I hate to disappoint readers who expect this publication to stick to local issues.
But frankly, if I hope to stay sane one minute longer, I have to hear myself talk about Toronto.
I have been feeling pangs of nostalgia for the place as of late. I guess it started with recent news about Mayor Rob Ford and the stories about the mayoralty race there.
But then came the stories about some places that were favourites of mine when I was living there - places that have now closed up shop.
Recently I found out the World's Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto went out of business. That was a favourite spot for finding rare books you couldn't easily find anywhere else.
Then I learned the massive Chapter's location across from where the old Citytv/MuchMusic location used to be is also closing. This follows on the heels of other closures, such as the Sam the Record Man location on Yonge Street.
What finally drove me off the cliff was when baseball season began.
The return of the Toronto Blue Jays brought back memories of being able to hop on the subway and go down to SkyDome for a game.
This had me down in the dumps. This may be the "new Saskatchewan" and "land of jobs," but "land of major league baseball" we are not, and that's frustrating.
When people here find out I used to live in Toronto, their first reaction is usually "how am I able to stand it here." The Battlefords is far different from the hustle and bustle of the big city, they say.
They are right to be amazed because the truth is I have gone to tremendous lengths to try to maintain my "big city lifestyle" through frequent trips to Saskatoon, Edmonton or the United States.
Another way to cope is by attempting to replicate as much of my life in Toronto as possible. That means: watching Toronto news on the Internet, listening to Toronto radio stations on the Internet, watching the Late Show with David Letterman (because the cable company picks up that feed from OMNI TV and runs all the Toronto commercials), reading Toronto newspapers online and listening to lots, I mean lots, of baseball games on the radio.
I also go to the souvlaki place in Saskatoon as often as possible and head to the Indigo and HMV, and the big movie theatres. Just like in Toronto.
What is odd is I never felt this kind of homesickness for Saskatchewan when I first moved to Ontario. I guess I was still bitter about moving and about having to change my career path entirely because I was being shut out of opportunities in Saskatchewan, but times were different back then.
About the only thing I was really nostalgic for was the Roughriders, but dealing with that was easy enough: I'd just go watch them play the Argonauts at the SkyDome.
The cold hard truth, and this will be tough for many in Saskatchewan to swallow, is that life in Toronto had a lot more going for it. There was more to do, the weather was better, plus there were more girls.
I would have stayed, but a host of factors sent me running for the moving vans.
I bring up this topic of "moving out" because I notice local people are going around feeling sorry for themselves yet again over some article on the Web.
A site called "Cities Journal" claimed North Battleford is ninth on its list of the top 18 cities to move away from in Canada.
In truth, it's Toronto who ought to be on this list! They put in a far superior effort to North Battleford in driving its residents away - like me, for example.
Yes, the Battlefords has crime. But Toronto has had downtown shootings where innocent people have been killed. Some neighbourhoods - Jane and Finch in particular - are notorious for being dangerous. Downtown was overrun with panhandlers when I was there.
Yes, the Battlefords may not have enough jobs, but Ontario's economy is totally in the sink.
Yes, the Battlefords has pigeons. But in Toronto I had to shoo them off my own deck there were so many of them.
Beyond that, the Toronto cost of living is worse, traffic is worse, parking prices are through the roof and then there is smog! It is terrible, physically debilitating and a real health concern.
Because of the pollution, you had to haul your car to the shop every two years for emissions testing. For me, that was money you could count on seeing go straight down the drain.
I left Toronto before mayor David Miller brought in his $60 vehicle registration tax. That would have been more money down the drain. Mayor Rob Ford got rid of it eventually, but by then I was long gone.
All this, plus better opportunities and family reasons, drove me out. A lot of old Toronto friends aren't there anymore, either.
You know what? I don't feel so nostalgic for Toronto now. This exercise has really cheered me up.
Anyway, this is an election year there, so hopefully Toronto voters will put people in who will make some changes and address their multitude of problems.
I felt the need to spout off about Toronto with these latest store closures. The news just reminded me, yet again, that much of what I liked about the place is gone and not coming back.
But time doesn't stand still, even here. Just last week people gathered around 100th Street to see demolition crews bring down the old Marlborough Hotel.
It seems the one constant you will find in any community is change. As they say, we all have got to keep on moving on.
