12 minute read
Our latest June Issue is out
The Issue DRIVE
KATZMAN REVEALED
CAFÉ/DRINKS: A stroll through Walkerville isn’t complete without a pause at the local indie favourite, Anchor Coffee House. This buzzing café features homemade baked goods, lunch fare, and coffee made with exclusively Canadian roasted beans. As the weather warms up, their cold brew and other iced drinks hit the menu—perfect to grab on the fly or for relaxed enjoyment at one of their outdoor tables.
STYLE: This season is all about effortless, ‘cool girl’ waves that aren’t straight but not quite curly; not overly styled but not messy either. To get the look, use R+Co’s line of rule-bending, luxury products to add texture and subdued volume. Keep the roots quite a few shades darker and blend into a natural-looking, dirty blonde. (Available exclusively at downtown’s Voce Hair Lounge.)
DINING: It’s official: the garage doors are finally open for spring at Erie Street’s Tiki Sushi. Their breezy cantina offers up a twist on traditional sushi with Spanish and South American–influenced dishes that are a true celebration of all things seafood. Daily, their raw bar serves up delicacies such as torched tuna tetaki, and fresh P.E.I. oysters for two bucks a shuck. Open Monday to Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Interior
FEAR TO FLOW
5 PROVEN WAYS TO MASTER YOUR FEARS
By Elan Divon
You are energy. Your thoughts, emotions and physical body are all forms of energy—Einstein figured that out a hundred years ago. And energy, by definition, needs to flow and move. In fact, that’s what energy is: a dynamic movement of life force.
From the micro to the macro, from atoms and cells to galaxies and stars, all matter moves in a state of dynamic flow. The universe is never static.
Until something, called fear, comes along and spoils the party. What does fear do? It freezes and constricts. It traps your energy and obstructs the flow. If energy is the movement of life force through your body and mind, then fear is the constriction and abatement of that life force. It blocks your power. Fear makes you contract rather than expand; shrivel up rather than sound the trumpet horns.
THE ORIGINS OF FEAR
All fears share a common mother. There is nothing unconventional about your fear. Notwithstanding the fight-or-flight kind of fear of someone putting a gun to your head, all fears stem from one thing: the fear of rejection, ridicule, disapproval, failure and humiliation. Simply put, we fear that someone will see our flaws, that we’ll be “exposed,” and that we’ll be deemed unworthy in the eyes of another—and ultimately, by our own selves.
The fear of public speaking, for example (the #1 fear in the world), is really the fear of being heard and seen because deep down we feel unworthy and don’t want to make a fool of ourselves.
The fear of flying, otherwise known as aviophobia, is essentially the fear of crashing.
And the fear of death is nothing but the fear of not having lived, of arriving at your deathbed riddled with regret and misgivings. “Oh, I should have done this or I could have done that.” Fear is therefore not about the “thing” you fear, but the negative aspect or outcome of what you believe will happen when you face it.
The fear of the unknown? Same story. How many times have you heard someone say they are scared of what will happen if they leave their job, or move to a new city or dump a boyfriend who’s mistreating them? As adults, we fear the unknown.
IGNITING THE PASSION
By Julie Ward
“You can’t start a fire without a spark” is my favourite line in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” as it is so true when it comes to passionate play.
In my work with couples, the most common complaint is that their sex life is dampened, and has become rather boring and infrequent. They remember having fiery, hot sex, and now they are worried, wondering, “How do we get that back?”
Sex is not a once-vibrant act that has burned out completely, lying in the ashes of a love-hearth. It’s still there—what’s missing is how you stoke life into the cooling embers of your relationship with each other.
I remember watching a man build a fire. He constructed this most impressive pyre of logs—an engineering structural masterpiece. The problem was that those large logs simply would not light. The logs required the smaller kindling in order to light. When that kindling was tended to, it smoldered for a time before quickly igniting into quivering flames. By fanning those tentative flames, the heat slowly spread along slender limbs until finally those logs burst into a roaring delight.
Passion is like that. It starts with tending to the small stuff and will spread with enduring patience. It requires delaying instant gratification and using some creative ingenuity so that the fire of love can be easily reignited time and time again.
Anthony Sheardown:
Shooting through a lens of courage
By Michelle Laramie | Photography: Syx Langemann
Doing what it takes
APRIL SHAYE, A BUDDING SINGER, WILLING TO RISK HER DREAMS TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT
By Michelle Laramie | Photography: Syx Langemann
SPORTS DRIVE
From the Babe’s Bat to Brooks
Lumberyard
By Chris Edwards | Photography: Chris Edwards
In 1950, Detroit, Michigan, then the fifth largest city in America, supported more than 200 independent lumberyards. Ray Formasa, president of the Brooks Lumber Company in Detroit’s Corktown District, runs the last independent lumber company left standing.
Brooks Lumber might ring a bell for baseball fans of a certain age. Located on Trumbull Street, south of Michigan Avenue (the legendary “Corner”) in Detroit’s now-thriving Corktown district, the lumberyard was famed as the landing ground for baseballs hit over Tiger Stadium’s right field roof (1912-1999).
During a recent visit, Mr. Formosa slid open a desk drawer to reveal five precious baseballs, the stuff of local legend. “I started collecting these roof-clearing balls after Kirk Gibson’s blast in 1983. I have 15 balls that landed in the lumberyard, including Gibson’s ’83 ball, which he reluctantly signed for me.” (Gibby notoriously refused to autograph baseballs.)
On July 13, 1934, George Herman “Babe” Ruth cracked his 700th homer over the wall in centrefield, in an era before the stadium—then called Navin Field—was fully enclosed; witnesses claimed the ball traveled over 600 feet! Detroit youngster Lenny Bielski was among a throng watching the game outside the park’s rightfield fence. Bielski emerged from a wild scramble with the Ruth homer ball. As Ruth circled the bases, he yelled, “I want that ball! I want that ball!” Ushers were dispatched to locate it. Bielski was led into the park to much fanfare, given a twentydollar bill for the ball, and permitted to watch the rest of the game from a box seat.
In 1939, Ted Williams was the first player to officially hit one out of the recently double-decked, enclosed park. Owner Walter Briggs believed baseball should be played in the daytime; the Tigers were the last team in the American League to install lights in 1948. After that, a ball needed to clear the giant light towers to reach the Brooks lumberyard, exiting the stadium at well over 400 feet.
Reggie Jackson famously drove a pitch into the top of those light standards on national TV during the ’71 All-Star game. Stormin’ Norm Cash cracked four taters over the roof during his tenure with the Tigers. New York Yankee Mickey Mantle’s landmark home run at the field was measured at 647 feet, perhaps the longest ball ever hit in the majors.
There were many others, including Mickey Tettleton, Lou Whitaker, Jason “Rooftop” Thompson, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Boog Powell, Jim Northrup, Ruppert Jones and Mark McGwire: an all-star lineup dubbed the “Sultans of Swat.”
But what became of those baseballs that thundered into the lumberyard? Typically, a crowd would scramble through its gates to chase the ball down. “We didn’t think the balls had any perceived value,” says Mr. Formosa. “It was a much simpler era. That is, until Gibson hit his blast in ’83. Then I started to collect them.”
Mr. Formosa grew up one block from the stadium; it was easy to slip into the park when the players were practising, so baseballs were easy to find. “I played sandlot with the balls we scooped up until the strings came off.”
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Fearless and Feeling the Fantasy
There is a strong sense of pride among Windsor’s LGBTQ community, one that is unique, vibrant and diverse.
But there is something missing.
The nightlife, which has always been integral to gay culture, is practically non-existent in Windsor’s gay community. History shows that past generations of the LGBTQ community have had to fight for acceptance in traditional society. At one time, gay bars and clubs were the only place people had to express themselves freely. Identifying as LGBTQ has become widely accepted, but there are some who are still uncomfortable being themselves outside of gay spaces.
As a gay man myself, I was closeted the first time I ever experienced a gay night club. It was the Legends of 2012 in Windsor, a bar that lasted for about five years until it closed in 2013. I remember everyone being so comfortable and free to express themselves—whether it was dressing and dancing a certain way or kissing who they wanted to. Still struggling with my own sexual identity, I felt liberated.
I spent my early teenage years in denial. Constantly monitoring the way I walked, the tone of my voice and how I acted, I felt the need to create this perception of myself based on what I thought others expected of me. I was lost, but by being able to be around other people like me, I learned to love myself as a gay man.
Today in Windsor, there are only two small gay bars. When it comes to events with larger capacities, promoters must look at other venues.
Last month, the city had one of its biggest drag queen events to date. What A Drag, a two-hour drag queen cabaret, made its debut at RockStar Music Hall on Central Avenue.
The event featured a total of eight drag queens—three who are local, two originally from Windsor who moved to Toronto and the others from London, Ontario.
Lawrence Lavender, the organizer of the event, says there are not a lot of opportunities for local drag queens to showcase their talent. “I’ve been [in Windsor] for about 12 years and while we’ve had other shows in the past, as far as a two hour drag cabaret, where it’s one queen after another, it’s the first time we’ve had anything like that.
“Other cities this size or smaller have that on a consistent basis,” he said. “I put the work in because the community needs it. Without a nightclub scene, we don’t have that part of our culture.”
Understanding that the lack of spaces makes it very difficult for people in the LGBTQ community to come together, there are people who are trying to provide the community with opportunities to do just that.
David Lenz, president of Windsor-Essex PrideFest, has volunteered with the LGBTQ community for more than 14 years. Lenz’s involvement in the community stems from his experience growing up and not feeling accepted where he was living.
He is one of many who organize the annual PrideFest, which is in its 26th year. “When I moved to downtown Windsor, things changed and my mindset changed,” he said. “That’s why I started getting involved, because I wanted to change what I went through, alongside others.”
Research suggests that members of the LGBTQ community experience increased social isolation compared to other marginalized groups. Windsor-Essex PrideFest’s goal is to empower LGBTQ individuals through social recreation programs and opportunities for social engagement to reduce social isolation. “This is done
Kyle Pitre - Ariel Attack
