Night Vision

As we get older, Peter and I find that we don’t see as well at night. We try to avoid driving after dark as much as possible. This is made simpler because we live close to the subway and the GO train. It’s just one of the adjustments we make so we can stay active and engaged.

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to go to a Jays game, followed by dinner at our daughter’s new waterfront condo, and then a visit to Nuit Blanche. We switched our afternoon nap to the morning and headed out to the local GO station.

As we sat down in our aisle seats at the Jays game, we could feel the buzz in the air. The spectators were pumped: it was the end of the season, with the playoffs in sight. The 7 quasi-adults sitting beside us were already into their second beers. They proceeded to drink throughout the game, and there was a lot of pinching, kissing and grabbing of butts as the women crawled over the men to get out for more beer and washroom breaks. As the score went up for the Jays, the crowd got louder and the grabbing and kissing got more frequent. Finally we left. We really didn’t need much vision to see that the Jays were going to win and the couples were going to hotel rooms.

Then we walked to our next adventure – dinner with the family on an upper floor of a condo with amazing views. As we ate, we watched a crew on a raft in the lake setting up an installation for Nuit Blanche. We discovered it was the offering from New Zealand, a coincidence because our daughter and family have recently returned from a year in that far-off country. The effect at water level was quite unique – images portrayed on a water screen. Created by Maori artists, the pictures depicted people’s relationships with the ocean and climate change. They were not always obvious, but they were truly original.

Next we sauntered along the waterfront which was quite well-lit and easy to navigate, We found other installations: a video projected on the wall of the Power Plant, of a woman wandering through sand dunes in a gorgeous chiffon dress. We stopped to study A God Among Us; a metallic bird-like creature absorbed in reading a book, flanked by 2 modern adults wearing masks and reading on their phones. Then our collective eye was caught by Avataq, a window full of silver balloons, spotlights reflecting off them.

At this point the grandkids were getting tired of art, so we chose one last installation to visit: RATS! Who could resist a title like that? What we found was 1 Huge Rat sitting on a tractor in the middle of Yonge St. His long tail stretched out behind him. I took pictures from the front and then from the side so I could get his long grey tail in the photo too. Then I realized that the family was a bit ahead of me so I rushed and – tripped on the end of the tail!

Down I went, grabbing the man beside me, and landing on my knees, then falling sideways onto my purse. Feeling embarrassed more than anything else, I quickly got up, with a little help from the man who was now my best friend, and realized that I had not broken any bones; sensing only a little pain from scraped knees. The family rushed back to my side, the doctor in the family calling out: “Are you OK?” The physiotherapist in the family checked me out from behind as I walked. And the grandkids chimed in too. Agnes informed me: “Nana you have BLOOD on the knee of your jeans!” And Gavin added: “Oh gross!” I figured I was in good hands.

Peer and I are hikers and we always watch our footsteps. But it was night, the grey tail blended in with the pavement, and I was rushing. This was a reminder to us that life is out there waiting to be explored, but we need to be a little more careful, and watch out for RATS, as we age.

Sue

RATS!