Never in a million years would I have thought I'd miss a place like Toronto.Before I moved there I used to think of it as a place too big for human beings to live in.I was wrong.It may not be my ideal place top live but it is a surprisingly livable city for a place so big.On the other hand,it may be that I just continue to carry around a bad attitude about Calgary.I try not to,but this city is really sucking me dry,demanding way too much of my energy.

Calgary,I've concluded is a place for working,not for living.But that's why I came here and as far as finding employment is concerned,that was not difficult.But the same old boom town problems continue just as though I'd never left.Landlord problems,political problems,poor service in the stores,exorbitant prices for everything.Grapes:3.59/lb in Calgary-1.19 in Toronto.Washing a small bag of laundry in Calgary:3.50-in Toronto 1.75.Green Peppers 2.99/lb in Calgary-as little as .79/lb in Toronto.Last Thursday I went to a work supply store for a safety vest and a new hard hat.I already had both of these,but,of course anything not under lock and key here for more than about ten seconds has a way of vanishing,even from your own home.I'd picked out my vest and was in the process of selecting a hat when I was addressed by a sales lady."Is there anything I can help you with sweetie?"
"Excuse me?"
"Something I can help you with,dear?"
"I heard you and I said excuse me.I said excuse me because of the rude way in which you addressed me.A customer in you store.Not sweetie or dear."

Tell me,am my getting to be a nasty old man,set in my ways beyond all reason?Or does business still require a sense of decorum as it did in my time,not so long ago.I've worked in customer service and I would never dreamed of addressing on of my clients in such a familiar manner.But,you know what ,it happens all the time here in Calgary,so much so that I often think of this city as a huge brothel.Believe me,if I'd wanted to be addressed in such a manner,the brothel is where I would have gone.So please tell me it's not just me.

Maybe it's hard to see things straight when things are not going so well.Late last week I had a fall from the lowest rung of a small ladder and I fear I may have broken my foot.After hobbling around all week end I decided to go to the clinic today,and now I need to go foe x rays.That will have to wait until tomorrow as I've way too much to get done today.Maybe it will get better by then.The doctor says it doesn't seem to be broken,but wants the x rays none the less.The more I walk on it the looser it seems to get,but its still very painful.Painful is one thing.But it's a thing I can put in it's place without painkillers.I can't risk doing further damage to the foot though.And,speaking of pain killers,they are disturbingly easy to get here.As in the past,with almost every visit to the doctor,I'm asked if I want some.A thirty day supply of percocet,at two a day,just for asking.And the doctor isn't even a hundred percent certain that anything is broken yet.I think I can manage my own pain and decline his offer.Still,with this ache every time I take a step I'm unlikely to come to view Calgary in a better light anytime soon.

If I were in Toronto right about now,with it being Monday,I would be just about to walk into my memoir writing class at the library and sit down with the friends I've come to know over the past couple of years.I don't miss the hot weather there,but lots of days are pleasant enough.Going home I would likely check the dollar shelf at Economy produce,maybe get some grapes or even some mushrooms to make a stir fry with.But I'm stuck here-that's how I've come to see it-in Calgary,with the blue Rockies shining in the morning,less than eighty miles away,as pretty as I've ever seen them and with me having no way to get there.Some days I wish I was anywhere but here.