until I find a way to elevate my own heart rate, I'll do it vicariously by watching Wendy Nielsen and Vinko Bogataj videos.