What you loved and loathed last month
In “The Great Covid Job Swap,” we featured several Torontonians who have reinvented themselves for pandemic times: a bar owner turned farmer, a receptionist turned takeout chef, and a sales rep turned e-commerce entrepreneur, among others. Readers applauded the subjects’ resilience and ingenuity.
“I was absolutely delighted to read Liz Guerrier’s story in the current issue of Toronto Life (“I was a pub owner, now I’m a farmer”). Before the pandemic, my husband and I were happily employed for over a decade running and working for an event staffing agency. We did our best to keep the company afloat, but the pandemic decimated the Toronto event industry, and we eventually had to wave a white flag and close the business. We packed up our home of 13 years in Toronto and moved up to our little hobby farm in the Kawartha Lakes, which we had purchased three years earlier as our retirement dream.
“Since trading in our event execution boots for Hunter wellies, we’ve been more relaxed, happier and healthier than ever. And although we plan to return to Toronto when the pandemic has receded, this time at the farm caring for our three horses, seven chickens and one vegetable garden has reminded us to slow down and appreciate the simpler life.”
—Steff Ivory Conover and Lee Morrison
Medical Drama
Most readers agreed: Abdu Sharkawy’s memoir about working the second wave in the Covid ward at Toronto General Hospital was a tear-jerking wakeup call.
“I can hardly express how important and moving it was to read
Dr. Sharkawy’s article. I am humbled and grateful to him for his eloquence and compassion.
TL has done a major public service by publishing this.”
—D.J. Baptist, Toronto
“Immensely enjoyed reading this article by Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, almost as much as I enjoy reading his tweets. It’s been a year since the first diagnosed case of Covid-19 in Toronto, and as the virus continues, it’s easy to focus on the stats in hopes that the numbers will finally go the right direction. Dr. Sharkawy’s compassion and empathy for his patients reminds us there are names, stories and suffering along with those numbers. His ability to connect (15 languages!) with his patients reminds us of the human element of our shared existence. Along with this, he is often on the news explaining Covid-19 in an understandable manner while we’re all feeling so anxious about our lives. Toronto is fortunate to have him.”
—Susan Bates, Toronto
“The article ‘Dispatches from the Second Wave’ should be required reading for all Canadians. If anyone needs additional motivation to stay in quarantine, this article is it. I certainly hope I remain Covid-free, but if I were so unfortunate as to test positive, I would definitely want to see Dr. Sharkawy. Kudos to the doctor as a true hero during these difficult times.”
—George Holovaci
There was one widespread criticism of Sharkawy’s piece. This letter writer sums it up concisely:
“This doctor suggests he was the only one these patients saw for weeks. Did he work 24 hours a day caring for all of his patients’ needs?
What an insult to the nurses who actually work on Covid wards.”
—Lori Vandenberg
Burgermeister
A Patrick Kriss cheering section emerged in response to his piece about madly pivoting to keep his restaurants alive during the pandemic. Putting aside random gripes over $20 burgers, the vast majority of reactions went something like this:
“What a story. A roller-coaster ride of emotions hearing how Patrick Kriss went from flipping burgers at Lick’s to owning a chain of arguably the best restaurants in Canada. The power of ‘wanting it’ is what I mostly got out of this amazing weekend read. We are all reinventing ourselves to survive the pandemic. Wanting more is exactly the story that should resonate right now.”
—Simon S. Mass, Toronto
“This is such an important article that highlights those in the hospitality industry whose livelihoods have been affected by Covid-19. We need to support local businesses and hope to return to these wonderful establishments again!”
—@winder_gill, Twitter
“Best story of 2021 so far. We ordered burgers the very next night. Happy to support them.”
—ideasandlight, Instagram
“Wow, kudos to the businesses that are pivoting to meet the new demands of the pandemic under these restrictions, a true forge by fire. Those with the right ingredients will be stronger for it when this ends. Blessings and positive vibes their way.”
—Saqib A. Qureshi, Facebook
“Stop what you’re doing and read this piece by chef Patrick Kriss.”
—@cyrus_cooper, Twitter
Oops!
In February’s “Out of Office” package, we reported that Laura Davidson left a venture capital firm in 2019 to start her own business, and that she inherited land in Shanty Bay. In fact, she left the VC job in 2017 and purchased that land. And in March’s “Big Shots,” Shawna Rich’s title should have been clinical social worker. Our apologies for the errors.