The Yellow Door

            I spent quite a bit of time on Friday completing the online membership registration for Green Shield health insurance although technically I've been a member for years. I thought that the website could show me dental offices that are covered by the plan. I had to jump through quite a few hoops, including providing my direct deposit information (even though I can’t think of what they would be depositing) before I was finally registered. Once all that was though the map showing the dental offices in Toronto didn’t seem like what I was looking for.

            Instead I just did a search for dentists for poor people and discovered that there might be a dentist I can use right here in Parkdale at the Parkdale Community Health Centre. The website said they were open till 17:00 on Friday and it was about 16:15 so I rode down there. The receptionist said the dental clinic closes at 16:00 on Friday, so they must have changed their schedule without changing their website. I would have to come back on Monday. I was also told that I have to be on some kind of social assistance and under 65 to get treatment there. It seems that next year I’ll have to make a few adjustments like finding an entirely different dentist of I settle on this one for now, plus at U of T I will not be charged for health insurance and so if I want it I will have to opt in.

            Since I was out I decided to ride down to No Frills and save myself the Saturday trip. I bought a few bags of grapes, two tomatoes, some yogourt, mouthwash and a small chicken.

            I finished a first draft of a long poem about the Yellow Door open stage.

In the sky were small puffs

far apart and estranged

as I pedaled up a hill and huffed

to the Yellow Door open stage

Eastern clouds had cohered

and blowing north had more length

They were kind of grayish pink coloured

and they had the smoothness of clay

But looking closer I could see

they were twisted at their waists

as I rode east along Bloor Street

to the Yellow Door open stage

At Avenue Road a cloud

had a Starship Enterprise shape

that disrupted as I turned down

toward the Yellow Door open stage

There was watermelon

and soup with pork and sage

I ate with some senior women

at the Yellow Door open stage

There was a nice atmosphere

A woman that used a cane

asked if I’d tune her guitar for her

before the Yellow Door open stage

At 19:45

pulling his equipage

Ernest the earnest host arrived

for the Yellow Door open stage

Amp, guitar, two mics, stands,

and a Karaoke device

He hauls it all from the east end

On a trailer behind his bike

At about twenty o’clock

Ernest was the first to play

and sang “The Gambler” to kick off

the Yellow Door open stage

Then an instrumentalist

picked up his guitar and played

but with a bad percussionist

on the Yellow Door open stage

A Slavic guy got up

and told us if we believe

with all our hearts then no matter what

then what we asked we would receive

When my turn came I argued

if the faithful get more things

it could very easily be proved

with no doubt in a laboratory

I sang “Please Bulimia”

and “Love in Remission”

and the audience seemed pleased with them

according to their reaction

Three women sang while backed up

by Eddy playing the bass

but the first stopped cause she was nervous

on the Yellow Door open stage

One sang Willie Nelson’s "Crazy"

and Helen led a sing along

of the old ballad "Red River Valley"

and only I get tired of that song

Another Jesus disciple

stood up and after he prayed

he read a poem entitled

“Don’t Make Texting Your Idol, Read the Bible"

at the Yellow Door open stage

The last player was Anthony

a dynamic guitar player

who has a strong voice when he’s singing

though his lyrics do not inspire

Terrell and Eddy backed him up

On piano and on bass

while Naomi did her dancing stuff

at the Yellow Door open stage

Her moves are like a parody

of the dance of a Hippy chick

hand gestures and steps not fitting the beat

of music she’s trying to interpret

But all shared something from within

and until midnight they were engaged

so a good time was had once again

at the Yellow Door open stage

I had a carrot, a potato, a chicken leg and some gravy for dinner and watched an episode of Star Trek Discovery.

            Spoiler alert!

            Since they are surrounded by Control ships, all with the mission of taking the Sphere data from the Discovery, it has been decided to destroy Discovery and the data. They rendezvous with the Enterprise and everyone from Discovery evacuates to the Enterprise. Just before leaving, Michael touches the time crystal and has visions of the future. They initiate self-destruct of Discovery but nothing happens. They try to destroy Discovery with Enterprise’s weapons but Discovery puts up its shields. The only conclusion is that the Sphere data is protecting itself. Suddenly Leland arrives and kills everybody on the bridge. Just as Leland kills Michael she wakes from her future vision just before the point when Pike is about to have Enterprise fire on Discovery. She tells him to stop. The only solution now is to take Discovery and the Sphere data into the future, out of reach of Control. Since Discovery is in possession of the design of the Red Angel suit and the time crystal it is decided to build another Red Angel suit but since it is geared to the DNA of Dr. Burnham the only possible pilot is Michael. Spock concludes that since Dr. Burnham has not been creating the signals they’ve been following then it must be Michael that is creating the signals. It is also calculated that in opening a wormhole to lead Enterprise into the future the process will burn the time crystal out and Michael will not be able to return. No one mentions that if Michael is leaving the signals then she must find a way to return for the signals to be left. There is also the problem of needing the power of a star going supernova to power the crystal.

            Another signal appears and it turns out to lead Discovery to the planet Zahia, of which Tilly's friend Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po is the 17-year-old queen. Po appeared as a stowaway on the Discovery in one of the Short Treks episodes when she was reluctant to assume her role of queen. No one else but Tilly saw her and Tilly convinced her to face her responsibilities and go home. Po is also a scientific genius and she has figured out how to recrystalize dilithium, an element that her planet is rich with. There is an ecstatic reunion with Tilly and then Po begins to offer solutions for the problems of charging the time crystal. She also tells Tilly she is coming with them to the future. The rest of story is spent on annoyingly sentimental goodbyes as the suit is prepared for Michael. Pike and Ash beam over to Enterprise. Ash plans on trying to fight Control from within Section 31. All other members of the bridge crew and Stametz and Reno decide to go into the future with Michael. Leland’s control ships arrive and the suit is not yet ready and so Discovery and Enterprise prepare for battle.