Amber Whitman

By Amber Whitman

Who doesn’t remember the original romantic movie “Dirty Dancing” of 1987, featuring the sexy and acclaimed actor Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle, and the loveable Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman? Well, now you can see this movie-turned-musical, written and co-produced by Eleanor Bergstein, live onstage at The Royal Alexandria Theatre.

“Dirty Dancing” is a classic coming of age love story that begins when the adolescent Baby, a doctor’s daughter with lofty dreams, is forced to go on summer holiday with her parents. Bored one day, she wanders into a world of dance and new people, where she meets Johnny, a ruffian. Through as series of circumstances, they find themselves making an unlikely pairing as dance partners. However, against all odds they fall in love and face life’s challenges together. With popular favourites like “Hungry Eyes,” “I’ve had The Time of My Life,” and “Do you Love Me?” this summer-romance show is a surefire winner (emphasis on the fire)!

This weekend we went to visit my mother. I rarely see her due to certain circumstances. We have had a rocky relationship to say the least, but I still love her...she's my mother. My father is once again out of the picture which makes talking to her so much easier and nicer. I am hoping that this time she has the common sense to stay on her own. I was very surprised when I saw her this time. I know that she is getting older and that she is losing her strength and verve but I am really worried about her. My fiancee helped to emtpy some planters on her balcony.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. It is the norm to have holidays with my father-in-law because he is alone...however this year I thought I would invite my mother...who due to circumstances is alone as well. Unfortunately, she was not up to getting out. For some reason I was up early ...around 8:00a.m. Since I was making dinner this year, I had prepared some things the night before which I would highly recommend. I had peeled the potatoes and yams and put them in the fridge. We decided to go with a pre-stuffed turkey again this year...they are so much easier.

After my last post, most of you know how heartbreaking it was to surrender our dog Oliver to the Humane Society. That night both myself and my boyfriend were heart-broken. For some reason my son was not so upset. I don't think he completely bonded with Oliver like the two of us did. The next day I talked to my boyfriend at work and he was still broken and emotional and then he said something that really broke my heart. He said, "I want my dog back!" That is all I needed to hear. I told him to try and get him back.

Where: Danforth and Broadview
When: August 10th 6 p.m. – 12 a.m., August 11th 12 p.m. – 12 a.m., August 12th 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Pictures: 8 pictures

You know the funny thing is that I have been battling my weight for most of my life. In the last few years with the onset of my anxiety things took a turn for the worse. I was put on medication after having not slept for 48 hours after contracting a nasty virus. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of the medication was an increase in appetite which the doctor warned me about. However, I was not expecting to feel like I was pregnant again and start eating everything in site. It to so bad that family and friends started to comment and that made me feel even worse.

With the many events that happen in and around Toronto, this weekend hosts one of the biggest. It is the Taste of the Danforth running from Friday Aug, 10-12. For many years now, my family and I have gone down to enjoy the tastes, sounds, entertainment and shopping that this area of Toronto features. One year I even went down and met my friend and her friend and we wandered around together while my son and boyfriend played the many carnival games.

The concrete jungle screams through the night.
You are so alone in your room.
Darkness envelops your soul and coldness creeps along your skin.
The poison from the bottle your only friend.
There is nothing for you here in this stark reality.
You can hear the rats in the walls chewing their way to your poisoned body.
You believe they will soon protrude through the cracked walls to eat the flesh from your brittle bones.
The poison has taken your youth and returned an empty shell.