I was thinking of all of the things I love about this time of year when the Alfred Tennyson line occurred to me: “In the Spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” I think the same applies to young women, too…and to we mature folks in general, as well. Then, for some unknown reason, I thought about the term, “love sick.” Where did that expression originate? I can see the connection. You’re stricken by it. It infects you. But it’s something you can get over, although I’d prefer not to do so. If unrequited, love, for some, can be very painful. Many of us have probably experienced unrequited love. In hindsight, though, would you change that experience if you could?

Looking back over one’s life and its ups and downs, Lord Tennyson’s poem is bitter in some ways. Then, there’s a blues tune called “The Thrill Is Gone.” Most of us remember it as having been done by B.B. King. These, of course, are two vastly different artists from different ages, but the feelings conveyed are timeless. They offer different messages on the end of a love affair.

Love is a risk, I think, because people are “human,” as we say. It’s an acknowledgement of the fact that people change over time and they change their minds sometimes. On one hand, why take the gamble? On the other hand, it’s worth the risk. For myself, I’ll take the risk. Here’s a brief background on Lord Tennyson and blues master Roy Hawkins:

More than any other Victorian writer, Alfred Tennyson embodied his age, both to his contemporaries and to modern readers. In his own day he was said to be, with Queen Victoria and Gladstone, one of the three most famous living persons, a reputation no other poet writing in English has ever had. Here’s an excerpt from “Locksley Hall:”

In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;
In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.

A record producer discovered Roy Hawkins playing in an Oakland, California nightspot in 1948. Modern Records picked up the rights to several masters before signing Hawkins to a recording contract in 1949. Two major R&B hits resulted: 1950’s “Why Do Everything Happen to Me” and “The Thrill Is Gone” the following year. Most of us probably remember B.B. King’s rendition of the latter song. Here’s an excerpt:

The thrill is gone
It’s gone away for good
Oh, the thrill is gone baby
Baby its gone away for good
Someday I know I’ll be over it all baby
Just like I know a man should

Recently, according to the National Post, Toronto has an average total commute time of 80 minutes, ranked dead last among 19 urban centres, the Board of Trade found in its annual prosperity scorecard, which compares Toronto with metropolitan areas around the world. Even a commuter in Los Angeles, with its gridlock reputation, gets to and from work 24 minutes more quickly than we do.

However, for all of the frustration traffic causes me, I much prefer Toronto as a city over many of her similarly-sized counterparts. Toronto has so much going for it, but for the traffic congestion.

One needs to be an extra-cautious driver here, especially during the autumn months. School is back in session and there’s continued road construction. There are more pedestrians. Waiting to make a turn at an intersection for pedestrians to clear bothers me when only a few cars make the light. Maybe the “scramble” intersections they’re trying out will help. There has to be a better way. Did I mention the jaywalkers? When was the last time you saw a jaywalker get a ticket from a police officer? Then, we have cyclists. In my experience, most do not obey the traffic rules set out for cars. They run red lights and stop signs, etc. Some have an “attitude,” just like some drivers. I’m all for “going green,” but let’s apply the same rules to everyone. I drive to work each morning at 3:15 and there are a suprising number of cyclists on city streets wearing dark clothing and having no lights nor reflectors on their bikes. Do cyclists get traffic tickets? I’ve not seen one given yet.

So, to enjoy the many great things about Toronto, I simply allow extra time. I leave earlier for appointments or get-togethers. I’ve found that this, alone, takes much of the stress away. It allows time to concentrate on the traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and construction. I don’t worry too much about being late. Whenever possible, I take mass transit and leave the car in the garage. So far, it’s been working for me.

“You always hurt the one you love,
The one you shouldn’t hurt at all.
You always take the sweetest rose,
And crush it till the petals fall.
You always break the kindest heart,
With a hasty word you can’t recall.
So, if I broke your heart last night,
It’s because I love you most of all.”

I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that I’m not the only person who has hurt the ones he’s loved. I wished I hadn’t when I saw that scene in the movie and I wondered why I did so in my life. I think that, especially after we’ve known another person for a while, we become comfortable in being brutally honest with that person. And, maybe, brutality is the key in hurting people we love. In hindsight, there’s no need to be brutal, especially with someone we love and know well. If a couple, for instance, has a disagreement, there might be room for compromise and, if not, a kind critique could replace the brutality. Two people can certainly disagree and still love one another. No one has everything in common.

So, with apologies to the writers of a great song, I have to disagree with the last two lines: “So, if I broke your heart last night, it’s because I love you most of all.” That’s a poor excuse.

I travel a bit, but my broadcasting career has taken me over a lot of North America over the years and, therefore, the opportunity of sampling cuisine from Canada to the southern U.S., including both coasts. In my experience, no one city covers everything and I occasionally crave a comfort food that’s not available here. I thought I’d mention a few examples so that in case you find yourself in one of these locales, you might be inclined to give one a try. I enjoy a fine restaurant as much as the next person but I’m a fairly frugal guy, so I’m mentioning only inexpensive eateries within a reasonable distance of Toronto. And this is not health food, as you’ll see.

AUTHENTIC PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SANDWICH: Pat’s King of Steaks, on 9th Street and Passyunk Ave., South Philadelphia, PA:

Legend has it that Pat’s invented the Philly cheese steak sandwich. Many other Philadelphia area restaurants, though, offer a reasonable facsimile. A Philly cheese steak purist knows that there are no green peppers, mushrooms or, for that matter, any vegetable, other than fried onions, on a “real” cheese steak. Finely sliced or chopped steak, like sirloin strip, is quick-fried in oil on a flat grill, along with sweet onion slices. This delicious combination is then inserted into a super-fresh Italian roll resembling a submarine sandwich. At Pat’s, hot “Cheez Whiz” is drizzled over the meat and onions. Some customers, like me, prefer slices of provolone to be melted over the meat in place of the “Cheez Whiz” prior to assembling the sandwich. Some restaurants offer a thin pizza-like sauce as an option, to be spooned onto the sandwich as a final step.

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN OR RIBS: Tunnel Barbecue, 58 Park St. E., Windsor, ON:

The Tunnel Barbecue has been in business since 1941. I’ve always found the service to be quick and friendly. And the food has always been fresh and tasty. They put their specialty on display for the world to see: The rotisserie chicken and ribs are clearly visible through a window outside. The chicken is traditional, other than special Tunnel Barbecue spices. The ribs are different…Ribs are not cooked in a tomato-based glaze but, rather, a rub that hints of mustard, along with other spices. You can buy a jar of the rub and try something similar at home, but it won’t be the same. Actually, almost all of their food is good, especially the pies. The Tunnel Barbecue offers a big menu to satisfy a variety of tastes.

CHILI DOGS: Lafayette Coney Island, 118 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI:

Despite the name, the “Coney Island” preparation style has little direct association with Coney Island, New York itself, other than a recognition of the birthplace of the original hot dog.

At Lafayette Coney Island and it’s immediate predecessor, American Coney Island, located just next door, the chili is “Greek-style.” (Both restaurants are run by the same family. The family business arrived in Detroit in 1917.) There are no beans involved. The topping is a fairly thin sauce made of ground beef, tomatoes, onions and many spices other than the chili powder….Cumin, garlic, a hint of cinnamon and several others. This sauce is ladled over a grilled hot dog inside a steamed, fresh bun, and topped with finely chopped white onion. Apply yellow mustard and that’s it. It doesn’t need anything else. It’s perfect. Only 3 minutes from the Detroit/Windsor tunnel exit, this “dive” is well worth the visit for any hot dog lover. They’ll think you’re a local if you order your dog “with.” “With” means you want onions. Say, “Without,” and they’ll know you mean you just want the dog with chili topping only. Also, these hot dogs are in natural casings, so they “snap” when you take a bite. The purist knows the difference.

As the years pass, most of us learn from past mistakes, realize we are not indestructible and try to reduce our risks. I thought I was doing a fairly good job of that adult way of thinking….Until Dec. 30th.

In my own home, gingerly walking from one room to another, not looking where I was going, (brain on auto-pilot) I tripped over an object in the hallway while rounding a corner, lost my balance and fell backwards onto the edge of an end table. The back of my rib cage hurt badly and within hours, that night, I realized the ibuprofen wasn’t helping with pain. It was late, so I called a taxi and headed for St. Mike’s.

The fine staff at St. Michael’s emergency room got me into a bed within an hour. By now, the pain was excruciating. It hurt just to breathe. Following several x-rays and a chat with the doctor, I was diagnosed with four broken ribs. Then, she performed an ultra-sound to make sure the broken ribs didn’t puncture any vital organs. She prescribed oxycodone, which I understand can be highly addictive and is prescribed only for medium to severe pain. Even this stuff didn’t seem to help much. If I stayed still, though, it did allow me to get some sleep.

So, I’m just now returning to work after a week at home. A couple of days ago, I began to cut back on the pain reliever. The pain is more manageable now, although my breathing is still shallower than normal, which affects my speech a bit. However, my family doc says all pain should disappear in a few more weeks and that I’ll be fully healed after about 6 or 7 weeks.

Having this accident for me actually has a positive side. It’s a reminder to keep one’s brain engaged at all waking moments. I think many of us gradually return to risky behaviour. I know I have. Take a fender-bender, for instance: One tends to drive more carefully and be more attentive following a crash. Then, the memory gradually fades and we return to old driving habits.

If experience is the best teacher, I hope I’ve learned my lesson. For 2011, I’ve resolved to look where I’m going. That shouldn’t be too much to ask of my brain. Duh.

I’ll be in Florida over the holidays to visit with family. There, Christmas is celebrated with equal enthusiasm. Lights wound upward around the trunks of palm trees is a common sight on lawns of homes and businesses. Santa still visits the shopping malls and the stores are decorated with wintry scenes, including faux icicles and snow.

What’s most important, though, is that Christmas brings family and friends together in the spirit of love, which makes this holiday we celebrate aptly named.

Merry Christmas.

I’ve been in the radio business for almost 43 years and it occurred to me how so much of my life has revolved around sound, not just at my work, but all around me. Since I’ve spent most of my life in large cities, the sound doesn’t stop when I come home from work.

Large cities have almost constant sound: The movement of tires on pavement, pedestrians talking, engines running, sirens, etc. Sometimes, the wind is audible as it blows through the canyons between tall buildings. There’s so much sound that when I’m away from Toronto in a more rural area, the lack of sound strikes me immediately.

But city sounds, for me, are a good thing. They remind me of my fellow humans living their lives and, for the most part, getting along. Toronto is an especially good city due to its diversity…People from all over the world have chosen it as a place to settle and pursue happiness. We seem to do that well, which is just one of the great things about this place. And it makes things more interesting.

I suppose that when I retire from my profession, I may move to a smaller community. I’m not sure yet. Smaller places have their own attraction, like less traffic and a quieter environment, which would be a change of pace. Then again, the convenience of subways and streetcars isn’t there. The family businesses run by people from far-flung places are fewer. And there’s less sound.

For now, I like being in the GTA and I like the sound of it. And I like the fact that AM 740 speaks to the city and it’s busy surrounding suburbs as no other station does. It’s a very local radio station and it’s part of the sound of the city. Sometimes in summer months, I’ll hear AM 740 on someone’s car radio through rolled-down windows and it makes me smile. I’m glad that people listen and that the radio station contributes to the sound of Toronto.

OK, I know it’s probably way too early to bring this up. But many of us dread the end of summer. So many of us in the GTA think of the CNE as the end of summer. I know that I do. It occurred to me, though, that as a kid, the dread wasn’t nearly as bad. In fact, I have many memories of pure, all-out fun in the middle of a blizzard.

My grandmother gave me a “Flexible Flyer” sled for Christmas when I was around 11 years old. You may have had one, or something similar. This was the top-of-the-line sled for a young boy and my friends and I prayed for blizzards, so we could push the sled to its limits.

The Flexible Flyer sled was made of wooden slats, attached to metal sled rails. It had a steering bar, horizontal to the rider, at the front. A rider could sit on the sled and steer with his feet, pushing either left or right on the wooden bar, which would bend the flexible metal rails in the given direction. Or, for the best thrill, one could take a running start down a hill, holding the sled in the air, and finally flopping onto it, head-first, belly down and steering with your hands. For added speed, rubbing candle wax on the bottoms of the sled rails was considered to be cool. My friends and I always chose the latter techniques.

We were blessed with steep hills in my hometown of Spring City, PA. Our sleds would not work well on deep snow: They required the snow to be packed down by automobile traffic. Spring City did not apply salt to the streets, which was fine with us. Cars got around fine with tire chains and my friends and I got out our sleds after school. Once the traffic died down, we would go to the steepest hill in town and take that running start. I don’t know what speeds we achieved, but it seemed very, very fast, lying on your stomach just 5 inches above the pavement. I remember taking the Flexible Flyer into nearly 90 degree turns, fish-tailing as I went around the corner and hoping there would be no oncoming car. My grandmother would have had fits had she known what we were doing.

I don’t know if they still manufacture Flexible Flyers. If they do, it seems there aren’t many places where a kid could use one today. Even in areas with steep hills, streets are usually salted during winter storms and grown-ups would discourage the sled’s use on city streets, let alone local by-laws and such. I guess that’s probably a good thing, considering the safety issues, but I can’t help having good memories of the cold and the fun of the Flexible Flyer on a snowy, ice-cold winter afternoon.

So, even though I don’t ski or take part in other more “adult” winter activities, my Flexible Flyer memories take some of the sting out of winter.

Children are without guile….Well, mostly. Humans seem to acquire more guile as years pass. So, children tend to be pretty honest in their early years. Ava is five years old now. Noah is 11. On this visit, I was struck with the similarity of Ava and my daughter when she was around that age. Lisa’s best friend back in the late seventies was Andrea Shutz. Andrea lived two blocks away in Windsor. Having recently mastered the use of the dial telephone, Andrea would often call to speak with Lisa. Andrea, though, had not yet mastered the English language. She had trouble with her “r’s” and “l’s.” I am guilty of dragging out a phone call from her, simply because she was too cute and I loved to hear her speak. Here’s a typical call:

Rrrrriiiiingggg.

“Hello.”

“Hewwo, Mr. Gaybow. Is Weesum home?”

“Who’s calling, please?” (As if I didn’t know.)

“Andweeah Shutz.”

“I’m sorry. Who?”

“Andweeah Shutz.”

“Pardon me…I didn’t get that.”

(loud sigh) “Annnndweeeeaahhh Shuuutz!” (very exasperated.)

“Oh, hi, Andrea! Just a minute. I’ll get her for you.

Meanwhile, my daughter had caught the whole conversation. She said, “Dad, puh-leeze don’t do that. It’s embarrassing!” So, as I’ve said, children are pretty honest and direct. I, on the other hand, was guilty of guile. May we all be a little more like children.

It occurred to me that many GTA folks visit the Orlando area and I thought I would offer a few suggestions on places to visit other than the theme parks and other tourist-driven areas. I’ll keep these all kid-friendly, as it seems that, more and more, parents, grand parents and kids are taking family vacations together.

New Smyrna Beach is about 70 minutes by car from Orlando. Visit this web site: http://www.nsbfla.com/. If you come in, say, July, August or September, the surf temperature will be about 81F. Granted, the air temperature will probably be 92F with 85% humidity, but that makes the ocean feel all the better. And air fares and hotels cost less during summer. New Smyrna is a fairly small town and it’s where Central Floridians go to the beach. Daytona, their next-door neighbour, is the old-school tourist area. The beaches on Florida’s East coast are beige and the waves are usually tame. Don’t expect sugar-white sand and crystal-clear water like the Bahamas. Sometimes, the small waves stir up the sand, but the water is clean and refreshing. You can drive your rental car onto the beach at New Smyrna. There’s a modest charge for this, but the convenience is great. Pack a cooler with food and beverages and enjoy the day. Also, there are vendors on the beach, offering some pretty good burgers, fries, ice cream, etc.

Winter Park is a small city, immediately adjacent to downtown Orlando. It’s more or less the Rosedale of Orlando. It’s a small town with a long history of wealth. Park Avenue is the main thoroughfare. It’s loaded with trendy shops and restaurants and it’s very green with lots of trees and shrubs. It makes for a pleasant morning or afternoon. It’s been a couple of years, but I used to golf on Winter Park’s 9-hole public course for $12, including a pull-cart for clubs. You can go around twice and make it 18 holes for the same price. This is not a manicured course, but for occasional golfers like me, it’s quite all right. Originally, this was a full golf course, dating back past the thirties. It’s right in the middle of town and city streets actually run through it in some spots. Parking is free right by the pro shop.

Central florida has various fresh water springs. Rainwater in Central Florida is filtered though sand and limestone. By the time it reaches its destination, it is as clear as gin. In some areas, this water is pushed back to the surface as springs. There are several of these all around the Orlando area. One great example is the Rainbow River near Ocala. This is an easy drive from Orlando, about 85 minutes. Many locals will drive to the beginning of the river, where the water gushes up and begins its long journey. Plop an inner-tube into that area and arrange for someone to meet you a few kilometers downstream. Take along a beverage or two. The water temperature is about 73F, year round. It’s free, by the way. Wear plenty of sun block.

Granted, you could spend all of your money at Disney, Universal or International Drive and you’d have a great time, but you’d be missing out on some of Central Florida’s best free attractions that both kids and adults will enjoy.