There were a few things I was scared of as a kid. My grandfather was one of them. I wasn’t scared of most insects; in fact I used to catch all sorts of buggers like dragonflies of all different types, crickets and beetles, but I would cringe at the sight of praying mantises. I was also scared of saint statues for fear that they would suddenly come to life.

I take up after my grandfather in that we are both in charge of laundry. I used to watch my grandfather hand-wash all our clothes, his hands were dedicated. My grandmother would hang them outside and our front yard would always smell like bleach. And then my grandfather would sweep along the alley, keeping this place especially clean for us for games like hopscotch or tops. I watched my grandparents a lot when I was young.

In the summertime we take advantage of fruits that are in season: tiny baskets of overflowing blueberries, cantaloupes (also good as a juice) and watermelon. I like to think I know how to choose cantaloupes right by tapping on them with my finger, but really I’m not sure what kind of sound the good ones make.

I collected a lot of things growing up. Things like bottle caps, rubber bands and cassette mixtapes. I also collected rocks and bugs that would fit inside a jar.

I remember this one time when we were young my mom took us to Ontario Place. But for some reason, the only thing I could remember from that day is this image of my mother buying us bus tickets, and then tearing them to give to each one of us. I can still remember how the tickets were purple with a big letter “C” written in the middle.