Keeping on top of it all

In September 1963, I left for downtown Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art & Design, which would be my home for the next 4 years. Imagine coming from a small southwestern Ontario town of Wallaceburg ( pop. 9000 ) to arrive in a big metropolis of well over 1 million people. Petrified to say the least. In my pocket was a small map my father had drawn. It was a simple square. On the left ( West ) side he had written Hwy.427; on the East side he wrote DVP ( Don Valley Parkway ); at the top 401, and at the bottom Lake Ontario. “There,” he said. “No matter where you travel in downtown Toronto, when you hit any of these 4 sides you’ll know exactly where you are. You will never get lost.” I studied and worked in Toronto from 1961 to 1982, and I never got lost once.
So, to keep on top of all my university studies I’ve had to draw another square in order not to get lost in the complexities of eClass learning. Left side, course 502; right side, course 503; top, “Readings” and bottom, “Writings”. I’ll try not to get lost.