Students' Fuel

 Wednesday January 18, 8:51 p.m.

Pretty good day. The most recent 800-kg gorilla in my life until this morning was getting my OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) reactivated. After a couple of aborted tries, I finally got that bank statement to prove my residency here, and got the ball rolling at the ServiceOntario branch downtown. But since I was in the neighbourhood, I also dropped by my alma mater.

 Ah, my lovely lunch. Nothing like eating a burger and fries with gravy in -5-degree weather. Ate it in front of Sidney Smith Hall since the front foyer itself was packed with students. In previous visits here during my long life in Japan, I'd always come during the Holidays, so it was a very different scene with U of T being virtually empty. I was just surprised to see any food trucks on St. George at that time of the year. The U of T food trucks are the students' lifeline, especially at noon. Tried to get something there at that time but decided to come back at 1.

Got my grub at that brown truck. That truck has been serving Sid Smith for well over a quarter of a century. I would know...it was there since I was a freshman.  However, that old guy who reminded me of John Belushi's character ("Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, Coke, Coke!") on "Saturday Night Live"was no longer there. Instead, it was probably her daughter. But since I'm not a generationist, I was happy to renew my acquaintance with the brown truck. And just $6 got me my lunch. Even after I forked over my cash, the lady asked me if I wanted some gravy with my fries. Since I neither have a Rob nor a Ford in my name, I was only too happy to agree.