Toronto a Day in the Life 15

Thankful, and thankfully, not just tonight.
By Kris Scheuer

I was not planning to write a Thanksgiving post. And this is not that, exactly. But it is a thankful observation on what happens to be Canadian Thanksgiving, Oct 10.
I was walking on this blissfully warm evening (22 C) along a residential street south of the Annex neighbourhood.
It was early evening and still too early in my mind to be dark at only 7:30 pm. I crisscrossed the streets so I would be on the side where the lamp posts are lit up, so I’d feel safer in this big city I have always called home.
I looked at each of the houses that were the most lit up that I could knock on, if need be, should someone be following me. I looked for homes where lights were beaming on the main floor or basement where someone could come more quickly should I have the need to knock on a stranger’s door for assistance.
Not that there was anyone following me. And not that I am willing any bad omens, because I am not. I have always been safe in Toronto.
But it is something that crosses the mind of a woman walking alone on a quiet residential street in the dark that she/I might not feel had I been strolling with company or on a busier street.
I noticed something along the way. In the course of four short blocks, I saw at least a dozen houses where the main doors were wide open.
The front screen or glass doors were closed, but the main doors that you lock or unlock to enter your home were all wide open to the hallways.
It was such a small town, welcoming, reassuring sight. It was nice to know in my moment of wondering, which Torontonians I could call on if need be in an emergency . It was nice to know that some of my neighbours leave their doors open.
By leaving their main doors open, my neighbours sent a message, consciously or not, that they could be called on in a flash.
It was most reassuring.  And I am thankful I got to see how open many of my neighbours feel in this big city. That they feel trusting enough to not lock their doors in the early evening. To send a message to passersby that they aren’t completely shut off from the world outside.
That they are only a door knock away, should I need to call on them for help.

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Residents fight cell phone tower

North Yorkers want proposed cell tower stopped
Leslie St location to close to infant’s bedroom: residents
By Kris Scheuer
(Written March 31 for Town Crier. UPDATE HERE.)

Cell phone tower similar to this is proposed backing onto residential area.

William Marlatt views a proposed 40 metre cell phone tower as a health threat to his young family.
The planned Bell Canada tower would be located at 4800 Leslie St. in the parking lot of a medical building that backs onto Marlatt’s condo townhouse.
If the tower is approved by Industry Canada, it will be located less than 12 meters from the bedroom where Marlatt’s one-year-old son sleeps.
“There’s health risks associated with telecommunications towers. It shoots out electro magnetic wave lengths that’s showering down on the neighbourhood below for two kilometres,” Marlatt said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Not so, Bell spokesperson Julie Smithers told the Town Crier.
“Bell operates thousands of cell phone towers across Canada and they all meet or greatly exceed requirements by the federal government,” she said. “If there are concerns, residents can contact Industry Canada or Health Canada.”