I understand that not everyone's world is good, and some are very bad,
as for the one-third of humanity which lives and dies without ever
not being hungry. But my world has been just better than I could have
hoped or managed. My original geography, my family DNA, my early
childhood crossing with world events, were all so unusual, even
startling, that it was as if someone was orchestrating my
introduction into this life of collisions of cultures we witness now.
We may experience it next door, or by media, or airline, but in any
case it is inescapable. To encapsulate it, for my sins I live in
Toronto,
by far the most cosmopolitan city in the world, if you count
the 150+ languages, cultures and religions which flourish and, of
course, clash here. I'm not saying all is good, whatever that might
mean, but boring it is not. Now, back to me.
I was born at an early age, I understand, and according to all reports,
with fairly firm opinions in advance of any direct fresh air evidence
of the things about which I held these opinions. We are all born
somewhere, among people, and so our first views come with the words
and grammar of our parents, relatives, friends, and enemies, and
the views of these people we soak up as geese adopt whatever they see
as they hatch, whether that is a farmer, a hen, a rock, or a PhD.
And so, like yourself, I was pushed out physically, and punched out
mentally and physiologically into whatever I was when I began to
experience this world, which, I insist, is wonderful.
