'About Saving the World'

Dissonant rhythms of folk guitar, acid rock, and the occasional burst of tribal drumming echoed through the halls and down the stairwells of Toronto’s newest high-rise. Paying residents and their guests intermingled with transient bodies in the commotion of the first-floor lobby, a kinetic response to the psychedelic murals covering the walls. University students, young couples with small children, middle-aged eccentrics, and a few elderly pensioners milled around the elevators, reading the latest graffiti and waiting for a vertical trip home. The doors finally opened with a rush of air, disgorging passengers and the smell of human habitation. Quickly filled to capacity, the car began its ascent back up the unlit shaft, bearing its colorful load and more than a hint of exotic homegrown and other combustible herbs.1