streets

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The Names We Put On Streets Can Make You Smile

The names we put on streets should have some meaning or relevance to them. 

the names we put on street can make you smile

We travel down streets everyday and don’t think too much about their names. But many names, if not most street names, are not randomly selected. Rather have some kind of history or thought behind them.

For instance, the famous Yonge Street in Toronto was named after Sir George Yonge. He was a friend of the namer and an expert on ancient Roman roads. 

Street names are not randomly picked out of a hat.

Some of the names we find on street signs come from those who built the homes or buildings on that street. 

Back in the late 70’s, my folks went on a trip to England and, while they were there, had their picture taken on Silcock Street. Apparently I had a great grandfather who built homes and had a street named after him. 

Street names mean something. Without a street name we are left with just numbers which are quite boring.

After growing up in Toronto with its’ interesting street names, I moved to Edmonton where they don’t use street names for the majority of their streets. 

One of the first things I did when I arrived was to go into a book store to purchase a map. I quickly found out that in Edmonton you don’t really need a map. All the streets and avenues are numbers based on where the street is in conjunction to the center of the city.

It was easy to get anywhere, but not that interesting living at 7313 – 183b Street. 

Street names have some spice. There is meaning and a story behind the names. 

That is what I thought until I was driving in the small city of Cobourg, east of Toronto. 

We turned down one street and came to T-intersection where we had to turn right or left. The street name was University Avenue. 

We have a University Avenue in Kingston and, as you would think, it leads to Queen’s University campus. Likewise, Toronto has a University Avenue and it leads to the main campus of the University of Toronto.

But Cobourg, there is no university in Cobourg. Why in the world would they have a street named University Avenue? 

I thought maybe the town fathers named the street with hopes that one day there would be a university at the end of it. I wondered if maybe they liked the name, thought it sounded impressive and hoped it might attract people to come and move to Cobourg. 

Naming a street without having a reason or a story – that is laughable. 

But then I did some research and found out Cobourg did have a university. Victoria University was founded in 1836, but was relocated to Toronto in 1890 as a College of the University of Toronto. 

So there was a reason for the street name. It wasn’t a scheme of the forefathers of Cobourg to attract new residents to their city. 

I just think that in the last 132 years since the university left that maybe they might have thought of renaming the street.

Here’s the thing: People who believe in Jesus Christ are called Christians. What “Christian” means is someone who follows Jesus. So if you are a Christian, be sure that if someone followed you they would be able to find Christ. Otherwise you shouldn’t be called by that name.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What needs to be reevaluated in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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No Way Your Streets Are As Bumpy As Mine

The Beatles sang about the long and winding road; I’m singing about the long and bumpy roads … but my song is not a happy one, filled with cheer and merriment.

The song I sing is more of a dirge, like you might find being sung in a funeral procession down the streets of New Orleans.

At this time of year, I notice the conditions of the streets more. Now that fall has come, on a weekly basis I make my way down to the K-Rock Centre hockey arena. Getting there takes me down Queen Street, which arguably is the bumpiest road in Kingston.

But it’s not the only one.

I’m concerned as they put in new sewers and things to update the city’s infrastructure. They are digging up roads or portions of roads and then just patching them back up.

I don’t like the time and trouble it takes to pave these roads, especially when over the long-term, the only ones who seem to benefit are the mechanic shops in town.

When I drive down Queen Street I feel like I’m in downtown Toronto many years ago, with its cobblestone streets and trolley car rails.

You come away feeling much like a James Bond drink – shaken, not stirred.

I understand that you can’t repave all the roads at once, but this street has been a mess for as long as I can remember.

When we got our new vehicle last fall, I thought the ride down to the arena would be a lot smoother.

Our new car is bigger, the shocks are firmer, but it hasn’t seemed to matter at all. The road has us bouncing around like a carnival ride.

I now know what it’s like to live in a Hutterite community and take your vegetables to market. I don’t have to ride in one of their horse-drawn buggies; I just have to drive down Queen Street in Kingston and I get the full experience.

Maybe that’s what they should do … There are some turn-of-the-century historical homes and buildings along the route. The city could turn the street into a pioneer village tourist stop.

They could add big windows to the fronts of buildings and we could watch a woman in period costume stoke the fire in her kitchen, or watch as the children milk a cow by hand in the yard.

They could put a toll booth at the top of the street, and we could just throw change into big receptacles as we turn onto the street, as a charge to ride the bumpy road and see the village people do all their chores by hand.

It would give us all a fresh appreciation for the conveniences we have in 2017. It could be a real teaching moment for parents with their kids.

You wouldn’t even have to get out of your car. It would all be drive-by learning.

Oh, and what they could do with all the money they collect from this fabulous pioneer village ride is PAVE QUEEN STREET!

Here’s the thing: When we experience inconveniences in life, interruptions to the good life we live, we should remember the inconvenience God willingly took to come to earth as a man to rescue us from the path we are on – a path that would take us to a place we would never want to go if we knew what it was really like. Be thankful for what Christ has done, with a new appreciation for the inconvenience you are experiencing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What inconvenience really has you exercised? Leave your comments below.