What I Saw

In my view...
This launch was a tribute to the publicist - what a turnout! We met friends for a pre-launch dinner at Innocenti across the street from the Spoke Club and watched the lineup form. Eventually we had no choice but to join the throng. We figured out that the delay was caused by the tiny elevator which could only hold a few people at a time. This, of course, created the impression that all of Toronto was dying to get into this event. The cramped elevator ride was made even more unpleasant by the elevator thingy's sarcastic condescension. People were complaining about the inadequacy of the elevator and about having to queue up outside to which elevator thingy retorted, "This is a private club and we want to keep it that way." That raised my socialist hackles but instead of exhorting my elevator campadres to unite and rise up against the oppressor I bit my tongue. After all, what else can one expect in an establishment owned by Galen Weston Jr.? The place was packed, nowhere to sit down. As usual, midget that I am, my view was limited to the shoulder blades and pecs of those around me. The washrooms were great - dimly lit and private - but we had sink problems: Charmaine complained that the water splashed too violently whereas I could not get my tap to issue even the tiniest drip. Cathy had told me not to worry about missing the reading at Chapters earlier in the evening because she'd also be reading at the Spoke Club. Alas this was not to be. We milled about uncomfortably for awhile until we were hectored into silence so that the authors could thank all who had helped them along the way. Then we left.