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In late September of 2016, Hurricane Matthew ravaged a tremendous part of southern North America. Its effects were felt locally – Toronto’s boat-dwelling marina folks were told to batten down our hatches. The winds were very very strong. Here is a strange drawing I drew of myself as I sat in the window of my houseboat watching the spoils.
The morning after, I spoke about the storm with a neighbour. He shared that he had been living on boats his whole life and that he’d weathered many storms on the open water. I was moved by his stories and felt grateful that we in Toronto had it so easy against what was being revealed internationally. Five months later, I traveled to Haiti to assist in a grassroots rebuilding of that freshly devastated nation.
The conversation I’d had with that neighbour about Hurricane Matthew was the first time we’d shared anything personal and it forged a new familiarity between us. On this day three years ago I returned from my trip to Haiti. On this day three months ago, my boat neighbour very suddenly passed away.
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29 days of self-portraits in the advent of Leap Day
shewasavisitor 
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