#9203 - May 1992

Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative
and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015.
Page Twelve I May 21 1992 COMMUNITY/ARTS
Kensington Market DRUM
Faith is such a tenuous thing.
Some days are good, some are
bad. In my head it goes something
like this:
I'm told I have to reclaim my
own past. How? What past?
Seven generations ago my father's
family came from Britain- a
land I've never walked on. I
look across the sea and there's
men fighting eachother. With
swords, with cannons, with
horses, with knives, with clubs,
and in boats coming toward me
with guns pla.nes bombs tanks
trucks missiles, with long beards
and big brown eyes. Big hairy
white men fighting eachother for
wealth, power and/or God and
dragging women around by their
hair. What past?
Some past I'm told is there.
Some zany story about a woman
who was respected and cherished
by her community - who took
lovers and raised children when
she wanted to! Some woman
who didn't have to look for a
"decent" man to protect and
support her in the market econ~
omy. Some woman whose menstrual
blood was sacred!
I find this hard to imagine.
When I try to believe I get really
anxious and feel angry and hateful
and frustrated.
The (subliminal) voice says,
"People were different (savages)
then. (Cavemen) People didn't
need so much (consumer comfort)
to live. We have pro(fit)­
gressed you know, would you
want to live like we did back
then? We ' were primitives.
Fucking(dirty animal) eachother
from behind and eating raw
meat."
1\-\t.
PAGAN WAY
I
Student's room
$275 monthly:
furnished, shared kitchen,
in attractive, quiet house,
close to O.C.A., George
Brown and U. of T. Males
preferred. References
required. 'Phone 596-7367
r ~!.lrnished renovated flat .
I r.ear kensington includes
utilities, cable sun deck, for
quiet non-smoker, first and
last, lease, $480 per month
593-9808
~~fE
- .tp
A fte.~ c:lct~;.f.-eJ
ad c:ou\cl Sf~ ..f.~e.
wo\Q.J-.
by Pamela A. Brown
See. ""'e. ~o..r k~+ dik~
. '-coc..4bn owaol cleiClf\S.
Her voice says, "We sang naked
atop the sacred mound at each
season change. The moon rose
in the east as the sun set in the
west and I held an orb in each
hand. Singing, chanting, and
_drums beating rhythms of the
earth as I painted my blood on
everyone's thighs and we rolled
in the soft grass screaming until
rocks wrenched from the earth
and spun around us."
Back then there was one word
for birth and death and we did it
twice.
Now I'm charged for my
children, charged for my grav~
and profit is taken from every
little bit of land I must occupy .
I'd get out o_f the way if I could,
but I'm trapped on my own
planet. Trapped in big wretched
cities beside stinking lakes.
Reclaim my past. How?
When I lived with my 96 yearold
grandmother last year I spent
a lot of time looking for signs of
the death-crone. This woman
greets each day by putting in her
dentures and making tea. Very
strong killer tea. In the spring -
just about this time of year, she
puts a lawn chair on the front
porch to welcome and encourage
the season. She tests the heat of
her iron frying pan with her
finger and once .and awhile she
says, "I don't know why God is
keeping me here."
In a dream we climbed along a
rocky shoreline together and I
lost a shoe.' The waves rose up
F-or sale: black vinyl biker
jacket, women's small -­
$60. Also black/red heavy
duty awesome leather
motorcycle boots, men's
size 6 - $80. Negotiable,
588-3853, 588 0885
For Sale
1981 Honda Accord.
$200.00 As Is. Phone:
593-7603.
New fine quality speakers.
250W digital ready. Ask
$650. Phone: 593-9808.
Must sell! Piano teacher
must sell 1 .4 acre lot.
Manitoulin Island, shore
front property. Remote,
secluded, undeveloped.
$14, "995. 00 Canadian
funds please.
Call 864-1701,
or write John Agius,
675 Richmond Street W.,
Tor. On. M6J 1 C2
between the rocks and sucked it
away. I lay down squint~ng my
eyes against the spray and
stretched my arm toward where
it floated for a moment: Then,
the giant boulder beneath me
lurched and shook as the sand
seemed to suck it down. I
screamed grabbing for a hold. I
called to my grandma and she
ignored me. She just kept climbing
higher, the wind whipping
her dress tight against her
ancient body .
There was a midwife in the small
town in Engla~d where she grew
up. As she comes from a family
of 12 she saw the midwife a few
times. She remembers her as a
mean woman who was always
rushing about, hushing the
children and kicking them out of
the house. Grandll?-a squints her
face up and puts her finger to
· her lips - "sshhhhhshsh, get on
with ya". That was the midwife.
The rock is my faith lurching
beneath me. The shoe, all this
terrifying, nebulous information
about pre-patriarchy. My grandma
is the crone leaving me to
learn · my own lessons and
beneath the rock is the Earth
herself, doing her best to get my
attention.
She scares me. Her voice whispers,
"The past is what you -
believe it to be. The moon will
tell you what dreams are true.
Allow yourself to know. Allow
your self to remember."
" ... are you brothers?"
"Hey .. is he your
brother?"
"You're not brothers.
He's your friend."
"He is brown and you
are white."
"Your hair is black.
You're brown."
may day
"You're not brothers" I , I!. I I
"Your hair isn't
black. And your hair
is black."
"My daddy is
Portuguese."
"Do you live here?"
"Do you live here?"
"Do you? Do you?"
"Live here?"
"Is he your friend 01
your brother?"
Release relieF
"Urn hmmm."
"He's my brother"
''I'm not brown. I'm
black."
"I'm black"
"We are"
"Urn humm .. .. Your
hair is black too."
"What."
"Well, I'm here
now."
"Yup ... " .....
For real media freaks, here in no particular order is a semi-complete summary of· the
media releases that came in since March 26, our last publication date.
•Toronto City Cycling Conunittee: Conference: Car Dependl!nce; Costs; Causes and Cures, May 22-24.
•W.I.L.D. Comedy queen Sandra Bernhard hits TO. with her new show, June 19, 20, Music Hall. Call 924-4627.
•Angels of Montenegro; Thursday, April, 23, at Clintons, and watch out for May dates (ads in Now and Eye).
•St. Stephen's Community House needs volunteers to host Bingo). Contact Carol Roberts at 91 Bellevue.
•Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, July 10, 11, 12. Exhibitors call 408-2754.
•Public library, May, June _library events. ·Call Linda Sahnon 393-7500
•Rosario Marchese, Hospital Incinerator, Public meeting, May 12, 7pm, Ryerson School.
•Parks and Recreation, summer employment program full, don't apply.
• Addiction Research Foundation, Italian and Portuguese language alcohol abuse public service announcements to
be launched this spring. Phone 595-6054 for info.
• John Campey, school trustee, April Report, copies available by calling 591-8065
•Toronto Humane Society, Pet Adoption pet of the month (flop-eared rabbit). Phone 369-1305.
•City of Toronto, Invitation book awards reception, May;2o, 5.30 p.m. RSVP 392-7667.
• Parks and Recreation, Toronto Sculpture Garden, 6th. annual student awards, on view May 19 - 29 in Rotunda
at City Hall. Sculpture garden is at 115 King Stree~ East. Phone 485-9658 for info.
• Live Unity Enterprises Concert announcement, Massey Hall, May 26, morning and evening. Dizzy Gillespie,
Flora Purim and Airto, Dan Seals, Lisa Loughee,d, Ming Zing Zhu ... 363-4051 for info, 872-HALL for tickets.
• Why Not Productions: Road Movies videographers chosen. Info Joanne Smale 363-4051 for info.
•Toronto Mayor's Conunittee on Ageing, Newsletter FAST, Spring, 1992. Phone 392-0129 to order.
•Department of Public Health, Responsible Pet Ownership Week, May 4th- 9th. Info 392-6767.
•Task Force to Bring.Back the Don, Help plant trees, Saturday, May 9 and Saturday, May 23, 10 am. Phone 594-
2013 for info. Bay employees plant trees. in Riverdale Park East (May 3).
• Addiction Research Foundation, workshop on May 7, for Mayors, on protecting municipalities from liability
regarding misuse of alcohol on public property. Contact: ARF 595-6054.
•City, Department of Buildings, Free renovation workshops. Contact Richard Bishop 392-7597.
•City of Toronto Book Awards, Meet the Authors, May 2, St. Lawrence Market.
•Roundup: the Smmner's Visual Arts Event, benefit party, €linton's, May, 16, 9 pm.
•Roundup: the Sununer's Visual Arts Event, opening night bash, El Mocambo, June 8th.
• Roundup: Bringing the Artist's Face to Face, June 6-14, call the Hotline 961-5136 for info.
• Fringe of Toronto Festival announces five annex venues for Fringe Festival, June· 26 - July 5; 65 participating
artists/groups (from 550 applications), expects 20,000 people. Phone 927-0245 (Gregory Nixon) for info.
• Fringe Festival announces Harbord Street event, Sat. June 27, noon till nine, to launch festival. Info 927-0245.
•Citizens for Property Tax Reform, the ticking time bomb -market value assessment. Call 483-5520.
•Doctors Hospital, Italian Festival at Woodbine Racetrack, May 30 and 31, fundraiser for the hospital.
• United Way, "The Way" newsletter, $30 1nillion going out despite recession- $7m in requests turned down.
•United Way, Sky Dome Cricket plans for 'Sept. 27, still on-going: Pakistan vs Rest of the World.
•Amadeus Choir, 6th. annual carol competition, open to composers of all ages. Entries by Oct 1. Phone 267-2796.
· • Metro Coalition· for Police Reform, meeting May 14, to support revisions to policy restricting use of firearms by
police. Ca!l Mark Wainberg 960-1072 for info.
•Department of Public Works, revised garbage schedule (blue box a~d newspapers alternating every second Wednesday).
PhQne 392-7721 if you didn't get a calendar.
• Ministry of Health, release of. Report on Hospitals Act Review. Public consultation process to be announced.
Conunents by end of July. Phone David Jensen, 327-4364 for copy or info.
•Dan Heap, conference: "Justice With Jobs," about.N. American Free Trade, May 15-16. Phone 976-3729.
•Cyclometer, a Newsletter for Cycli~g in Toronto (May), 392-7592.
•Metro by Cycle, The Squeaky Wheel, Newsletter, 750-9107.
•Department of Public Health, for c01mnunity groups, advice on rodent-proofingyour composter. Phone 392-7685.
•Metro Clerk, Metro moving to Metro hall; from August 1 new address is 55 John Street, M5V 3C6.
•Bread and Roses Credit Union, self employment workshop, Monday, May, 25 at Bread and Roses Credit Union,
348 Danforth Ave. Phone Rachel at 461-7882 or Kamala at 867-2370 (Community Business Centre).
•Bicycle User Groups, the BUGLE (newsletter), May 1992. To order, 392-7592 •
•The Weed Foundation, stop the whitewash, stop the waste, a book and project- women taking action on chlorine
bleached sanitary products and diapers. Phone 516-2600 for info.