Homelessness in the light of the 7-Eleven

Lost in the big city
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This isn't quite the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but part of me thinks it could be.

A 7-Eleven store is always a bit of a crossroads of humanity, but never more so than late at night. As the blindingly white fluorescent light spills like an oasis into the surrounding parking lot, a varied cast of characters comes and goes, each of them writing a chapter in real-time in a story that never seems to end.

I've already written in an earlier post about the middle-aged woman in the flowery dress who left her dog alone outside, so we know that one had something of a happy ending when the little pup was still there upon her return. But on this night, hers wasn't the only story playing out here.

You can just see the man in the fedora near frame-centre as he returns to his shopping cart parked under the Gatorade sign. He's been shuffling back and forth outside the front of the store for at least 15 minutes, carefully loading up and securing all his worldly possessions before walking away again in search of something else to forage.

When a posse of young kids in a brand-new Jeep Wrangler pulls up, he quickly disappears into the shadows before re-emerging after they enter the store. For some odd reason, I ponder how much the candy-apple-red Jeep must have cost, and how much this one man would need to feel secure.

Soon enough, the overly loud kids return to the Jeep and peel out of the parking lot, booming, forgettable music competing with the uniformly confident voices of young entitlement.

As silence slowly returns to the grit-covered parking lot, the fedora-wearing man returns to his cart and slowly begins pushing it away from the door before he disappears for good behind the building. I can still hear the squeak of the wheels long after he fades from view.

Haves. Have-nots. They all make their way here, eventually. Where they end up afterward is anyone's guess. That's the deal with crossroads like these.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #urban #dundas #street #streetphotography #night #photography #7eleven #convenience #store #retail #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Us + 35

Two halves of a greater whole
Laval, QC
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I remember our first date like it was yesterday.

Except it most certainly wasn't yesterday. It was 35 years ago. August 17, 1984. We went to a pizza restaurant in Montreal, Tasty Food, and I remember wishing it would never end.

We talked a lot that evening, so much so that to this day I'm not sure how we found time to actually finish the pizza. It's a problem that persists to this day: I could talk to her forever.

Wait, that's not a problem. Except when you're hungry. And even then...

The sheer number makes me feel a little old, but that's perfectly fine when you cherish time as much as she does. And as you can tell from the photo, time has been kind to her. I stared at her a lot that night. Still do. I wish I had forever to look, too.

Just under eight years after sharing that magical pizza in that magical place on that magical night, we got married, and July 5 became our official-official anniversary.

But like a building built on a strong foundation, construction of any good marriage begins long before rings are exchanged and bouquets are tossed. Every other date, every milestone, every moment that came afterward, owes its existence to that first moment when we realized we weren't just having a pizza.

So August 17th sticks with us. Because it never hurts to remember where it all began, and what it felt like when the universe decided it was time our paths not only crossed, but joined.

And what DID it feel like that night? Flutters in my stomach. First time I'd ever felt them.

I still get them when I see her.

#laval #chomedey #quebec #canada #throwback #anniversary #love #loveher #limitlessly #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Late nights by an empty intersection

Cobalt and glass on the corner
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There's nothing to see here.

Nobody stops to look at an intersection that looks and feels like so many other in this city of millions. It's ordinary and time worn. It would be forgettable, except that would imply someone - anyone - took the time to pay attention in the first place.

On this night, no one did.

But hang around long enough for your eyes to adjust to the nighttime murk, and subtle stories seem to slowly emerge. A family-owned glass and mirror store that reflects an almost-lost form of retail. A mid-aughts Chevy Cobalt that someone clearly cares about. A graffiti tag that suggests the exact opposite.

Cities like this are packed full of places like this, each one an assembly of seemingly random examples of people just trying to get by. Business owners trying to make a living. A hard-working kid trying to get around in something akin to style. Another kid simply trying to be heard.

The longer I stand across the way and peer into this ordinary space beside a busy road where no one stops to look, the more I realize how wrong my first impression was.

There's so much to see here. If only we allow ourselves the time to see it.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #urban #dundas #street #manning #streetphotography #night #photography #monochrome #bw #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Of trains, rainbows, and hope for a better future

View this post on Instagram

It will be a colorful weekend in Montreal! Once again, we are a proud partner of @fiertemontreal! Do you have any travel plans? (Photo: @carmilevy) #PrideMTL ///// Nous prévoyons un magnifique week-end coloré à Montréal! Nous sommes très fiers d'être partenaires encore une fois cette année de @fiertemontreal ! Avez-vous des plans de voyage? (photo: @carmilevy) #fierteMTL

A post shared by VIA Rail Canada (@viarailcanada) on Aug 16, 2019 at 1:00pm PDT

I am deeply honored that @viarailcanada chose to share my photo of the #ldnont station in their feed.

Even better, it's in support of two things that matter to me: My hometown of #montreal and #pride.

Because inclusiveness touches and benefits each and every one of us, and we must all speak in a collective voice so that we may strengthen the community values that underpin lives well lived.

May we always celebrate the full spectrum of colors and experiences that make life such a rich pageant. May we always grow by sharing our experiences with others.

Joyeux #PrideMTL!

#yul #quebec #yxu #london #ontario #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #throwback #rainbow #diversity #ally

Related: Original post on Instagram

How much is that doggie outside the 7-Eleven?

Waiting for mom to return
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm not one to judge, but dog-owning Carmi saw this late-night scene in the fluorescent-pooled-light beside a run-down 7-Eleven store in Toronto and cringed a little. Okay, a lot.

I don't have enough trust in my fellow humans that my pup would still be there upon my return. I didn't trust strangers when I was a kid and rode my bike to the store, and I don't trust them now. If my dog is with me, she'll come inside, just as I brought my bike with me way back when. Someone from the store doesn't want my dog or bike - or oversized sombrero - inside? Tough. I'll go elsewhere.

Maybe I'm cynical, but people can suck. Not all people, and not all the time. But enough of them, enough of the time that it's always a possibility that whatever it is you've left outside on its own won't be there when you finish buying that extra-large blueberry squishy you probably shouldn't have had in the first place.

This story thankfully has a happy ending. I stared at this sweet dog from afar until momma came back outside, untied him (her? I can never tell) and walked off into the night.

But that was this time. And as much as I'd never have the guts to walk up to a complete stranger and suggest they might want to rethink their canine security strategy, I fear next time - or some other time - she won't be so lucky. When I got home, I hugged our puppy a little longer than usual.

At least I got a picture out of this experience.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #urban #dundas #street #streetphotography #night #photography #dog #dogs #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #7eleven #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The architectural seat of power

Simple, yet not
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Toronto's city hall rocks.

Sure, it serves as the centre of power for Canada's largest city, but it's been designed in such a way that the citizens touched by what goes on here are always welcome.

The giant public square that surrounds it comes alive with activity every day, in any season. Festivals and concerts in summer. Skating in winter. Clambering on and in the iconic Toronto sign year-round, mixed in with a nosh from a nearby food truck. I could hang here for days.

It's so well programmed that you don't even have to be a Torontonian to appreciate the vibrancy of effective community spaces like this one. Other cities might want to take note.

So, of course, the photo I choose to share has none of these things in it. Because I'm weird that way.

My silliness aside, sometimes you've just got to go with the simple shot built from lines, curves, textures, and a little bit of color served up by Mother Nature.

Because the power of design is rarely more evident than when it's applied to the structures where democracy itself comes alive.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #monochrome #concrete #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #curves #city #hall #blue #sky #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Jumbled skyline

Urban (glass) jungle
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When viewed in isolation, there's not a whole lot about a glass-clad box of a building that makes it worthy of little more than a passing glance.

All that changes when you view a bunch of them, all kind of squished together by the delightful optical properties of a long lens.

The straight lines from one seem to reach out to the straight lines from the others. The mirrored surfaces of each building take on the reflected shapes and tones of the others. The individual forms become part of a larger, connected community.

Your eyes wander the urban jungle scene, looking for details that tell the story of a neighborhood defined by the overwhelming scale of downtown development. This isn't a place where subtlety seems to have much place.

But stare into the mess for a bit and minor details seem to bubble into view. A rooftop deck where neighbors gather to take in the view. A hint of a shadow from one building to another. The riot of colors, shapes, and reflection shifting starkly from one to the next.

The trick isn't necessarily to find all these things and call it done. This isn't a contest, after all. Simply standing by the window and taking the time to take it all in - that's the real goal.

Which begs the question of whether we're taking enough time to look. And the second one, of whether we're planning to spend more time beside windows just like this one.

Because no matter where we may happen to find ourselves, we only get so many opportunities to take in the view, so many opportunities to find the little details and joys amid the sometimes overwhelming neighborhoods that surround us. They're out there, but only if we allow ourselves to look.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #concrete #glass #reflective #mirror #urban #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #urban #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Dead store in a dead mall

King of what?
Strathroy, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not all architecture is celebrated. Or memorable. Some of it just is. Like this nearly abandoned strip mall that sits, baking in the sun beside a scruffed-at-the-edges downtown street, waiting for visitors who will likely never arrive.

As the afternoon settles into early evening in this quiet town nestled among the bucolic farmlands west of London, a single car detours through the otherwise empty parking lot facing the Bargain King. I'm guessing the sight of a camera-slinging stranger (that would be me) peering through the darkened glass doorway is arousing suspicion among the locals.

Never mind, though, as the old Dodge with the primer-painted front end and homemade exhaust just as quickly drives off, leaving silence once more behind.

I'd like to imagine that this mall was once a bustling place, where people came to not only buy the things they needed, but also connect to their neighbors. Because shopping isn't - and never was - just about buying stuff.

Yet the faded sign betrays a sadder reality of a store that was likely bleached of its energy long before the sun did its thing. As I stand there, I wish I could will this place back to life, but I don't think it had much life to begin with.

Still, there's a resonance to this spot, a reminder that everything, however plain and forgettable, has its role, its place. While most of us might ignore it on our way to the nearby grocery store, or in the rush to get to or from the office, it still anchors life in a place where things seem to happen a little more slowly.

And that's a good thing. Because not everything has to be immediate. Not everything has to be gleaming perfection. And whoever the Bargain King is, or was, he would doubtless agree.

#ldnont #london #strathroy #ontario #canada #urban #front #street #photography #kenwick #mall #retail #buildings #architecture #architectureporn #ruinporn #architecturephotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Looking back on an eventful trip

On this day six years ago, I took my first trip outside the house after my stroke. And for reasons that still elude me, I thought it would be a good idea to take a selfie in the passenger-side mirror.

I still remember feeling like I had been hit by a truck, still remember my somewhat compromised speech, which had not yet come fully back, still remember the feeling of being damaged, and nowhere near whole. I cringe at the sight and the thought of that particular chapter, but I'm glad I still had the wherewithal to pull out my phone - BlackBerry for the win! - and take the shot.

It's funny how you remember certain things. They may not be the best memories, but they serve as reminders of how far you've come, and how lucky you are.

Related Facebook entries:
Aug 09, 2019
Aug 09, 2013 (4 days post-stroke)

Curvy building against a blue sky

Iconic
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You've got to admire someone who has the guts to swim against the current, to defy conventional wisdom, to strike out on a unique path.

Like whoever developed, designed, and engineered this building (Toronto's L Tower). It probably would have been easier to build a giant rectangle in the sky. Likely a lot cheaper, too. Maybe even faster.

But would it be as memorable? Or special? Would it prompt spontaneous discussion on the street? Or make kids smile as they turn their curious eyes to the sky? Would it make the area around it better in some way?

Probably not. Because buildings that follow the crowd are doomed to get lost in it. Which is why I keep coming back to this one, a structure that will never follow any other. And never get lost in the crowd. Because a complex-curved facade invites moments of whimsy in ways no ordinary building can.

And as I stand a few kilometres away and train my long lens on this unique building backstopped against a perfectly blue sky, I wonder where else spontaneous whimsy can be found, and whether we're all doing enough to find it.

#toronto #ontario #canada #photography #reflective #mirror #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #curves #blue #sky #weather #wx #urban #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related: Before and after days (January 2019)

Reflecting the neighborhood

Impressionism on high
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On its own, glass doesn't stand out. Little more than melted sand, it barely draws attention to itself.

But stick it in the middle of - or next to - something else, and it seemingly comes alive. What was once a bare, featureless surface suddenly dances with life. Shift your perspective, change the lighting, squint your eyes just so and the scene changes again. And again.

I'm guessing there's an analogy at play here, a lesson we'd do well to learn, a takeaway we might want to tuck into our pocket for later reference. Because like the somewhat featureless glass curtain wall you see here, we, too, are empty canvases just waiting to be painted by the experiences we choose to follow, and those we choose to join along the way. Our story becomes, literally, a reflection of the people - and their stories - that accompany and surround us.

On this day, in this place, the view is of an impressionist-looking reflection of the neighborhood, of lives playing out behind their own glass facades, of sounds echoing off of the vibrant public square below the monolithic structures that surround it. On another day, in different light, the view might be different. So might the sounds. The feel. The everything.

I don't work far from here, so I'm guessing I'll be back. Because there are always more stories to tell, and you never know how neighbors will help neighbors realize their full potential.

And to think this all started with a simple pane of glass. In the end, maybe it isn't so simple.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #monochrome #concrete #reflective #mirror #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #urban #streetphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Balconville revisited

Nobody's home
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I don't think there's so much as one curve in this scene. That's the point. And the appeal.

Design-by-ruler may have been the methodology of choice for modernist architects more focused on sticking to the bottom line than pursuing historic greatness. But that doesn't mean it can't have a certain appeal all its own.

It can. And in this case, it did. The perfect lines, the immense scale, the total lack of any evidence that people live here - I just couldn't keep walking without at least trying to record the moment in some way.

Why do I keep taking photos like this? Because the world can be an ugly place, filled with ugly people.

The ones who shoot up Walmarts and garlic festivals may get all the attention, but ugliness manifests itself in all sorts of other ways, too. Unkindness takes on many forms. And we don't even realize it's relentlessly grinding us down until the damage is already done.

So I shoot weird scenes like this. Because we all need an escape, and I find mine in pixels and words. There's nothing ugly about rearranging light into something worthy of sharing.

If it keeps the unkindness away for even a few seconds longer, then it will have been worth it.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #photography #monochrome #concrete #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #design #lines #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The day everything changed

Where it all went down
London, ON
August 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Today's an interesting day in the story that is me: It was six years ago today that I had a stroke.

As you've probably guessed by virtue of the fact that I'm writing this, I survived. Even better, I managed to do so with most of my admittedly already-scrambled grey matter fairly intact. I was lucky enough to have a wife who recognized what was going on immediately, kids who helped her at every step, and world-class medical care a short drive from our house.

We were, and are, also lucky enough to be surrounded by a community of friends who dropped everything and surrounded us with everything we needed to ensure we made it through arguably the most terrifying chapter of our lives.

I didn't overtly share my story until a year had passed, and even then I didn't make that big a deal of it. At the time, I didn't want to be perceived as "that guy", the one whose stroke defined him in the eyes of others.

I eventually changed my tune, because stroke awareness is one of those things that can make the difference between living well, living not-so-well, or not living at all. I've heard stories from so many people who didn't get the help they needed within the magic window of opportunity that defines every stroke victim's timeline. I've seen lives that could have taken a different turn, but didn't, because someone - victim or family member - blew it off, figuring it was "nothing".

But there is no "nothing" when it comes to stroke awareness, no middle ground. You either get care as it's happening, or you and those around you suffer every day thereafter. If my story resonates with one person, then it's worth sharing.

The photo? Wonderland and Nine Mile Road, the rural intersection north of London where I accidentally tore my carotid artery and permanently changed my family's trajectory.

They say you should always remember where you came from. Well, I remember the places where my life changed.

Weird? Definitely. But words can't express how happy I am to have been given the chance to continue being weird at all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #photography #lifeinthemargins #stroke #awareness #family #everything

Related entries:
- So, about that stroke - August 2014
- When even "thank you" seems lame - August 2014
- More stroke stuff... - August 2014
- Coming up on Canada AM - Lookahead to February 2015 interview
- Winding down the day that was - February 2015 - incl link to Canada AM/Heart/Stroke Month segment
- Life at the crossroads - April 2015
- Two years on... - August 2015
- Three bonus years - August 2016
- Four years later - August 2017
- Five years on - August 2018
- Luke Perry could have been me - or any of us - March 2019

Stark brick against a brilliant sky

Keep cool in the sun
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If you spend enough time following my feed, you might conclude I've got a thing for straight lines, blue skies, and architectural themes.

You'd be right.

Like so many things that bounce around inside my head, I can't explain the why. It satisfies this weird craving I have to record what goes on around us. It makes me happy to rearrange our disorderly world into some sense of order. It alternatively keeps me out of, and gets me into, trouble. It just is.

I snagged a lot of brick-and-air-conditioning-unit scenes on my last walkabout down and around Adelaide Street, but it's easy to understand why. That's the visual that defines this place. This is not a neighborhood of big houses, quiet, gilded streets, and fancy cars. It is one of run-down apartment blocks hard up against four or five lanes of high-speed traffic.

The brickwork is old, faded, and sometimes crumbling. The chairs out front are cracked resin. The grass is more scrub and dirt than lush green. Kids won't play here.

Yet there's a sense of place and substance that you won't find in a terrace surrounded by McMansions. I'd rather explore here than there, and that alone should explain why areas like this matter more to our fabric than we might have otherwise thought.

Beauty, after all, takes on many forms.

#ldnont #london #519london #519ldn #ontario #canada #urban #adelaide #street #photography #buildings #architecture #architectureporn #ruinporn #architecturephotography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Scene from the Grapefruit League

Eat me, please
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Behold the humble grapefruit, the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of photos I like to call "fruitography".

I don't eat enough of these. Which is a bit of a shame, because I rather enjoy them, and Canada's Food Guide says they're quite healthy. Certainly more so than the celebration size peanut butter M&Ms I polished off last week. Bad Carmi. I'll have to ramp up my grapefruit consumption, then.

It may sound weird, but stuff like this - food I like, photos of same, writing words to go with the pictures, sharing the whole enchilada here - makes me happy. Which, I realize, may seem trivial and not worthy of attention to some folks.

But I've never been "some folks", or the mythical "they" people who apparently get to decide what is and is not considered normal behavior. And I've never understood why "they" get to sit in judgment of the rest of us in the first place. Were they elected?

As long as my off-nomimal way of looking at the world doesn't involve the commission of a major crime, I should feel no shame in shooting spontaneous pics of fruit on a dining room table because the very act of doing so makes me smile inside and out.

I hope it makes you smile, as well.

#laval #montreal #quebec #canada #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #kitchen #table #still #life #grapefruit #fruit #fruits #fruitography #spontaneous #macro #photo #shoot #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

White building, blue sky

A facade holds onto its secrets
London, ON
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is exactly what it looks like: An old, run-down industrial building on an old, run-down industrial street on the edge of London's old, run-down, no-longer industrial downtown core.

What isn't apparent in the photo is the story behind this building. When it was built. By whom. Who worked here. What they did.

I don't know this building's story, its context, its role in the evolution of the gritty neighborhood around it. And for once in my life, I don't feel the need to figure it out.

Because sometimes it's enough to stand on a sidewalk and wonder about the unknown. Because not every question needs an answer. Because a little mystery keeps us coming back for more.

I suspect this won't be my last time shooting in this often-forgotten corner of the city.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #downtown #horton #street #photography #building #architecture #architecturephotography #design #buildingporn #architectureporn #blue #sky #lines #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Reflections from a speeding train

Modes of transportation
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I call this one planes, trains, and automobiles.

On the surface it's a relatively trivial shot of a laptop. But it's the where and the when that explains why I took it, and why I'm sharing it here. A fast capture by the window of a speeding train headed to Toronto, another long day in a series of long days, another perspective on what hustling for a living looks and feels like, another stolen view of something most folks wouldn't bother to remember in the first place.

I've written about the picture on the laptop screen before. It's been my desktop photo for a while, and I shot it a few years ago while on final approach to Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, during another marathon work trip that had me hopscotching across the country.

I happened to be flying over the suburb, Chomedey, where I grew up, so out came the camera. Wherever I've been since - hospitals, trains, beaches, you name it - this singular shot has helped ground me by reminding me of where I came from, and how far I've come since then.

We're all on some sort of journey, after all. Because we are all so unique, our respective journeys are unique, as well. And they all deserve to be recorded in some way, to be shared, to be remembered. As a reminder of why we need to be thankful for the things we have, and the opportunities that are made available to us.

Because if you can't look back at where you've been and reflect a little, can you really say you enjoyed the ride?

#ldnont #london #toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #viarail #train #trains #trainspotting #trainstagram #rail #commute #commuter #transit #landscape #travel #photography #travelphotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Little man enters adulthood

The eyes have it
London, ON
July 2007
This photo originally shared on Instagram

He was born 19 years ago today, the perfect complement to our little family. Like his brother and sister, he had a sweetness about him that instantly endeared him not only to us, but to anyone lucky enough to cross his path.

That sweetness? Still there, only now in the form of a kind, smart, focused, creative, and fun-loving human being who brightens any room he happens to be in. As his dad, I realize I kinda have to like my kid. But even if you remove that from the equation for a moment, I'd still want to hang out with him.

That's because he has an uncanny ability to make moments happen. The room is never quiet when he's around. There's always a spirited conversation, a frenzied round of smartphone research to answer an arcane question, an incredibly detailed plot overview of the latest Marvel movie, an impromptu catch session with the dog.

Speaking of the dog, he relates to her unlike anyone else on the planet. Dogs just know, and they've formed the kind of bond that makes me glad we a) decided to have him, and b) decided to bring her home, too.

I keep thinking we blinked and 19 years flew by, that he instantly morphed from a cute baby to a fully-formed adult. It applies not only here, but in every major milestone our family has marked - or will mark. Time seems to move too quickly. But the fact that it feels as fast as it does isn't a negative. It's a blessing.

We're lucky to have a son like him. That he has siblings like Zach and Dahlia. That he gets to pursue his dreams in school and in life. That we've been able to provide the kind of environment within which he has clearly flourished.

If the price of all that is the feeling that time is moving too quickly, I'll take that.

Happiest of birthdays, Noah. We love you more than words can say, and we can't wait to see what you accomplish next.

#parenthood #birthday #family #everything

Making the most of an unscheduled journey

Under the towers
Brampton, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I was out the door long before dawn today so I could catch a train for the two-hour ride into Toronto. A day of intense work lay ahead for me and my colleagues.

Because a life well lived isn't based on a script, a delightful surprise awaited me and my fellow passengers as we arrived at the downtown London station before boarding: A delay, thanks to an overnight freight train derailment near Paris, Ontario.

We ended up taking a seriously roundabout route through a bunch of towns I'd never seen before, and by the time we pulled into Toronto, we were 90 minutes late and my first meeting of the day was up in smoke.

But here's the thing: Other people had it worse. Colleagues on later trains reported delays of up to 4 or 5 hours. And I'm guessing in many other parts of the world, there were people who wished their biggest problem could be a late train.

I was gifted extra time to remotely collaborate with my peeps, slam out some really cool writing, and catch up on a few other pieces of work.

When I was done the serious stuff, I was also given new places to observe and shoot. And while the lighting was muddy and flat, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to shoot through filthy glass with nothing more than a smartphone. Guerilla photography is great fun: Try it sometime.

I predict more trips in my future - and I look forward to them all - but none will play out exactly as this one did. That script thing, again: That's not how good life gets lived.

Probably doesn't hurt to get the occasional reminder of that, though.

#ldnont #london #toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #viarail #train #trains #trainspotting #trainstagram #rail #commute #commuter #transit #landscape #travel #photography #travelphotography #monochrome #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Red stairs to somewhere

Please tread on me
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We're all in a rush. I get it. Life gets busy, and no one wants to be left behind. So we move faster. Put our heads down. Blinders on. Focused on one thing: Getting there. Maybe two: Keeping up.

But if you slow yourself down just enough on occasion, you not only increase your chances of falling off the back of the treadmill. You give yourself enough time to see things in the cracks, in the margins, that you'd otherwise miss.

Like this red painted staircase that peeks out of a forgotten alleyway beside busy Adelaide Street.

I don't know where it goes, or who lives there, but that's beside the point. What matters is the fact that it's there at all. That it's probably been there for an age, maybe repainted a few times. And every once in a while, it gets its moment in the sun.

On this particular morning, it's the color that grabs my eye, but the texture that holds it. You can almost see the years in that paint, the rough, detailed surface betraying a lifetime of waiting out back. For something to happen. For someone to notice.

Unassuming staircase as metaphor for life? Makes sense to me.

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Where I almost get beaten up for the shot

No one looks in, or out
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: The corner of Adelaide and Cheapside. It's a hot, sticky Saturday morning, and I'm on a quick photo walk before our daughter is done work for the day.

I notice an old three-storey walkup apartment across the street. The bricks look tired, likely from decades of baking in the sun at this busy intersection. No one comes here to sightsee, but for some reason, I feel compelled to shoot a facade that probably seemed worn out when it was first built.

From across four lanes of high-speed traffic, I zoom in, compose, expose, and shoot before continuing on my way. As soon as I tuck the camera back over my shoulder, I hear "Hey" behind me and turn to see a 50-ish man in a yellow t-shirt and dirty khaki shorts walking toward me. Or maybe he's 40-something, but time clearly hasn't been kind to him.

I'm not paranoid, but when I walk alone aound a semi-sketchy neighborhood carrying a DSLR with a big lens, I worry a little. He stops too close to me and asks me with a defiant tone, "Why are you taking pictures of my building?"

I step back and stare straight at him, subtly gripping the barrel of my lens in case I need it for more than light-gathering. "Because I'm a photographer." I'd like to tell him a whole lot of other things, but I bite my tongue and watch for his reaction. Time ticks off in my head as I hope I haven't provoked him further.

He nods, sniffles out a "fine" through a mouth half-filled with teeth and walks away. From behind a tree, another iffy-looking character materializes and gives yellow-t-shirt guy a high-five before they shuffle off down the sidewalk. Did I just dodge a bullet? I'll never know.

Still, I'd probably question a stranger, too, if he pointed a lens at my house. Or I'd point my lens right back and maybe offer to shoot together. There are nicer ways to get answers, after all.

Too bad he'll likely never see this pic.

#ldnont #london #519london #519ldn #ontario #canada #urban #adelaide #street #photography #buildings #architecture #architectureporn #ruinporn #architecturephotography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

No more chicken for you

Emptiness
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Does anyone mourn the closing of a fast food restaurant? Should we?

Peering through the dirt-streaked window at what was left of a recently closed KFC, I wondered if its disappearance from this well worn stretch of London's Adelaide Street would cause anything more than a ripple.

I doubt it.

I had walked, cycled, and driven past it countless times over the years, and it always looked barely one step ahead of oblivion. From the pockmarked facade to the sun-baked signage that always seemed to be missing multiple letters, it was obvious no one - owners, employees, customers, neighbors, anyone - much cared. Nothing was ever fixed, maintained, or refreshed. Yet, if it was a blight, it was a familiar one.

I often wondered who would eat there, and why, as if you had to really enjoy eating horrendously fatty chicken-like parts to justify stepping through the cracked, dusty concrete entranceway and ignoring the chipped, yellowed formica at the ordering till. From the outside looking in, this place was always sad.

The real estate agency sign hammered awkwardly into scrub grass beside the crumbling asphalt parking lot outside says this location has already been leased. Opportunity, perhaps, to leave a sad strip-mall-retail legacy behind and open a business that inspires more than melancholy and heart disease.

The neighborhood deserves better. So do the people who live in it.

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We're all a little lost

Signs are everywhere
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sign in the airport terminal asks a simple question: "Lost something?" I stop dead in my tracks, because the simple answer for us all is yes. And not just a scratched up old pair of sunglasses.

It's a serious question. Haven't we all lost something that mattered to us? Or someone? Aren't we all just a little lost ourselves? A little broken? A little off the main path of life?

I'll admit I stopped and stood there for what seemed like an exceedingly long while. My conclusion was a simple one: We may lament the things we've lost, but there's always someone nearby who has lost more, who hurts more, who's worse off than we are.

Not that any of this should ever be a competition, of course, but I took this sign as a reminder from the universe to have a little more empathy for others.

Because what they've lost isn't always visible. And a little kindness goes a long way toward filling the void.

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Butterfly wings, clipped

Lying quietly in the street
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The wonderdog and I came across this beautiful but sad sight during this morning's walk.

I stood in the middle of a hushed side street, looked down at the remnants of what was once very much alive, and realized I couldn't remember the last time I had seen a dead butterfly.

One one level, it seems ridiculous for anyone, much less a grown man, to hover over a dead bug and ponder the meaning of its life. I mean, it's a freaking bug. Get over it, Levy.

But there are no rules governing what does and does not move us. Or what might trigger a thought or a reflection. I probably kill countless bugs every day by inadvertently stepping on them. And let's not discuss the massacre in the front end of my car when we drive on the highway. Our road warrior life this past year has clearly been a threat to insect populations across Ontario and Quebec.

But at this one early morning moment, in the quiet of a neighborhood still shaking off the cobwebs of the previous night, it somehow mattered. To me, and even to Calli, who gave it a quick sniff before backing away.

Strange how this life thing plays out. I hope this butterfly's life was a good one.

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Plenty of fish

Mostly in the same direction
London, ON
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There's nothing quite like an aquarium filled with a riot of fish, is there?

Are they mindlessly following the herd, er school, as they continually circle their glass-enclosed prison? Or is each one of them mindfully carving out a life of relative meaning in the midst of chaos and uncertainty? Do they represent some kind of waterlogged analog for modern, human life?

Perhaps I'm overthinking this. Yes, I AM overthinking this. They're just freaking fish. Goldfish, at that, as non-exotic as they come, likely destined to be flushed at the hands of a four-year-old too busy with an iPad to know or care about the basics of keeping a pet alive.

Yet here I am, shooting them through the glass, enjoying the spectacle. Because worthiness has little to do with their intrinsic market value (59 cents CDN at this particular store) and everything to do with our own sense of wonder.

We DO still have a sense of wonder, right?

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Someone painted the sky again

One day ends...
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

After all the storms had blown through yesterday, all that was left was for Mother Nature to paint the sky one last time before tucking in for the night.

She didn't disappoint.

Mind you, she never does.

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Green leaves for the win

Largely ignored
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

For as long as I can remember, we've been told to take the time to smell the roses. Or the flowers. Or something like that.

But flowers aren't always handy. So you go with green leaves instead. Not quite as romantic, I'll admit. They don't smell as nice. They don't get their own holiday. No one aspires to receive a bouquet of leaves as a token of affection.

They don't peg the visual meter, either: When was the last time you dropped everything so you could sightsee some green leaves?

Autumn is a different story, but it's July. It's a green world for the next little while.

Which explains my continued exploration of greenery. It isn't sexy, or headline-grabbing, but it most definitely is representative of what surrounds us now.

Which brings me to a more realistic truth to replace the rose-themed one that seems to dominate popular culture: Work with what you've got, when you've got it.

Because we aren't always lucky to have roses nearby. And even if we are, who says they're more worthy of our attention than the other, supposedly plainer stuff that grows on our planet?

And while you're at it, go ahead and ignore the "they" people. No one asked them which stories were worth telling.

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Where a dog sniffs out a leaf

One last dance in the grass
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've got to give our dog credit for finding this leaf on this morning's walk. Being a schnauzer, she leads with her nose, and she sniffed this one out before abruptly turning her head toward me, as if I should shoot it or something.

Somehow, Calli the wonderdog avoided messing the scene up, which given her history is quite the achievement. Yes, she got extra treats for that. And for sitting quietly beside me as I crouched down and tried to line up the shot.

We got stares from other early-morning walkers, but by now that's nothing abnormal for us - like when people familiar with her insanity see her from two blocks away and cross to the other side of the street. We have something of a reputation around the neighborhood, and I won't lie and say it's a good one. It isn't.

But all of that is immaterial. What the rest of the world thinks of a somewhat-imbalanced 15-pound dog doesn't matter to me. She's woven herself into the fabric of us, to the point that she now scopes out photo opportunities when we're roaming the 'hood.

She's a keeper, albeit one who seems to follow her own path. Then again, by virtue of photos like this, I guess I'm following my own path, too.

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Sunsets depend on sunrises, don't they?

All that's left
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sunsets sadden me.

They represent an ending, a physical closing off of the day before it slips into history, a final act of defiant light at the very edge of all we can see, before the darkness takes over.

And while one can argue the sun will rise a few hours from now, and will indeed set yet again a few more hours thereafter, it isn't the same.

It'll be a different day, with a different sky. Different people may be on the ground to witness it. Even if you're blessed enough to be in the same spot tomorrow, it won't feel the same. Yesterday was unique, as is every day. The next day doesn't replace the previous one.

Indeed, not everyone is given another day. Another sunset. Another moment to drink it in. Eventually they run out for us all.

Which largely explains why I keep returning to the west-facing window of my late father-in-law's apartment. Because even when I find another west-facing perch, it won't be this one. In this place. At this time.

Places, moments, people, they all disappear eventually. Are we doing enough to hold onto them before they slip, once and for all, out of sight?

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Man without a face

The things we see behind the glass
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

With everyone justifiably freaking out about the #FaceApp app, this photo that I took in a local mall over the weekend seems to take on renewed significance.

First, everyone knows I take weird pics. And I take them at the weirdest times. Like when I’m out with my fam running errands and shopping and doing the usual things folks like us do.

Often, I’ll just see something. Doesn’t matter what.

And I can’t explain why that particular something stops me in my tracks. It just does. So I do. Anytime. Anywhere.

No wonder they’re so exasperated with me.

Second, what I’ll look like 20, 40 or more years from now is something I’ll learn 20 or 40 years from now, if I’m lucky to get that far. We’re always in such a rush to get “there”, wherever “there” happens to be - another thing I can’t explain. I, on the other hand, would rather not push the timeline any more than it’s already being pushed.

Third, I don’t see the appeal of doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, for the simple reason that everyone else is doing it. So much conformity. Not my thing.

Wandering the marble-and-glass corridors of a mall looking for weirdness to capture? That’s my jam. How old is this mannequin? Does it even matter?

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One red leaf, ahead of its time

Not yet, little one
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I found this single red leaf while walking the dog early Saturday morning. One oddball red leaf in the middle of so much green, a defiant middle finger to the normally established order.

Of course, I had to stop and shoot it, because you normally don’t see stuff like this in the middle of July. But we live in interesting times, and climate change means all sorts of things will begin sliding to different spots on the calendar - indeed, they already have.

And as change swirls around us, we can choose to either complain about it, or we can stop what we’re doing and drink it in. Because lamenting the things we cannot change strikes me as a waste of time and energy.

Observing it for what it is, in all its miniature, tucked-right-under-our-nose glory, seems like a better way to live.

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Not just a building anymore

Lines, and lives, in concrete
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It only looks featureless and soulless if you don't take the time to let your eyes linger a bit. Concrete block construction designed less by architects than a ruler-equipped committee. A building that isn't so much forgotten as it was never really remembered in the first place.

Yet people live here. Stand on the sidewalk long enough and the tiny red flowerboxes silently materialize out of the near-but-not-quite-monochrome background. Tune your ears just so and you can hear the conversations from above. Children playing behind open windows. Old couples arguing over who cleans up after the BBQ. Somewhere on an unseen higher floor, birds feast noisily in a feeder.

Life happens here. Simple, everyday life. Or, more precisely, lives. Most of them seemingly different from our own - in language, employment, politics, parenting style, you name it - but with enough overlap with our own to seem strangely familiar. As if we're more alike than not.

My parents and in-laws once lived here, and now three of them are no longer with us. They, too, led lives here that seemed ordinary to outsiders on the sidewalk, yet were well beyond extraordinary to those lucky enough to be invited inside.

How you see this place, or any other, for that matter, depends on where you stand, on how you're connected to those who live here, and on how much time you're willing to invest connecting your life to theirs.

That word again: Time. We never get enough of it. We never know if we're making the most of what we've been given. Maybe I need more time out here to figure it out.

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Flying into and against the wind

Atmospherics
Grand Bend, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On an oppressively hot and humid afternoon on one of the loveliest beaches in the province, a trio of seagulls takes off into a stiff westerly wind before the rains come.

They head out over the water and soon disappear into the deepening haze. What's going through their bird brains as the beach shrinks behind them? Are they aware of the impending danger? Or do they know something about the increasingly angry sky that we don't?

We'll never know. Which, on reflection, is how it ought to be.

Because not everything needs a set answer. Questions can be allowed to linger out there. Loops don't have to always be closed. Mysteries can - and should - be allowed to persist indefinitely.

I imagine this fleeting moment by the shore wouldn't have been as wistful, or ultimately fulfilling, if I knew every what, why, or how. I imagine that having an occasional unknown or two floating around our respective brains might be just enough to sustain our sense of childlike wonder for just a little bit longer.

Perhaps those birds know more than we thought. Or not. As if it even matters.

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