I had mixed experiences in Toronto. The sign that had worked quite well in London was met with almost total dismissal from the Torontonians. So, I changed the sign to “Have your life’s story published in my book. Ask me how!” We will see how that works in Ottawa.

On the flip side, I interviewed two former classmates from my university days in London, including my roommate. There may also be a couple more interviews via ZOOM that emerge from that. Another highlight was my visit with a Toronto Central Lions Club officer. Ray spent about 2 hours with me on Saturday, showing me the downtown area. As an art dealer and historian, he was highly knowledgeable about history and architecture. He even purchased some of his favorite cheese for me when we toured the famous St. Lawrence Market. On Sunday, when I met them for lunch, I got to tell some more club members about my project. We shall see what comes of that. Furthermore, Ray said he would provide me critical contact information on some other Canadian Lions Clubs. That could be helpful.

The weather was beautiful the entire time, and I walked quite a bit in the downtown area, including Queen’s Park. It brought back some great memories as I lived in Toronto for some time when I started my career as an investment banker. Sadly, the Maple Leafs lost a game 7 to Tampa Bay on home ice in the Stanley Cup playoffs while I was in town. Like my current hometown of Chicago used to say about the Cubs, “Wait ’til next year.” The "next year" for the Cubs finally came in 2015, only 108 years after their last World Series win. At that rate, the Leafs' time will come in 2075. Let's see, I'll be 118, so there's a 50/50 chance for me.