Signature Please

TM. John Hancock. An unusual or outstanding talent. In effect, all a signature of sorts. Last summer I accepted my beluga whale status and decided that white was going to be my colour of garb for the season. I think it worked out quite well as the shade and I get along pleasingly so. This plan is set to continue. Purple will not be abandoned, don't worry. Look at any fashion runway, long standing house of 'insert designer name here', or history on their brand and we'll usually notice that a successful and memory worthy mantra remains. The scrolls and theatrics of McQueen, Betsey Johnson's whimsy and pop or Chanel's tailored perfection are all trademarks that have made them famous, lasting and coveted. Vanna White. How many gowns has that girl wore in her life? Consider your sole career for 30 some odd years and undoubtedly fame and fortune being relied upon your ability to turn (or now touch) giant letters on a stage for two and a half hours a week. She's got a wee bit of an unusual, simple, yet lucrative spotlight all her own. Every now and then I get a little chuckle then smirk inside thinking I have my very own TMZ following me around with paparazzi igniting flash bulbs when a grocery or store clerk asks me to sign the credit card slip with my 'autograph'. Perhaps lame, but you have to admit, in a cute eventual self centred kinda way. At 11:11, either AM or PM, if I happen to be glancing at a digital clock and see this sequence; an old friend of mine comes to mind. It's something she has always pointed out and ensured we all make wishes upon. While we don't get to connect in person as often as ideal, it's definitely a quirk assigned only to her personality that regularly has her in my thoughts. A game of cards played with my brother in law and you are bound to hear the declaration 'patented move'. He loves to use this idiom when a lone hand is won in Euchre, or the position of President is overthrown in a friendly game of Asshole. Martha has her stamp on 'Good Thing' and Lloyd likes to tell us 'That's the kind of day it's been', heck I even spew my Toodles dust for all to be annoyed with. Whatever it is you envision as a legacy, embrace it. Make it your own. Sign off and make it work.

Toodles

Outside In

One of my best friends happens to be of Korean decent but was born and practically raised in the most whitey mcwhitiness areas of the province; Orangeville, Ontario. Years ago when we first started hanging out she made an observation to me, that I suppose is fairly common in Asian circles. She called herself a banana. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Clever. Well, don't you know...I'm at lunch a weekend not too long ago with another great friend, who relays a story to me that her and a cousin refer to themselves as coconuts. At first I have the confused yet interested look on my face until she explains; refreshing my knowledge of comparing food to nationality colour assimilation. They are of Guyanese decent and so are brown on the outside, but technically, let's get real: growing up in the Kitchener area, they are most definitely brown on the outside and white on the inside. Like a coconut. There are certainly other thoughts that come to mind when thinking of banana's and coconuts, that we'll digress. Now let's throw the items of culinary delight into a cauldron. What do we have? A melting pot! Never really understood the term as it relates to metropolis' across the continent. Think Chicago, Toronto, New York. Cities that are well known for their acceptance and richness in multiculturalism. I've just never really liked the title. Melting Pot. An apparatus to make stew or dream up potions for witchery and their spells? For a fondue restaurant; cute. For a blanket observation on how a city can live and thrive with a mix of cultures and backgrounds. I don't like. As a second generation Torontonian I'm often amazed, proud and impressed that we are on the most part simply able to see right through colours, shapes and whatever else gets mushed up into the said pot...and accept, embrace or co-exist with all. Regardless of who is what colour and in what spot. Now it's off to dinner with banana friend.

Toodles