More Than Fiction #3
More on Hamilton, thank you(s) and other stuff
15-Minute City?
This past year we’ve noticed the rise of a debate around the concept of 15-minute cities. Some look at it as pragmatic municipal planning to reduce car use, build communities, and make life more convenient. Others believe the idea is the product of a vast global conspiracy to enslave us all in camps.
Welcome to 2023.
Yet no matter what side of the debate you’re on, reducing car use is not only good for the environment, it’s good for your health.
Anita and I have been car owners for decades, often creating an excuse to go just a little farther to avoid walking to the store at the end of the block. But back when we were young, carefree, and carless in Toronto, we would walk. No distance was too great. From Parkdale to Downtown to adopt our first dog (and, yes, the tapeworms tale in Jim Kearns really happened), to strolling on a Friday night to the Danforth Blockbuster to rent a VHS player and a double bill of Throw Momma From the Train and Return of the Living Dead, walking was an experience. It was an outing. It was our courtship. It was exploration.
Due to life’s time constraints or just laziness, many of us have forgotten about the many advantages of walking (until forced to do so by necessity or the cardiologist). Beyond its physical benefits, walking is a literal balm for depression and provides people with the opportunity to engage with others if they want to.
Well, I’m still not great at engaging with others, but during our first few months in our new house, I’ve discovered that the Crown Point area of Hamilton is, indeed, a 15-minute city. It’s a five-minute walk to the Center on Barton, a 60-plus-store-and-restaurant outdoor retail shopping mall. I can also find a walk-in clinic, a weed shop, an acclaimed vegan restaurant (The Hearty Hooligan), and a barber shop in the same amount of time. It was during one of my first evening walks that I passed The Argyle, three blocks away on Ottawa Street.
The Argyle is a wood and brass bar with leather chairs, sofas, and a fireplace and musical taste similar to our son, Sam, i.e., Phoebe Bridgers, The National, Sufjan Stevens. While it doesn’t serve food, it encourages its patrons to bring their own food in or have it delivered to the table. There may be other places like this but the concept is new to us and, considering all the great places along the neighborhood strip, we think this is a wonderful way to support the community. And if you’re into golf, they have that too.
Despite her fibromyalgia and twice botched knee surgery, even Anita has now walked to The Argyle twice and incorporated a walking routine into her schedule. Certainly, neither of us can move like we did during our youth in Toronto, but we are again living thanks to being in a “15-minute city”.
Thank You(s)
Over the decades of my writing career, Anita and I have engaged in various adventures to try and make some kind of living out of it. While our efforts never quite achieved the desired outcomes, we’ve always been grateful for the opportunity we had to work with some wonderfully talented individuals. Here are a few.
Seth Feldman is an accomplished singer-songwriter who plays multiple instruments, writes thoughtful lyrics, and arranges much of his own music. He occasionally acts, and he has always been there for us when we have needed his expertise. Yes, he is also a long-time friend and bandmate of our son, Sam, but that doesn’t mean he was required to indulge us. Yet, he has always stepped up when called upon. His music can be found at https://linktr.ee/tothefields.
Dallas Conte is a wonderful graphic artist who provided us with several illustrations when we first began serializing the novel, New Ventry. In addition to creating our New Ventry logo, she created some beautiful artwork to accompany the words as well as several cover concepts. Dallas now utilizes her talents as a tattoo artist in Toronto’s east end.
Andrea Caliendi came to us as a videographer and editor when we were filming a calling card short film. In Canada as a foreign student from Italy, he responded to an ad and that turned out to be a most happy event for us. Andrea’s talents as an illustrator, web designer, graphic designer, photographer, videographer, and editor (just to name a few) would take him from Canada to Turkey, the U.S., and beyond. Following Andrea’s return to Italy, after several years working in the video game industry, he eventually settled on a more holistic way of life. Andrea now stimulates his creativity and curiosity by connecting with people in person or through remote healing. His wish is to help people and hopefully, in this way, leave a mark in the world. As he says, if not for all, at least in the personal world of a few.
Upcoming Reads
I have been writing a lot this year despite all the upheavals in our lives and, as Jim Kearns comes to an end (another 3-4 chapters, I believe), I am preparing to post more short stories, my next novel, and our award-winning screenplays in serialized form for your reading pleasure.
While I have a consistent reading base of several hundred subscribers (don’t laugh) who come from all walks of life - everyone from plumbers and electricians to academics around the globe, writers for many of the most prestigious east coast magazines to Hollywood producers and agents - it turns out I’ve been unable to garner any paid subscriptions at only CAD$4 per month (other than my two sisters and one friend). Yep, I am no Spotify, lol. I am also not surprised. My one earlier misadventure in trying to self-publish brought me a single patron, a successful television producer who shall remain nameless, but we have always been grateful for his attention over the years.
In any event, I will continue to post my stories as long as I am writing them. As for the screenplays, past experience tells me that they likely will never make it to a theater or TV screen near you. Anita and I accept that. However, they are funny and sweet and if you read them, maybe they will make you laugh or at least lighten your heart in this dark world. What more can I ask?
Anita Gupta has joined Substack and will begin posting her work in January. You can find out what she is planning here. But, as she says ‘be warned, it could get ugly”.
The next chapter of Jim Kearns arrives on Saturday.