I was walking in the Church and Queen area of Toronto today and wandered past the park in the corner of the church yard. Years ago my family got (ie: paid) the city to have a bench installed with a little brass plaque in memory of my dad, Gary Lautens.
It was a lot of red tape for some reason, but we finally got it put in on the northwest corner of Church and Queen, which my father passed every day on his walk down to the Toronto Star.
About a month later a car driven by a drunk driver jumped the curb and smashed the bench to toothpicks.
That was about 20 years ago.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the bench had been replaced by the city along with the brass plaque.
So if you're ever in the neighbourhood of Church and Queen, drop in and have seat (bottle of cheap booze in a paper bag optional).
