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05/20/2006: "Relaxation City: Windsor"

Back in Windsor for Easter, some weeks ago, Christine and I went for a walk through town. I didn't walk so much when I lived there, and now when I return it feels like I have 25 years to make up for -- details missed, and streets only seen from car windows.

By her house, on the main drag, is Relaxation World. Most of the mansions along Ouellette Avenue were converted into little medical offices and such, and in between were these little plaza's that were full of more doctor's offices. Mom's allergy doctor was next door. Now it's value added massages.

I gave a Windsor cop, a friend of a friend, a ride home one night while I was there (I was back in old Windsor mode, with plenty of car driving and Detroit radio listening) and asked how it kept going, and wasn't busted. He mentioned something about bikers. Then we saw a hells angle in front of us. I said we should roll down the window and tease him about his bike and the police in my car said "please don't do that." It's not often you can hear fear in cop's voices, but I think the bikers are as deep as scary can get. This was a few days after the big biker massacre in Shedden.

On the way back to Toronto, I took Highway 3 instead of the 401, along the Lake Erie coastline, passing so many abandoned homes and farms. I ended up going through Shedden. The sign said it's the Rhubarb capital of Ontario. Nothing about being the mass-murder capital though.

Since Easter, I've been looking at all of Ontario differently, as if there are bikers hiding behind everything. Probably not true, and maybe this is just my Toronto Sun Scared-of-Everything phase.