HammerSpaces: 153 Union St.

May 5, 2008 D. H. McKee

Off

With the nice weather, I’ve been getting on my bike and trying to discover more of the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener that I missed by virtue of the fact that I’m a car owner. I drive all the time, mostly because it’s extremely convenient, especially when the weather is less than ideal. We’ve been trying to walk a little more, and R’s even been biking to work. Not me. Too far, and uphill both ways.

But when you drive everywhere, or even if you take public transit, you can miss places that are hidden from public thoroughfares, even when they’re right in your own neighbourhood — a stone’s throw, so to speak. I mean to walk more since I’m so close to both Kitchener and Waterloo cores, but I’m both lazy and impatient. So cycling surprisingly accommodates both of these personality limitations.

The other day, it was quite warm, and a Sunday, so I was taking the bike for a test ride after some light Spring tuning. I still need to replace the front fork, as it never really recovered from a spill I took in a construction zone. The accident necessitated a new front wheel, and a couple of ice packs (only).

As I headed up Union St., I pulled into the parking lot at 350 153 Union, the old site of one of the Regal Capital Planners satellite offices, now a dance school and a largely empty parking lot. I zoomed around for a bit, and thought I’d circle around back and see what lay on the other site. The site borders both Union and the railway tracks that cut across Weber St., Moore, King, Erb, up past the Perimeter Institute, and up to St. Jacobs.

So I assumed the back of the building had only a parking lot with a view of the railroad tracks, and the back parking lot of the Lens Mill store. That’s pretty much what I got …

… except there’s also a little community garden back there.

In addition, there’s a hidden exit to Roger St. as well. Looks like it wasn’t used very much.

So, hidden community garden. Something that would be impossible to locate from any of Union St., Roger St., or even the railway, since it’s protected by some very dense tree cover. A very cool find.

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.