Oh Canada

Okay, folks been asking..."what is it about canada that you love so much?" "why toronto? what's happening up there?" well it's kinda like being in the Chi and then, stepping thru the Stargate (did you see that movie with James Spader or watch the series? check it out or google it). T.O. has all the things the CHI has but it's cleaner, nicer. Of course, like all places it has its negatives - I'm not that naive, but it's diverse and full of culture. Tons of little excursions within a day's reach. It has the lure of CHI, but some areas make you feel like you're off in a distant paradise or an ancient timeperiod. It's also interesting that they honor FIRST NATIONS people....those are the folks we call "indians" or "native americans" here in the States!
I love that Canada honors and respects the contributions of the descendants of runaway slaves fromAmerica...they actually celebrate EMANCIPATION DAY....it's not just some random celebration like how few communities celebrate Juneteenth here in the states...it's on their calendars! When i get some time I'll chat about the underground railroad sites and add descrips to the photos on yahoo because it was/is such a moving experience to walk in the footsteps of ancestors. Doing that journey last summer (starting in Windsor and hitting Amherstburg, Chatham-Kent, Dresden, North Buxton), was moving to say the least. Sitting on that grassy knoll in front of the memorial statue on the Canada side of the river brought a wave of emotions over me. I followed the gaze of one of the statue figures as she looked back towards the US and realized that she was looking for those that were left behind (like me and mine...) I knew I'd have to see the other statue on the other side.
Later that year (Nov), on my journey to Detroit, I visited "sister monument" on the US side...walking up to it my steps got heavy and tears flowed as I got closer. When I looked out onto the water it was like I could see and hear the cries of the ancients calling to me from beneath the waters and across on the Canada side. I looked in the direction of the girl on the Windsor side, said a few prayers, journaled and just stood for awhile taking it all in. I thought back on my journeys to the mountains outside Mo-Bay, Jamaica...to that maroon village so high in the mountains that the indigenous folks and runaway slaves could pick off any REDCOATS coming to invade the village cause they stood out against the green! I thought back to the way the villagers took care of me when I passed out from heat exhaustion and the way the showed me around and took me in as if I was one of their own - just as the shopkeeper across from my hotel had done down in Mo-Bay. It reminded me of the way I feel whenever I was down home in Mt. Vernon, AL at Mama Nora's house - like I was in a different time and space where folks just take care of one another cause that's how it's always been done.
Being at those monuments and the other sites made me realize that no matter how down-trodden and trifling African Americans may seem...the Afrikan Diaspora still thrives on and since, "massa" is NOT going to bring our people and our history to us...those of us "lost sheep" in America gotta get out and find it for ourselves!
Toronto 2004
Toronto 2005
Ontario 2006
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/