Who here has had their parents say something about sex that just makes you cringe to full fetal position and want you to become a monk? Raise your hands. I see.

The last two times Ive had dinner with my Da (72yrs old, is about 60 physically, 16 mentally) he’s done that to me. The first time he ranted on about extra strength Viagra and how much fun a weekend could be again. Then last night he’s telling me and Sharkboy about this project he wants to start working on about collecting stories of older gay men having sex. That’s cool. Then we start talking about the Old Simpsons Building at Queen and Yonge Streets.

Its now The Bay’s flag ship store but back in the day Simpsons was a multi level department store that was built in the 1600s or 1821 or some such year. Its old. Recently it was used in the movie Cinderella Man as the front of Madison Square Gardens so you can guess its about 1920s or so. Anyway. Dad use to sell shoes in the basement right next to the men’s washrooms. I bet you can see where this is going. Back then Gay was only heard in Noel Coward plays and songs and Dad, being the oldest to an Irish Catholic family of 7, he was quite closeted. Or tea-roomed if you will. Its one thing to be conscious of your parents indulging in sex. That fact sits in our minds like the thought of having to pay taxes or mowing the lawn: there but ignored. Its another thing to hear your father talk about risky sex with strangers in toilets. Especially when you’ve done it yourself and thought it dirty and bad and here’s the man you admire freely admitting it.

As a particular side note to this whole thing: I get on at the Queen St subway station when I go to work and wind up standing in front of the Simpsons building mural on the platform, sub consciously making some connection with my dad back in his day. Ive said before that life is cyclic, even in small circles.