Home, Home on the Train--VIA Rail Train 79

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. I look after James. James was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Sparkle Road is next to Sandwich Street. That's in Olde Sandwich Towne. I ride my blue bike up and down Sandwich Street and ring the bell. I holler, "Look out! Blue bike coming through!"

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He can't talk, yet. He doesn't even have any teeth or a tail. He  drinks condensed owls' milk. Chance makes little squeaky noises when he's happy and little squawky noises when he's hungry or his diaper is full of poo. Chance climbs way up high on things and can't get down. I have to get him down. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? Chance and me are at Union Station. That's a really big building in TO. Trains live at Union Station.  Toronto is a really big city. James says it's the biggest city in the country!

There's a sign that says Union Station is 100 years old. Wow! That's older than me and Chance put together and I'm five! I bet James is older than Union Station. He is so old he remembers the invention of Saran Wrap. That is really old.

We had fun in Toronto. We did all kinds of fun things. We went to Chinatown. We went to Kensington Market. We went to Jane and Finch. Jane and Finch are streets, not people. James got some T-shirts. Bear cubs don't need T-shirts. We get to run around bear naked. That's a pun, you know.

We rode the Rocket in TO. That's the subway's name.  James says all good things must come to and end and now it's time for us to go home. We go home on the train. We get to ride on VIA Rail, today. Chance and me  l-o-v-e VIA Rail. know where VIA Rail goes. It goes all over Canada. VIA Rail goes to Windsor. That's where we live! Windsor is our home! Know what? Windsor is the centre of the known universe and the nicest part of Detroit, you know.

We wait for the train in the Panorama Lounge. It's a very nice place to wait. It's for business class.  Miss Kim is the boss of the Panorama Lounge. We like her a lot. She always scoops us up and holds us. She kisses our noses and tickles our tummies and says, "Hello my handsome bear cubs! How are my sons of Windsor? How are my Princes of Ontario?" Miss Kim always gives us apple juice to drink. I drink mine right out of the box. I have to use both hands 'cuz I don't have thumbs--yet. Chance has to have his apple juice put in his bottle. We l-o-v-e Miss Kim. She has a very important job, you know. Miss Kim's job is to make travelling more fun, you know.

When I grow up I could work for VIA Rail. Chance would be my helper.  We are a good team. I  would stand at the counter. I know what to say to the travellers. I would use my best VIA Rail voice and I would smile and say, "Bonjour, Good morning. May I help you? Est-ce que je peut vous-aidez?" Then I would help passengers get to the right trains. I would give all the boys and girls apple juice. If they got too loud I would politely remind them to use their inside voices.

We get on the train when Miss Kim says, "All Aboard! Tout a bord!" We ride on Train 79. Train 79 stops in Oakville, Aldershot, Brantford, Woodstock, Ingersoll, London, Glencoe, Chatham and then we stop in Windsor. That's the end of the line. That's our house.

We put our suitcases away on the shelf and then we sit down in our seats. I like to sit by the window. When the nice conductor comes we give him our tickets. We play Snakes and Ladders while we wait for our dinner. Snakes and Ladders is my favouritest game in the whole wide world, you know.

When we're done playing Snakes and Ladders we get ready to eat. The food on Train 79 is yummy. We get hot towels for our faces and then we eat. We're getting pretty hungry, now. I'm as hungry as a bear! The food comes on real china and we eat with real silverware, too. After we eat our food we get Belgian chocolates for dessert. Then it's time for us to take a nap. I curl up on James' lap but Chance always climbs inside the paper bag for his nap. He's just a wee little cubby. He doesn't know any better.


Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Wake up my handsome bear cubs? Wake up my Sons of Windsor? Wake up my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. I'm a pretty tired bear cub. I'm all tuckered out. I want to get tucked into my own little bed with my Bob the Easter Moose sheets and sleep all night. I bet I dream about Miss Kim and riding on Train 79!


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Pick up trash and garbage. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can ride on Train 79 together! Okay! Over and out!"

Sleepy Bear Cubs

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? This is Chance and me. We got business cards. They have my picture on them and our blog site address. We give them to people who want to read about us. They're are bestest buddies.

Today we're in in TO. That's Toronto. It's a very big city. James says six million people live in the GTA. That's a lot of noses to count! Wonder why they want to live so far away from Windsor. Windsor is the centre of the known universe and the nicest part of Detroit.

When we are in TO we get to ride the Rocket. That's the subway. It's fun! We go shopping.  We do all kinds of things. 
At the end of the day we're all tuckered out. We get to sleep in a hotel. Hotels are places full of nice rooms with comfy beds. We get the key from our buddy, Dhillon, who works at the front desk. When we get to our room, Chance and me climb right up onto our bed and take naps. I'm glad there are hotels to go to when we're not home.

I wouldn't want to sleep outside in the rain. I'd get wet. James says that bear cubs are waterproof. He's being silly. Of course I'm waterproof but I don't want to catch a cold. I'd have to take Buckley's Cough Syrup and it tastes awful.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds for your friends, buddies and neighbours.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go to Toronto together!  Okay! Over and out!"

Shopping On Queen Street in TO

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so little he doesn't have a tail or any teeth, yet. He just drinks condensed owls' milk out of his bottle. Chance likes to take off his diaper and climb way up high on things. Then he's afraid and can't get down. He makes little squawky noises when he's afraid or hungry or sleepy or has to poo.    I look after Chance. He's a handful! 

Know what? We're on Queen Street in Toronto. James says it's a hip and trendy street. I don't know what that means but it's fun to shop on Queen Street.

We're here with our buddy Phil. Phil has lots of fun things to buy, like this  puppy toque.

The puppy toque is handmade. That means there isn't another one like it in the whole wide world. When I wear this toque it keeps my ears warm. We need to keep our ears warm in the wintertime, you know.

Now that I have this toque, I can play a new game. I can pretend to be a puppy. I can bark real good. Hmmmn. I need a puppy name. I think my puppy name will be Fred. Fred is a good name for a puppy. Oh. Wait! Maybe my puppy name should be Baxter. Yeah. I like Baxter. That's a good name for a puppy.

Know what? You could get a puppy toque, you know. You could get one and we could play puppies together. Yeah! That would be fun.

If you want a puppy toque you have to go to 208 Queen Street. That's right in the middle of Toronto between Soho and Beverley A nice man named Phil will sell you a puppy toque. He has lots of other animal toques, too. His stand is right next to the Aritzia store. I don't shop there 'cuz I'm a bear cub and  I don't have to wear clothes. I get to run around bear naked. That's a pun, you know.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Do good deeds. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go shopping on Queen Street together! Okay! Over and out!"

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He doesn't talk, yet. He makes squeaky noises when he's happy and when he's afraid or hungry or has to poo, he makes little squawky noises. He likes to climb way up high but then he can't get down. I have to climb up after him and get him down. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? Chance and me are hanging out with  our buddies Shaun and Grandpa James and Jay. We're wearing boas. I know what a boa is. A boa is a feather scarf. We're wearing boas because we're going to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert and we're supposed to dress up like the characters in the play.

Priscilla is a bus. People live in this bus. The bus changes colours.  It's not like a Transit Windsor bus. Nobody lives in Transit Windsor buses. We just ride in them. Our buses don't change colours.




The boys have to drive Priscilla to Alice Springs. That's in the middle of the desert. Oh! Wait! The desert is in Australia. James says Australia is down under. It's pretty far from our house on Sparkle Road. When they get to Alice Springs, they will go to work. They sing and dance. That's a good job. I can sing and dance. I could do that job, you know.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Be polite. Do good deeds.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can watch Priscilla Queen of the Desert together! Okay! Over and out!"

Visiting Hospital in T.O.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. Chance doesn't talk, yet. He makes little squeaky noises when he's happy.  I look after Chance, too. He climbs way high on things and can't get down. Then he makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to help him get down. Chance is a handful! 


Know what? We're in Toronto. We come here on the train. VIA Rail is a fast way to travel. It's fun to ride on the train. Toronto is pretty far from our house. It's four hours away by train. We sing songs on the train. We like to sing. I know a song about trains.

The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The trains all come through the middle of the house
Since the company bought the land.


The railroad comes through the middle of the house
In and out of the middle of the house
Right smack dab through the middle of the house
Where the parlour used to be.


The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The railroad comes through the middle of the house
The trains all come through the middle of the house
And here comes the Five-oh-Nine! Whoo! Whoo!

Chance and me and our buddy James live in Windsor. Chance and me are sons of Windsor, you know. Windsor is the centre of the known universe and the nicest part of Detroit. Detroit isn't in O Canada. It's in the Knighted States. Detroit is on the other side of the river. We can go there on the bridge or through the tunnel. We need a passport to go there.

James says  six million people live in Toronto. That's an awful lot of people. I don't know why they would want to live that far away from Windsor.

When we come to T.O. we visit the hospital. I know what a hospital is. It's the big building where sick people go to get well. I could work at a hospital, you know. I could be a doctor or a nurse or a dietician, you know.

James says, "Mind your manners in hospital, my sons. " We use our inside voices at hospital. We don't shout. We don't race in the hallways.  We're not racists! We walk slow and carefully and we look both ways. Lots of people use the hallways. Some of them are visitors. Some of them are sick. We are cautious. That's 'cuz we're polite bear cubs.

We visit with Denise and Christina and all the nice people at the bariatric clinic. They measure James and he stands on a machine that tells how many kilos he weighs. They ask him questions and write down his answers. I think it's a test.

James is doing pretty good, you know. He used to be sick but now he can ride bikes with us and swim and walk and run, too. He lost 75 kilos. I don't know where they went when he lost them, do you?

I know a poem about Toronto. It goes like this-

I don't wanna
Live in Tranna.
'THE END.

I always say, "The end, " so you know I'm done with my poem. I'm a pretty smart bear cub.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Do good deeds. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can have fun together! Okay! Over and out!"

Our Trip to Toronto

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? We're going to T.O. We have to get ready. We put things we will need in our suitcase. There are diapers for Chance and condensed owls' milk, too. I put my Cat-in-the-Hat sox in the suitcase.

Toronto is pretty far from our house. It takes a long time to get there. That's because O Canada is very big. Oh! I got an idea! One time James washed my favourite sweater in hot water and it shrank so much it only fit Chance. We could wash O Canada in the Inglis and then it would be smaller and then it wouldn't take so long to go places!

We go to Toronto on the train. I l-o-v-e VIA Rail. We use our best manners and we talk with our inside voices. There are lots of things to do on the train. We get to drink chocolate milk that the nice person has on the cart. I know where chocolate milk comes from. It comes from brown cows. Know what? Whole milk comes from whole cows. We play games on the train. We play  Snakes and Ladders. That's my favouritest game of all.

Oh! Look! Look at Chance! He climbed inside of a paper bag. I know what that means. It means he wants a bottle of warm, condensed owls' milk and then he will take a nap. Chance takes lots of naps. James says it's 'cuz he's just a wee little cubby and napping is good for him. Naps help make bear cubs bigger and stronger and healthier, too!

We get to eat a meal on the train. The food is yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide.

I will tell you more about our trip to Toronto the next time we blog. I'm sleepy and I need a nap.



Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to your friends and neighbours. Do good deeds.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house. We can go to Toronto together. We can ride on VIA Rail all day Okay! Over and out!"

Remembrance Day

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.


Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Chance doesn't have a tail, yet. He doesn't have any teeth. He doesn't eat Smarties or porridge. He's a wee little thing. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk out of his bottle.

Know what? Today is Remembrance Day. I know what that means. At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month we stand very still for two minutes and we remember. Know what we remember? We remember all the men and women who went to war to protect us.










Lots of our soldiers went to war but they never came home. James says they gave their lives for King and Empire. Some of them gave their lives for Queen and country. That means they died. Those soldiers are all buried in Flanders Fields. That's a cemetery.

Lots of people will be at the Cenotaph to watch the wreath be laid in honour of our soldiers. The Cenotaph has the names of  all the people from Windsor who died to protect us. Almost every town has a Cenotaph. That's good, 'cuz we won't forget that war is bad. Grandpa James says that 28 million people were killed in The Great War. That's a lot!

Most Canadian soldiers are peacekeepers. They keep people from fighting with each other. Some of them fight in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is pretty far away. We can't get there on VIA Rail. Grandpa James says we need camels to go there.

I could be a soldier you know. I know what soldiers do. The soldiers' job is to stand on guard for thee. They are in charge of protecting O Canada, our home and native land so we can play outside and not get blown up or killed by Mr. Talliban and his friends. Miss Jackie taught us something at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. It goes like this-


“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I think wrong, and free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.”

 Canada is a pretty nice place, you know. Canadians are lucky. Canadians get to eat Smarties and drink root beer. We get to play hockey and build snow forts and hunt for lions, too. We can say thank you to the brave soldiers and sailors and airmen.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Say 'thank you' and salute our soldiers. Be glad you live in Canada. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can be thankful together.  Okay! Over and out!"

Play Time with Cassidy and Angus

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. Chance had a birthday on Hallowe'en. He's a year old, now. He's a handful!

Sometimes we go to play with Cassidy and Angus at their house. They are our friends. They live with Jay and Shaun. Cassidy has his own room with lettuce and carrot wallpaper.

We go to Cassidy and Angus' house on the 1C Transway bus.  I like to ride the bus. I say 'hello' to everyone. James says riding the bus makes our carbon footprints smaller. I don't know what that means but I'm a five-year old bear cub and my feet keep growing bigger!

Know what? Miss Jackie, my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre taught us a song about the bus. Ready? It goes like this--

The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round, 
In Olde Sandwich Towne.

We get off the bus at the corner of Janette and University. Cassidy is a bunny rabbit. Angus is a kitty cat. Cassidy only eats carrots and bananas and hay. He doesn't eat meat at all. He's a vegetabletarian. Angus doesn't like carrots. He likes to eat mice and birds. Angus eats lots of things. He's an meatatarian. Chance and me are bear cubs. We eat wallermelons and Smarties. Well, I do. Chance doesn't have any teeth, yet. He's too little. he just drinks condensed owls' milk out of his bottle.

 Cassidy and Angus are fun to play with. We know lots of games. We play hide-and-seek . We play 1-2-3 British Bulldog , too. On rainy days and snowy days we play indoors. We like to build a tent or a fort in the living room with blankets. We crawl inside with our flashlights and play Snakes and Ladders. It's an exciting game to play, you know. We have to watch Chance when we play. He doesn't really know how. He takes the little markers off the board and tries to eat them. He's too little to know you can't eat the markers!


Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds and play nicely. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can have fun together! Okay! Over and out!"

Bobby Orr Knees

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? I'm trying on a Calgary Flames jersey. It's too big for Chance to wear. He'd just get lost inside it. The jersey has sequins on it. That's 'cuz it's going to in a play, Bobby Orr Knees .

James wrote the play. He's a playwright. That's a person who writes plays. I know what a play is. It's a story acted out by actors. I could be an actor, you know.  Our buddy Jay made the jersey. It sparkles.

Bobby Orr Knees will be at Mackenzie Hall in November and December. It's a play about hockey. It's funny and we laugh.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. So kind deeds for neighbours and friends. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house ! We can be good citizens together! Okay! Over and out!"