July 12, 2009, 1 email

B. S. wrote:

I carried one bag of garbage from our Christie Pits dump to the Commissioners Street Transfer station yesterday. Several neighbours and friends came along. HiMY document the entire walk and in the shortest time created an outstanding documentation; his images and clips are on the Torontopedia Wiki and on Flikr, along with links to the media who picked the story up on Saturday and Sunday.

http://www.Torontopedia.ca/A_Walk_For_One_Bag_of_Garbage

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photopia/sets/72157621331099658/

Thank you to all who were there and helped in person and in spirit.

Three images stand out in my mind as I think back about yesterday.

The first is a non-image: a sense of non-emergency, non-issue. We passed queues at the ROM, tourist buses, Afrofest, Outdoor Arts Exhibition, the Orange Parade ... people were going about their lives, coping, settling in. The hazards to health, environment, economy, social fabric ... are diluted across the City. We have heard how the fallout is harming many - but my conversations with "the street" on Saturday did not convey a sense of urgency.

The second image is the spirit of City workers at all places I have met them so far. Whether at our park, at City Hall, at Moss Park or at Commissioners Street, I have without exception met people who are friendly, open, compassionate about the strike's consequences on all sides, and passionate about their City. I have encountered a positive attitude that I find remarkable.

The third image is that of citizens who had driven their garbage down to the transfer station, who were stoically sitting in their cars in a long queue, being made to wait.