either. And besides, she had tight jeans and she was very pretty. She had a nice tan. And Annie was like a lot of Thornhill: pretty straight ahead and relatively confused about what and who my family were.
Thornhill was certainly safe in 1982. It was clean and wellkept and what is often professionally called “livable.” Kids would play on our street well into the night and there was never much concern about that. We generally left our houses unlocked and trusted our neighbours. But here again was another reason Thornhill lacked credibility. There were no dark alleys where gangs roved and ran cocaine importation businesses the way they did in Scarface . There were no “crackwhore” streets or red-light districts (well, except for our porch before my father changed the lamps). And even when a lot of the kids did drugs or drank behind the Golden Star restaurant or near the ravine, it was all still relatively harmless. Safe suburbs are the best places for raising kids, except for the kids who think they don’t want to be safe. While Bowie was being spotted in the cesspools of underground society, Thornhill was pretty squeaky clean.
I wish I could say that this was nostalgia. I wish I could say that Thornhill has since devolved into a dangerous ’hood filled with hookers and crime-ridden back alleys. I wish I could tell you that my old stomping grounds have become bloodied and busted. That would be cred. But I can’t. While Thornhill is a much more diverse and urban place than it was three decades ago, it still has a reputation as a nice burgh for upper-middle-class families to settle in. A recent survey of crime in Canada found that the region in which Thornhill is located is still one of the safest in the nation. So the Bowie who appears in the “Ashes to Ashes” video would still likely be unwelcome.
But there were some variations in different parts of Thornhill in the ’80s. And one of the ways this played out was in the marked distinction between the two main high schools:Thornhill SS and Thornlea SS. Our family lived in the zone that required me to go to Thornhill SS. It was generally considered a tougher school with a lower academic standard. It was more “old Thornhill.” That meant less cool. My friend Toke told me that Thornhill SS was also more of a rocker school. His brother, Mitch, had gone there, and Mitch wore a leather jacket and listened to Black Sabbath.
Thornlea SS, on the other hand, was literally on the other side of a bridge. It had first been constructed in the 1960s as an open-learning experimental liberal school with socialist principles. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but I knew Thornlea was still considered cool. It was no longer experimental, but it was a more diverse place with greater breadth of courses and had a more racially integrated student body. It was known for its growing academic prowess and, most important, for its focus on fine arts. This was also cool.
My sister had successfully petitioned to transfer to Thornlea SS in 1979, because she was interested in theatre and because it seemed more glamorous than going to the “old Thornhill” school, which was closer to us geographically. With my growing affinity for theatre and music, I also petitioned to follow in my sister’s footsteps. I got accepted into Thornlea, and in 1982 I started there in Grade 9. Going to Thornlea would become the biggest decision ever to affect my future. It was at Thornlea where I first became New Wave. It was at Thornlea where I started on my path to be Bowie. And, most important, Thornlea is where I met Wendy.
2
“ARAIBAN KNIGHTS” – SIOUX SIE AND THE BANSHEES
W endy was like Bowie. Inasmuch as a diminutive sixteenyear-old blond girl from Thornhill could be like Bowie. To those who just didn’t understand, she probably wasn’t much like Bowie. But she had shoulder pads. And she smoked. And when she smoked, she held the cigarette between her index finger and her thumb like
Thornhill was certainly safe in 1982. It was clean and wellkept and what is often professionally called “livable.” Kids would play on our street well into the night and there was never much concern about that. We generally left our houses unlocked and trusted our neighbours. But here again was another reason Thornhill lacked credibility. There were no dark alleys where gangs roved and ran cocaine importation businesses the way they did in Scarface . There were no “crackwhore” streets or red-light districts (well, except for our porch before my father changed the lamps). And even when a lot of the kids did drugs or drank behind the Golden Star restaurant or near the ravine, it was all still relatively harmless. Safe suburbs are the best places for raising kids, except for the kids who think they don’t want to be safe. While Bowie was being spotted in the cesspools of underground society, Thornhill was pretty squeaky clean.
I wish I could say that this was nostalgia. I wish I could say that Thornhill has since devolved into a dangerous ’hood filled with hookers and crime-ridden back alleys. I wish I could tell you that my old stomping grounds have become bloodied and busted. That would be cred. But I can’t. While Thornhill is a much more diverse and urban place than it was three decades ago, it still has a reputation as a nice burgh for upper-middle-class families to settle in. A recent survey of crime in Canada found that the region in which Thornhill is located is still one of the safest in the nation. So the Bowie who appears in the “Ashes to Ashes” video would still likely be unwelcome.
But there were some variations in different parts of Thornhill in the ’80s. And one of the ways this played out was in the marked distinction between the two main high schools:Thornhill SS and Thornlea SS. Our family lived in the zone that required me to go to Thornhill SS. It was generally considered a tougher school with a lower academic standard. It was more “old Thornhill.” That meant less cool. My friend Toke told me that Thornhill SS was also more of a rocker school. His brother, Mitch, had gone there, and Mitch wore a leather jacket and listened to Black Sabbath.
Thornlea SS, on the other hand, was literally on the other side of a bridge. It had first been constructed in the 1960s as an open-learning experimental liberal school with socialist principles. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but I knew Thornlea was still considered cool. It was no longer experimental, but it was a more diverse place with greater breadth of courses and had a more racially integrated student body. It was known for its growing academic prowess and, most important, for its focus on fine arts. This was also cool.
My sister had successfully petitioned to transfer to Thornlea SS in 1979, because she was interested in theatre and because it seemed more glamorous than going to the “old Thornhill” school, which was closer to us geographically. With my growing affinity for theatre and music, I also petitioned to follow in my sister’s footsteps. I got accepted into Thornlea, and in 1982 I started there in Grade 9. Going to Thornlea would become the biggest decision ever to affect my future. It was at Thornlea where I first became New Wave. It was at Thornlea where I started on my path to be Bowie. And, most important, Thornlea is where I met Wendy.
2
“ARAIBAN KNIGHTS” – SIOUX SIE AND THE BANSHEES
W endy was like Bowie. Inasmuch as a diminutive sixteenyear-old blond girl from Thornhill could be like Bowie. To those who just didn’t understand, she probably wasn’t much like Bowie. But she had shoulder pads. And she smoked. And when she smoked, she held the cigarette between her index finger and her thumb like
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