Reading Steinbeck on the Streetcar

by Andrea Peloso, all quotations in bold below are by John Steinbeck

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it

Last summer, I had the pleasure of reading Steinbeck's The Pearl on the Streetcar as diagonal beams of yellow sunlight shone across the seats and passengers. The light illuminated the velvety red seats where they were otherwise shaded to a deep wine. A woman in beige, chatting quietly to the driver was the only other passenger who stayed on for more than a few stops. We passed busy shops on Queen Street, the moment felt perfect, cozy with book in hand, watching the people.

I chose the streetcar over the jaunt from the bus to subway that I usually took. On the streetcar with my book I felt connected with the to passengers going as far back as the 1860s, who likely rode the same Queen line in different cars drawn by horse. Streetcars had long been electrified (since 1894) when my grandmother moved to Toronto in the 1930s – somehow managing to find her independence and even her own apartment during the depression. Was she full of a sense of possibility and daring as I felt riding the streetcar when I first moved here from a small town in Southern Ontario? Images of my grandmother and other young women like her in a period style dress flecked through my imagination as I occasionally glanced up from my novel with the words “The Truth Shall Set You Free” echoing in my mind – words we both read entering the halls of Victoria College. I pictured my her, young, stylish, holding a streetcar rail and gazing out at the city thinking these words. Over a 80 years later, the streetcar still works best for transporting us and our reveries.


Over 150 years after its inception, the streetcar survives as a mode of transport. It allows for many experiences, and imbues a sense of history and pride. Streetcars jut out from the landscape and say “we held solid.” It is a testament to the critical thinking among Toronto's citizens that our streetcars have survived what is now known as the The Great American Streetcar Scandal, a time when cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Vancouver lost their streetcars. Despite threats from politicians, and thanks to over 30 years of activism by Toronto citizens such as Steve Munro, the streetcar continues to take me to where I need to go in the most idyllic and practical way. One streetcar driver explained to me that it takes six buses to move the same amount of people as a two cabin streetcar, he's right.

I've lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate

Streetcars serve as a canvas to this city in a way that only electrified above ground transit does. Their smoothness, relative quiet, and clean air do not distract from the city views and interesting passengers. Buses bounce, subways hide, and cars trap us from gazing for safety sake, but the smooth glide of the streetcar allows us to be transfixed by the city or lost in our novel. I love the streetcar most in contrast to the other modes of travel I've used. On any other mode of transport, I won't have time to really notice a new pattisserie, the illuminated lights in the summer at the CNE, homeless men playing chess in front of St. James Cathedral, the vibrant reflection of autumn leaves against Grenadier pond, or stylish jackets in black rushing in to the new Opera House as the snow falls. I won't get to look up and see what colour the CN Tower is tonight, or look down to the street and see if there is someone outside who needs shelter or assistance. Streetcars teach me about my city.

Toronto, like every city, is a place of culture, and people. To walk onto a streetcar is to enter a shared space that reflects in some small way this phenomenon. To ride a streetcar even once is to learn more about this city, to see for yourself the people, and experience the urban planning on which you can either enjoy, form an opinion, or take action. The clearest example that stands out for me is my awareness of what has happened to Toronto's waterfront – by trying to catch a view on the streetcar and celebrating when I succeed! Subways, and other modes of transit deter us from street watching the city which in turn affects the opinions we form and the connection we have to these streets. They also teach us about each other and our cultures coming together.

It is true that we are weak and sick and ugly and quarrelsome but if that is all we ever were, we would millenniums ago have disappeared from the face of the earth.

One afternoon a fellow music lover and I decided to trade headphones. I gave him my Bach suites for solo cello played by Yo Yo Ma. He shared a song called Guilty Conscience by Ginjah, neither of us had listened much to the other's artist in the past. I am so glad I got to hear this powerful, inspiring artist. We discussed how cool it would be if everyone decided to share their music in that moment. There were so many songs being played on that train – an imperceptible world hidden to our ears. What's happened to me since riding transit is that I've learned to relate in some small way with countless people that I would have never met in a car or even on my bike. I am richer for it. In moments when the mood is right, the streetcar is a chance for me to talk with someone I might not have ever otherwise met, share a laugh, my hand, or my seat. Do I always want to share? No, but I'd rather be challenged to than not, I don't want my internal impulse for space to always override my more ignored, but no less important need for community.

Streetcars make Toronto "the good". They unite us rather than divide us. They allow us to relax or learn as we travel. From the hubbub of China Town, to the bohemian joy of passing little shops, not to mention our air pollution and high urban density, it seems ludicrous to part with them. I wouldn't want to part with them anyway. On a quiet day reading Steinbeck or turning with my fellows to admire a baby who in turn watches people of diverse races and cultures all smile, I can glimpse a secret to how we're going to do the future: with interest, with history, with songs of protest, with each other.


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Old Toronto Streetcar Photo found at: http://chuckmantorontonostalgia.wordpress.com

Quotes in bold by John Steinbeck

Rex Weyler: Loving the Earth and Limits to Growth

Ditching Frosty

by Andrea Peloso, originally published by NOW Magazine, Toronto

One January in Paris, I held a well- wrapped bag of Brie outside my third-floor window.

Street lamps shone on deep green leaves as snow melted in the cool air. I wound my window closed, holding the edge of the bag until it was firmly secured in the protective corner of the outer pane.

With hundreds of students and only one kitchen, leaving food in the communal fridge was like giving it away.

Four years later, in my new apartment in Toronto, I stood in front of what sounded like a fridge with bronchitis. I started to view it less as a useful appliance than as an unneeded annoyance.

In what felt like a radical decision, I unplugged my fridge.

The soft quiet that followed was my immediate reward. My shoulders relaxed slightly and I remembered the ease of my time in Europe, anticipating Toronto’s local markets and eating simply. I mused that living more lightly on the earth would mean feeling lighter myself.

Canadians are among the highest per capita carbon emissions in the world, and it’s no accident that our lives often have a high degree of small but cumulative stresses that will only intensify if we fail to shift to simpler ways as resources dwindle in the future.

We overdo life, and then escape to places with a lower consumption rate for our vacations, trying to regain some sense of balance.

We need to find ways to weave rhythms compelling us to slow down into the fabric of life here – be it a regular siesta, a two-hour meal with friends or regular trips to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Our conveniences have isolated us from nature and its cycles. It’s easy enough to choose to unplug, get rid of our frosty steel, acknowledging that to be human is to be connected with our true source of life, the earth.

After disconnecting my fridge, I found myself in new conversations with my family. I learned more about my father’s family grocery store. His father and neighbours had built a barn and insulated it with sawdust. A man sold them huge chunks of ice that he had cut from the river each winter and brought back with horse and cart.

Stored in their barn, the ice lasted all year, and they used it to keep the meat cold in the store that served Guelph’s Little Italy. I was amazed that with absolutely no power other than a horse and strong arms, they were able to maintain a grocery that fed the neighbourhood.

Surprisingly little of our food needs refrigeration. Cups of herbs or red chard kept in water are a cheerful reminder of the passage of time and will keep you alert to their metamorphoses.

Lighter veggies such as basil or lettuce last two to three days, depending on your kitchen temperature. All hardier vegetables last for a week, while yams, squash, onions and potatoes can last months.

Cheese and butter will last in a zip-lock bag in cold water. This is a tip I got from a German acquaintance who also lived without a fridge.

I now have an indoor herb garden that supplies me with fresh herbs and teas. There’s nothing more invigorating than the smell of fresh mint upon coming home.

I realized elatedly after turning off my fridge that somehow I had equated it with the natural life of my food. But produce has its own cycles and never knew the inside of a crisper until about 50 years ago.

Seeing my food arranged on the counter makes me feel blessed and keeps me aware of what I need to eat. When I want something that really should be kept cold, I grab it at a shop, tossing it into my bag or pocket like a regular Huckleberry Finn.

You gain a feeling of freedom from buying just what you need.

One of the biggest drawbacks can by summed up by my friend Albert’s question: “But what about ice cream?”

An ecologist, Albert decided to accompany me on this journey – in his own way. Indeed, what about cold beer?

Albert’s solution was to use his unheated mud room in winter and to buy a very small, ecologically sound fridge for the summer.
I chose a cooler and snow in winter, and the Annex sherbet stand in summer.

Room-temperature beverages are less shocking to our system, but when entertaining I buy crushed ice to chill whatever I’ll be serving. In the cold months I use fresh snow.

In winter, I stored some ginger-carrot soup by putting a small pot into a larger soup pot filled with pure snow and wrapping it in a wool blanket.

What a great feeling when it worked, the soup lasted for nearly three days, some snow still in between those pots! Using ingenuity rather than energy makes everyday life an adventure seldom experienced any more.

In the past, leftovers were like guests that had worn out their welcome. Post-fridge, I take fresh leftovers to share with my neighbour Bradley. When I had a bad cold, he heard me coughing through the walls, called and offered to buy me some oranges. In an unsocial condo setting, we forged a true bond.

It’s now been over a year since I used a fridge.

World Oceans Day: Twelve Things you can Do To Help Save Our Oceans

This article has been reprinted and adapted from the World Oceans Day website that has many helpful ways for you to get involved in World Oceans Day. Here's the link for their amazing website where you can learn to host your own event, and more, on World Oceans Day: www.worldoceansday.ca


1. Mind Your Carbon Footprint and Reduce Energy Consumption
Reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean by leaving the car at home when you can and being conscious of your energy use at home and work. A few things you can do to get started today: Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, take the stairs, and bundle up or use a fan to avoid oversetting your thermostat.

2. Make Safe, Sustainable Seafood Choices, or Avoid Eating Seafood
Global fish populations are rapidly being depleted due to demand, loss of habitat, and unsustainable fishing practices. When shopping or dining out, help reduce the demand for overexploited species by choosing seafood that is both healthful and sustainable.

3. Use Fewer Plastic Products
Plastics that end up as ocean debris contribute to habitat destruction and entangle and kill tens of thousands of marine animals each year. To limit your impact, carry a reusable water bottle, store food in nondisposable containers, bring your own cloth tote or other reusable bag when shopping, and recycle whenever possible.

4. Help Take Care of the Beach
Whether you enjoy diving, surfing, or relaxing on the beach, always clean up after yourself. Explore and appreciate the ocean without interfering with wildlife or removing rocks and coral. Go even further by encouraging others to respect the marine environment or by participating in local beach cleanups. If you do not live close to the ocean, make sure you transfer this ethic to protect and cleanup lakeshore, rivers and creeks – all of which can have the same positive impact on our Oceans Health!

5. Don't Purchase Items That Exploit Marine Life
Certain products contribute to the harming of fragile coral reefs and marine populations. Avoid purchasing items such as coral jewelry, tortoiseshell hair accessories (made from hawksbill turtles), and shark products.

6. Be an Ocean-Friendly Pet Owner
Read pet food labels and consider seafood sustainability when choosing a diet for your pet. Never flush cat litter, which can contain pathogens harmful to marine life. Avoid stocking your aquarium with wild-caught saltwater fish, and never release any aquarium fish into the ocean or other bodies of water, a practice that can introduce non-native species harmful to the existing ecosystem.

7. Support Organizations Working to Protect the Ocean
Many institutes and organizations are fighting to protect ocean habitats and marine wildlife. Find a national organization and consider giving financial support or volunteering for hands-on work or advocacy. If you live near the coast, join up with a local branch or group and get involved in projects close to home. Wilderness Committee is currently working to protect the BC coast and thus the salmon runs that affect all of us from Oil Tankers. Greenpeace International has a number of good initiatives to protect oceans, or you could see what your local chapter is doing.

8. Influence Change in Your Community
Research the ocean policies of public officials before you vote or contact your local representatives to let them know you support marine conservation projects. Consider patronizing restaurants and grocery stores that offer only sustainable seafood, and speak up about your concerns if you spot a threatened species on the menu or at the seafood counter. Have a movie night at your place focusing on a great film about oceans health. After watching, take action as a group in your community. Some examples of good documentaries are: Flow: for the love of Water, Sharkwater, and Blue Planet (particularly the final videos that discuss problems).

9. Travel the Ocean Responsibly
Practice responsible boating, kayaking, and other recreational activities on the water. Never throw anything overboard, and be aware of marine life in the waters around you. If you’re set on taking a cruise for your next vacation, do some research to find the most eco-friendly option.

10. Educate Yourself About Oceans and Marine Life
All life on Earth is connected to the ocean and its inhabitants. The more you learn about the issues facing this vital system, the more you’ll want to help ensure its health—then share that knowledge to educate and inspire others.

11. Foster Democracy above Capitalism:
Work in democratic movements that foster people's control and input into their society, including ecosystem and ocean health, not just governments that claim to be democratic but continue to enact policies that plunder oceans.

12: Share the wealth:
Involve someone else in your activities for oceans health!

Bored? Tired? Sick of it all? Trapped in an Infomercial? Needing a Change of Scene? Call up your Local Corporate Non-News to say WTF!!?

Here's a simple, universal action that can always help and never harm: hold your local press accountable for what they tell you.

Stuff that's in the news: "X starlet stuns in red mini"... "brangelina trademark mocha style jello before cheating...", "i did not lose ten pounds said former porn star addict", "X car will take you far, consumes 10% less gas and comes with a solar fash light and lego windmill set for your kids", "royal inauguration begins...", "police officer stubs his toe on duty", "iran bla bla we want to bomb them", "austerity measures...", "henry kissinger to speak with bush at gala...protesters run over by over eager attendees trying to get in"... barf.

Stuff that's not in the news: "Just down your block is an aging nuclear reactor leaking tritium into the worlds largest freshwater lake that happens to be your drinking source", "Your Country Leader wants to destroy or prevent your healthcare so that they can buy a bunch of useless planes that scare and hurt people", "Tar Sands oil is only going to last about 30 years and rob the world of its only boreal forest, destroy all the lake in the area, and destroy the way of life for First Nations People for Chump Change"... WTF Corporate Press!

Which story gets more coverage? Which seems more relevant?

It can't hurt. Next time you learn about an issue that is near and dear to your heart such as predicted oceans extinction, destruction of the amazon, tar sands, suppression of democracy, nuclear power, and beyond... call any press you like any time - there's always NO reason why they aren't reporting this stuff. If you want to go further, invite your friends, invite your online prospects, invite your bad reruns... let everybody call and ask for what they want to read. Sometimes one phone call pointing out the obvious: "ahem, 3000 people are outside protesting this issue, and I'm not reading it..." really makes a difference.

Oh, and seek out cool media. Each country has its own sources, but look for media that is not based on advertising dollars, and that covers issues that you aren't seeing elsewhere. Two examples, off the top of my head, are The Real News, The Watershed Sentinel, and Democracy Now.