Posts Tagged ‘Roncesvalles’
May 22, 2013
Hi all,
It’s has been a long time coming (see my post from December, below) … but I can now report that there’s been substantial progress on Tony’s bench, the upshot of which is that I won’t be surprised to see the bench installed before the end of July. Also, everyone involved should hear that, instead of the location in front of Mabel’s, the bench will be installed about 30 feet north, in front of Timothy’s at the SE corner of Roncesvalles and Grenadier; benches aren’t permitted in areas of interlocking brick; only concrete sidewalks will do.
Thanks to donors for your quasi-infinite patience. And, of course, thanks to Pat Dixon for her infinite efforts.
I will keep you apprised.
ps
Posted in homelessness | 3 Comments »
Tags: Albert Einstein.miracles, life, Roncesvalles, Tony's bench, Toronto
October 24, 2011
Tony’s obituary from today’s Toronto Star.
Funeral Details: The reception will be held tomorrow at the Turner & Porter Funeral Home, 436 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto (at Howard Park Ave.), from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 263 Roncesvalles Ave. (at High Park Blvd), Toronto, on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 11am.
(The photo above is from our post of June 23, 2009.)
Philip
Posted in homelessness | 3 Comments »
Tags: death, funeral, Roncesvalles
September 24, 2009
[Photo taken at 930am this morning]
Hi All,
As Rose, Tony’s sister, said in her comment under the previous post, Tony has left the hospital. While I haven’t yet seen him, he’s taken up his regular place in front of Mabel’s Bakery — his stuff is out but he isn’t there. I hope this means he feels better, although he’s left his doctor frustrated for sure with his unannounced disappearance. I’ll say more when I see him, which should be soon.
Philip
Posted in homelessness | 1 Comment »
Tags: Roncesvalles
July 27, 2009
TONY
“You see all those signs over there? Well this guy comes driving down Ronces and — right in front of a policeman standing right there he drives right round those signs there so the cop knocks on his windows and asks him how big those signs have to be so the guy could read them. And you know, I think the old guy couldn’t even read, if you ask me.”
Posted in homelessness | 3 Comments »
Tags: car, cop, Five Man Electrical Band, police, reading, Roncesvalles, sign, traffic
January 17, 2009
TONY
“You know, I almost got arrested the other night, you know when it was really freezing and there was no electricity?”
PHILIP
“This seems to be an all-too-regular occurrence, if you don’t mind me saying so. I mean the ‘arrested’ part.”
TONY
“Well what can I say.
“Anyway, I found this trailer so I got inside. One of my regulars owns it and I figured he wouldn’t mind even if he knew I was there. I was so damn cold I had to get out of the wind somehow.”
PHILIP
“So how did you nearly get arrested?”
TONY
“Well I had my bike light that I was using for light inside, and then it started flashing and a cop car was cruising by and the cop could see my light flashing from inside the trailer. So of course he comes to investigate and he finds me and gets me out, you know, to question me. So I just tell him the truth, that it was really cold and I didn’t break anything or steal anything. Well he tells me he could charge me with B&E, but he’s not that kind of guy, and besides, he probably would have done the same thing in my situation.”
PHILIP
“Sounds like a pretty decent guy … ”
TONY
“No kidding. That’s not even half of it. He has me get in the cruiser with him and we drive to down the Coffee Time but it’s closed just like everything else with the power problems they had. So we find some place that’s open, he buys me a coffee and then he drives me back to Ronces. It was bitter cold out there but at least he went easy on me.”
Posted in homelessness | 3 Comments »
Tags: B&E, breaking and entering, coffee, Coffee Time, cold, cop, decency, power outage, Roncesvalles, trailer, wind
January 6, 2009
TONY
“Phil, sorry for calling so late. I know you got the family. Do you have twenty bucks that you could lend me? You know I wouldn’t phone you otherwise but they say it’s going down to minus 17 tonight. And I’ve gotta get a bed.”
PHILIP
“OK. Whatever. You’ll get it back to me tomorrow? Never mind. It’s Christmas. Come over.”
TONY
“Five minutes. I’ll be over in five minutes.”
PHILIP
“Where are you?”
TONY
“On Ronces. You know, around Geoffrey. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
PHILIP
“OK, five minutes. I’ve got some bananas for you here I think. Maybe something else too. I’ll look.”
TONY
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
PHILIP
“OK, bye.”
TONY
“Bye.”
Posted in homelessness | 1 Comment »
Tags: bananas, Christmas, family, food, lend, loan, Roncesvalles, Scapa Flow
November 27, 2008
TONY
“Did you know that I was working for the cops tonight?”
PHILIP
“What’s up?”
TONY
“There’s a guy around who’s snatching purses. He grabbed an older lady’s purse and put her in the hospital. You know, she was 72 years old and he put her in St. Joe’s.
“They thought they had him cornered in the lane behind but he must’ve slipped away. He was wearing a green jacket and probably aged around 17.”
PHILIP
“So what are you doing for the cops?”
TONY
“They want me to tell everyone who comes down the street that there’s a purse-snatcher around. So that’s what I’m doing. One sec, Phil
“Excuse me, Miss …”
Posted in homelessness | 2 Comments »
Tags: announcement, circle, cops, evil, good, hospital, Nietzsche, old lady, purse, purse snatcher, Roncesvalles, speak, St. Joe's, wagons, work
November 14, 2008
PHILIP
“What’s that cheshire cat grin about?”
TONY
“It’s those butter tarts.”
PHILIP
“What did you say?”
TONY
“You’ve never heard of butter tarts?”
PHILIP
“Yes I’ve heard of butter tarts.”
TONY
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. A guy like you should know about butter tarts, if you know what I mean.”
PHILIP
“No actually, I don’t know what you mean. OK, now exactly why are you smiling about butter tarts?”
TONY
“They’re not just your ordinary butter tarts.”
PHILIP
“Am I missing something? What’s this thing about butter tarts?”
TONY
“The best butter tarts I ever had if you ask me.”
PHILIP
“OK, I give up. What the heck are you talking about?”
TONY
“Don’t you know? The new bakery next to Brad’s. You’ve seen them — they just opened the other day. It’s called Mabel’s. She gave me some of their butter tarts yesterday. They’re the best ones I ever had. You should try ’em. I can’t believe how good they are.”
PHILIP
“I can see that. Are they at least paying you for promoting their butter tarts?”
TONY
“Yup. They’re actually paying me in butter tarts, which is a great deal if you ask me.”
Posted in homelessness | 13 Comments »
Tags: bakery, butter tarts, Mabel's, Manet, picnic, Roncesvalles, tarts
September 19, 2008
TONY
“You know Brad at Brad’s restaurant just down here? I asked him the other evening after he closed if he could spare a buck for dinner. Well he asked me how much I needed for dinner and he gave me the whole $7 that I needed.
“We should tell the people on our blog, you know what i mean.”
Posted in homelessness | 19 Comments »
Tags: Brad's, buck, dinner, lucky 7, lucky seven, meaning, need, people, Roncesvalles
June 16, 2008
TONY
“You should have seen the dinner I had last night. You know the new restaurant, Eva’s just up here. Well the owner comes out, asks me if I like ribs. Beef ribs.
“Do I like ribs? Me? No kidding, do I like ribs? The guy tells me somebody ordered the ribs but then changed their mind. So I can see that the ribs were already paid for — were they ever delicious. Almost as thick as my wrist plus they were so tender that you could take ’em apart with just tooth picks. I didn’t even get to the corner at Howard Park before I’d inhaled all of them.
“Man, I love ribs, especially beef ribs. You would have loved them, Phil.”
Posted in homelessness | Leave a Comment »
Tags: adam, eve, food, love, ribs, Roncesvalles
May 12, 2008
TONY
“Did I tell you about the cop who asked me if I needed her to find me a place to sleep other night? I was just up the road, actually near the place where I got that ticket a few weeks back. So this cruiser from 11 Division comes down Ronces, and it stops in front of me and the cop opens her window and asks if I need a bed. So I tell her thanks but it’s no problem, and I tell her I appreciate her asking me. And she tells me back something like: ‘Come on Tony, you’re the law’s eyes and ears when we’re not around … of course we’re gonna care about you.’
“Now that’s a decent cop for you.”
Posted in homelessness | 1 Comment »
Tags: 11 Division, Bachman Turner Overdrive, bed, BTO, cops, law, lighthouse, lookout, order, Roncesvalles, sleep, thanks, Tony Clemens, Toronto Police
October 1, 2007
TONY [As a funeral procession drives slowly south on Roncesvalles, Tony doffs his cap].
“I always take off my hat when a funeral comes by.”
PHILIP
“Why’s that?”
TONY
“Just showing respect for the dead.”
Posted in cap, funeral procession, hat, homeless, homelessness, respect for the dead, Roncesvalles | 2 Comments »
Tags: cap, funeral procession, hat, homeless, respect for the dead, Roncesvalles
Homeless Man Speaks 