What A Tale My Thoughts Could Tell!

I just finished a book with a really great story. I should actually restate that- it had really great stories, plural! The element I loved so much about it was how they all were so sublimely tied together in the end. Chaos and non sequitur events (similar to the plot of the movie Go)are tranformed brilliantly into a very carefully constructed conclusion.

This actually happened to me in my personal life, albeit on a much smaller scale. As you know, I've been working at an ESL school downtown. Twice daily I pass by this beautiful old monumental building on 10 Toronto Street. I have been so drawn to it. There was a plaque on the outside of the building that stated it started as a post office long ago but was purchased by the Argus Corporation. The name of the company appears no where else on the building and, all in all, it's anyone's guess what this corporation actually does. The only visual is of an attendant sitting the little office right beside the door and many times I thought about just walking in and asking "Soooo...yeah, what's the deal here?"

However it was far more entertaining to let my (considerable) imagination run amok. It added joy to my otherwise druggery-filled day to concoct grandiose stories where a Mafia-esque law firm (like in The Firm) are silently surveying the citizens of Toronto for their own dastardly deeds. Or better yet, the building is a haven for a secret spy organization (like Mission Impossible or Charlie's Angels) that works behind the scenes, carrying out justice where normal law enforcement is powerless.

Inconsequentially, I've been reading a book for a book club I've recently just joined. The club is called the Twenty-Minute Book Club. They are a very laid-back group and on-topic discussion is usually only twenty minutes (give or take) and then people go off on tangents. The topic was Conrad Black and since we were allowed to pick any book to read, I chose to read A Life in Progress, which is his autobiography. The others chose to read biographies so they got a completely different perspective. It's debatable which perspective is more "truthful" but in reality,truth really is variable. I feel like I was able to know Conrad Black as a person, like I had coffee and a chat with him. No, I don't think we would be friends but I do respect him as a highly intelligent person.

Conrad Black, for those of you south of the Canadian border, is a very famous figure in Canadian news. Not only was he a wildly successful business entrepreneur but he also gave up his Canadian citizenship in order to be named to the British House of Lords. Most recently, he has been convicted of mail fraud and obstruction of justice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and is facing a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison and a million-dollar fine.

What's the link between these two parts of my life? I learned while reading my book that Black's company was the Argus Corporation, located on 10 Toronto Street, from my daily work walk! So the mystery has been solved in a most satisfying way!

This experience gives me the briefest of glimpses into what the "Author" of my story has planned for me. With the looming presence of my 34th birthday, I've been wondering a great deal about my life, past, present and future. Although it appears like my life is quite complicated and seemingly disconnected from my friends and family (and their equally if not moreso chaotic lives), I just have this sense that everything will all come together in the end! Whether that is in this life or in the next of course remains to be seen! Meanwhile I'll hang in there and keep "reading!" I can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter of my life!

A scripture passage that I read in my friend's blog that I feel was speaking to me: “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future …” (Jeremiah 29:11)