The word from the street
Until Saturday, the TD Canada Trust branch (one block south of Howard Park Ave) is accepting donations. If we end up with more money than we require for the bench, the surplus will be used in a fashion acceptable to Tony’s family and to the volunteers involved in the ongoing commemorative effort. [Ed Lamb is in charge of donations; if you want his contact information, please email me at philipATsternthinking.com.
The photo above is from our posting of Aug 20, 2007.
PHILIP
“I heard that there’s an experiment to help homeless people by the government actually giving them money, you know, cash.”
TONY
“Well that won’t work. You’ve got too many of us who will just go off to find something like alcohol or whatever they want. But you can bet your socks that I’d take their money if they want to give it to me.”
PHILIP
“So what’s the best approach then?”
TONY
“When you’re homeless, it means you need a place to live. So if they can help homeless people get somewhere to live, then that could work.”
TONY
“I dreamed that I found a wallet last night.”
PHILIP
“So did you return it?”
TONY
“What do you think? The girl who lost it was really nice and she gave me a $1,000 dollars but, you know, I didn’t even take it from her. But I don’t think I could really say “no” in real life.”
PHILIP
“That’s maybe being a bit too proud, maybe.”
TONY
“Don’t I know it.”
TONY
“Pardon me, sir, could you spare me a couple of bucks for a sandwich?”
PASSERBY
“I don’t have the money, guy. Nothing to do with you. Good luck on you.”
PHILIP
“What’s that bill you’ve got there? It looks like foreign money.”
TONY
“Yup. It’s fifty pesos from down in Mexico. The guy said it was worth about four bucks. I hope I can sell it to someone. I ain’t planning on going to Mexico any time soon, that’s for sure.”
PHILIP
“Can you believe what Al Gore said on the front page of the Toronto Star yesterday? You know, Al Gore, the guy who was VP under Bill Clinton for eight years. He actually said that the Alberta tar sands are a threat to human existence. I’m telling you, even the the word ‘Armageddon’ was in the article, although I don’t actually know if Gore said that specific word. It’s pretty amazing, eh?”
TONY
“Sorry Phil, what’s your point, if you don’t mind me asking that?”
PHILIP
“My point is that this is the same Al Gore who was the number two guy in the most powerful country on Earth for eight years straight and who is the winner — if you ask me — of the 2000 US Presidential elections and he’s a Nobel Peace Prize winner and he doubtlessly has warm ties to the current US administration. Anyway, I think he’s signalling that the US government will be playing hard-ball about the environmental consequences of the oil sands, and that’s going to jeopardize billions of dollars and jobs in Alberta. You gotta realize that the folks who own the oil sands are Harper’s biggest supporters. OK, so I don’t know exactly how this is going to play out but I think that this means Harper is toast. Finis.”
TONY
“So … OK, you’re telling me that Gore just sort of slapped Harper upside the head in public by telling Harper’s big oil buddies in Alberta that their investments might end up losing them some money.”
PHILIP
“I don’t think I could say it better than that, actually.”
TONY
“OK, like kids sometimes say: “‘Is this is a good thing?'”
PHILIP
“I know I tell you this stuff all the time, even if it doesn’t get into the blog. It’s simple,man. I don’t think that Stephen Harper is good for Canada. I actually think he’s dangerous, maybe not him specifically but some of the people around him. And that’s not a risk I want to take. I’ve got four kids and a mortgage … sorry, Tony, you heard all this stuff before. And now, he can’t even provide diplomatic cover for his oil buddies.
“Look, there’s a lot of people at the top of the Harper government who openly supported the Bush Administration, including even Harper himself for god’s sake. My basic point is that I’m telling you, if you give the Harper guys a majority in Parliament, all I can say is “watch out”, because it’s going to be a disaster. Environment, economy, you name it. Sure, I know that Ignatieff supported the Iraq War in the beginning. At least Ignatieff had the huevos to own up to his mistake in public. And he didn’t support Bush’s other crazy policies the way Harper has. Everybody, including even smart guys like Ignatieff, they learn something when it’s the first time a situation has ever come up, like what we now know was corrupt and stupid decision process to go to war in Iraq in 2003. Quite a few Canadians supported the Iraq War in the beginning — lots of people got sucked in by the fabrications. Even Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell got hornswoggled on this one, you know.
Anyway, at least Ignatieff took some time to think about how the actual Iraq War actually played out over actual time after it started, and he learned what the whole world also learned about the actual Bush Administration decision processes and in regard to the Iraq War.”
Anyway, you know what I can’t figure out? Somehow, I think people think that having the Liberals in Ottawa for the next few years won’t make any difference. Now maybe I’m missing something. Since Ignatieff and the Obama are friendly and respect each other quite a lot — apparently Obama has read all of Michael Ignatieff’s book — then negotiations about things like the oil sands and will be better for Canada if Ignatieff’s the Prime Minister. After all, the top folks make make the final decisions, no?
TONY
“And your point is …?”
PHILIP
“The point is, it’s weird. Ignatieff’s Liberals would do a better job protecting Alberta’s interests than Harper can possibly do. If that’s true, then Albertans should be voting en masse for Ignatieff. It’s weirdly simple, in a way.”
TONY
“So you’re zaying that this Mr. Ignatieff should be our next Prime Minister?”
PHILIP
“Duh.”
TONY
“Well, you know, they’re making this old pizza place into a fancy new pizza slice place. If you ask me, I think that’s a good idea. People want something to eat when they’re walking up the street. So this guy’s going to spruce up the place and give it to them. He’ll make a fortune.”
TONY
“It’s a nice day today, I gotta say. Now I gotta get some money together for lunch.”
TONY
“If I can collect another $8, I’ve got a bed for the night, and it’s in a basement where it’s nice and cool.”
TONY
“Man, I’d love to win that $32 million prize they’ve got on 6/49 tonight. I can tell you one thing for sure … if I had a ticket for it and I won it, you can bet I wouldn’t be coming into work tomorrow. Neither would you either, Phil, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“When are you going to Vancouver?”
TONY
“Well I’ve got to make some money first. The bus is pretty expensive, but I think it’s less expensive than the plane.
“Anyway, my nephew says he can get some work for me so I can make some extra money for the trip.”
PHILIP
“So when are you going?”
TONY
“Depends. I’ve got to get the money first. But I can tell you I need a holiday — haven’t had one in ten years. Plus I’ve never seen the ocean.”
PHILIP
“Never in your whole life?”
TONY
“Nope. Never have; always wanted to. This is my chance; I’ve gotta do it.”
TONY
“You see my sign? I’m letting everyone know how close we are to Christmas. I’m starting to think that some people don’t want to know. No one has any money; let me tell you, I can tell.”
TONY
“You see this cigar … a guy just came by and gave it to me. it’s a $65 Havana cigar. What am I supposed to do with a $65 cigar?
Homeless Man Speaks 