On Thursday I finally remembered to take all my old batteries to the
battery disposal unit at the northwest entrance of the Ramsey-Wright building on
my way to class. I had at least ten years worth of batteries that I’d been
holding onto and they filled two sandwich bags.
We spent the whole
hour of class talking about Philippa Pearce’s “Tom’s Magic Garden”. Tom has
three elevated view of the past life of the area where his aunt and uncle live
in the present, each view more elevated than the last. And each time his friend
Hattie is considerably older. The more one can see, the bigger one’s world
becomes, and if one can know it, there is a sense of being in control of it.
The area where the
story takes place is real, and not far from Cambridge.
Tom climbs the
tower of the cathedral of Ely in the past near the end of the story, while he
could not go in the present because he had been placed under quarantine.
A garden is a
reliable gauge of the passage of time. Tom’s garden is compared to the Garden
of Eden. I would say that the metaphor could be carried forward. Adam and Eve
are portrayed as almost childlike before Eve gains knowledge. I think that Tom
and Hattie and be compared to them. Hattie, as she matures, becomes tempted by
forces unsympathetic with the garden.
Tom’s time
travelling jumps over world war two and returns to a peaceful time.
After class I
headed home as quickly as I could because I wanted to lie down for a while
before leaving for work. I wasn’t really sleepy but I knew I probably would be
later on.
I worked at OCADU
for Yang Cao’s drawing class in the Design department. He’s about thirty, all
business, wears a poor boy cap and constantly looks at his watch. He’s also the
first teacher at OCADU who I’ve heard talk to Chinese students in Chinese.
Peter Mah, who retired a couple of years ago, would never have done that.
After work I rode
up to Bloor Street and across towards Yonge. The wind was so strong at Bay and
Bloor that all the metal frames that hold the traffic lights were clanging out
percussion.
On Queen Street, a
cyclist ahead of me moved onto the sidewalk and just started ringing his bell
to get people to get out of his way.
I watched the
Buster Keaton directed silent film, “Seven Chances”. Buster gets notice that he
will inherit seven million dollars if he gets married by 19:00 on his 27th
birthday. The problem was that day was his 27th birthday. He went to
ask Mary, the only woman he’s ever loved and she said she’d marry him, but when
she asked why it had to be that day his words didn’t come out right. He said he
had to marry somebody by 19:00 and it could be anybody. She turned him down.
His partner coaxes him to keep asking women and he half-heartedly does so, and
they turn him down. Then his partner runs an ad in the paper that causes
hundreds of brides to show up at the church. Meanwhile Buster gets word that
Mary will marry him after all and so there is a very long chase scene as
hundreds of brides stampede after him through various urban and rural
landscapes. He makes it to Mary just in time.
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