The Danforth Speaks

  • The Danforth Speaks

    Learning, Off the Danforth

    The house is quiet in the mornings. Completely silent, save for the low hum of the refrigerator and the creak of my footsteps as I walk across the floor. The only light outside is from the streetlights; dawn is yet to come. As the rest of Victoria lie asleep in their beds, I make my much-needed 5 A.M. matcha before settling in front of my computer. This is the morning routine of a Centennial College student—specifically, one in the online publishing program, tuning in from Vancouver Island. 

  • A graphic shows a man walking a German shepherd, with dots in the background showing images of a tram and a sign reading "dogs must be on leash"
    The Danforth Speaks

    Dear Danforth, Leash Your Dogs

    As the owner of a grumpy Shih Tzu weighing a whopping fourteen pounds, it is terrifying when an off-leash dog begins to approach him while we’re walking. Whether it be a tiny terrier, a large Labrador, or any breed in between, my dog, Stitch, is not friendly and does not welcome these unrestrained guests very kindly. And then that other dog tends to retaliate to Stitch’s animosity by either barking or biting. In this hostile interaction between domesticated beasts, I’m tethered to my dog by a leash, but where is the other dog’s owner?

  • A photo of the Bloor Viaduct, a tall wire safety barrier, overlaid with a photo, in black-and-white, which depicts the silhouette of a person walking.
    The Danforth Speaks

    The Luminous Veil

    This article contains discussion of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. I spent a lot of time on the bridge commonly known as the Bloor Viaduct. I passed through it twice a day, 5 days a week for 4 years. It has high-wire bars 5 metres tall, preventing anybody from getting close to the edge. It prevents me from getting close to the edge. It arches high above the trees, so that birds can see its span of 494 metres of concrete and steel, 40 metres above the Don Valley. It would be a nice view going down. I think about the exhilaration that would follow the cold wind in my…