Charlie's Top 10 Things to Love About Toronto

As a dog, Charlie is a creature of habit. His life in Montreal was practically perfect - runs on the mountain and on the summit. Occasionally, we'd even be scofflaws and run him off leash in Rene Levesque Park. How things change. In honour of the dog days of summer, here are Charlie's Top 10 Things to Love About Toronto:

10. School crossing guards who carry dog treats.

9. RBC employees who carry dog treats.

8. Hooper's Pharmacy employees, who have dog treats.

7. The pet stores on Queen street, which, of course, carry treats.

6. Modelling for dog treats.

5. Running on the beach and stealing other dogs' treats.

4. Playing fetch in the ravine - for treats.

3. Playing fetch in the field at the water treatment plant - for treats.

2. The neighbours: George, Sally, Max and Pepe (and their treats).

1. Kim, the walker who carries lots of treats.

Fun on the beach!

My dog, Charlie, has had the most seamless transition from Montreal to Toronto. How can you beat the beach TWICE a day?

A short film about Jews, Chinese food and storytellers

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll think of your own family and Sunday night dinners with containers of Chinese food. We liked the On-On Tea Garden in Vancouver. Watching this made me think of my dad, who never got through telling a funny story because he was laughing too hard. Thank you, Daniel Gelfant.

Marcel Cote

Read the obituary I wrote for The Globe and Mail on Marcel Cote, a proud Canadian and even prouder Montréaler. Happy Canada Day!

World Pride

World Pride Week in Toronto makes me think of the courageous journalist I met in Moscow last year. The day of our interview, the cover of Yevgenia Albats' magazine depicted two men embracing. She'd spent part of her day fielding nasty emails and calls. Her attitude? "Bring it on!" Read the story, which originally appeared in Reader's Digest International.

Weekend in the Laurentians

Back in Toronto after three days with friends in Montréal and the Laurentians. No cellphone. No laptop. Just nature, lots of running and eating. As one who writes often about health issues, it's most interesting to note how well I slept with the constant of buzz of technology...

Hello!

Welcome to my new website, produced by my very talented niece Fanny and her creative director mom, Su T! Here, you can see samples of my writing, where I'm off to next and maybe pictures of my wonderful dog, Charlie. If you twist my arm.