Scary Day

We live in such an intimate, friendly neighbourhood amongst the streetcar tracks and skyscrapers that sometimes we forget that we're housed within one of North America's largest cities, which offers up the best, and worst, mankind can offer. Today, our otherwise cozy and low-key neighbourhood got an adult-sized dose of urban reality when our boys' daily haunt--Shelly's Drop-In at the nearby school--was put into "lockdown" mode after a police chase ended at the nearby Richmond/Adelaide Street intersection and shots were fired at police who were pursuing suspects following an early-morning Etobicoke gas station robbery. The boys didn't hear the shots and had no idea what was going on while they enjoyed the daily routines of Shelly's Drop-In, but the relatively-short emergency status seemed like hours while I was desperate to get home. In less than an hour, it was all over--but my perception of my boys' homestead would be changed...