159 | Lulu Wei (There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace)

My Summer Lair Chapter #159: When I Say Honest Ed’s What’s The First Thing You Think Of?

Honest Ed’s is physically gone but it’ll always be in our Scott Pilgrim comics and movies.

There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace is a documentary about the demise of Honest Ed’s. It turns out we want museums rather than stores: people adore Honest Ed’s but shop at Walmart. So…that doesn’t make sense. Even if you’re not familiar with the Toronto retail institution, then know this documentary is about gentrification, displacement, redevelopment: significant issues that affect all of us as stores close due the pandemic.

Though sadly for all of the Honest Ed’s memories that fill this documentary absent is the Mr. T book signing in 1984. For reasons lost to time he was at the time touring Toys R Us and yet he came to Honest Eds for his Toronto stop.

And. I. Never. Went. Single Tear.

Cue Homer Simpson: “You’re right, Marge. Just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, “I’ll go a little later, I’ll go a little later…” And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he’ll ever come back again, he said he didn’t know. Well, I’m never going to let something like that happen again!”

That’s the vow for all that we’ve lost and all that we will lose.

There’s No Place Like This Place @ W • T • F

Host Sammy Younan

Recorded: Saturday May 30, 2020 at 2:00 pm

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