Glossary
- 407 p. 23- Highway 407 ETR is located in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada and spans 108 km from Burlington in the west to Pickering in the east. One of North America’s most congested highways.
- “…144,000 people go to heaven?” p. 65 - the idea of predestination which is the divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo and of Calvin.
- Angel of Death p. 96 - An angel that can take a life if god commands it
- Bobolink p. 65 - Small lark-like bird. They go through a complete molt twice a year, which makes them distinctive. Life expectancy: 5 years. Bobolinks travel about 12,500 miles round-trip every year, in one of the longest migrations of any songbird in the New World. From their northern breeding grounds they fly in groups through Florida and across the Gulf of Mexico toward their wintering grounds in South America.
- Bessarion Station p. 81 - subway stop on Line 4 Sheppard. Toronto's least-used subway stop.
- Black Death p. 37 - Pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history.
- Bay window p. 107 - a large window that projects outward from the wall/building.
- Black SUV p. 105 - a large (typically more expensive) car with extra seating.
- C. difficile p. 81 - a germ (bacterium) that causes diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon. Fatality rates are 6%–30% and seem to be rising
- Craigslist p. 47 - American classified advertising website.
- Cineplex p. 65 - Canada’s most popular destination for movies
- Church and Wellesley- LGBTQIA+ enclave in downtown Toronto; the traditional gathering place for the LGBTQIA+ community, pleasant residential and shopping neighborhood by day and hopping entertainment destination at night, busiest during the Pride Toronto Festival each June when the whole neighborhood transforms into one big friendly party.
- Drip-Line Irrigation p. 33 - Provides irrigation for greenhouses.
- The Decameron (p.6)- Sometimes known as the human comedy. A collection of 100 stories by Giovanni Boccaccio. Written in the vernacular of the time. Has influenced lots of other literary and modern works (The Canterbury Tales, The Quiet Hours). Jordan Tannahill states that he was influenced by The Decameron while working on Concord Floral, noting the parallels between the stories. Boccaccio revised and rewrote the book in 1370-1371 after publishing in 1352.
- Don Watershed p. 65 - Runoff, dissolved materials, and sediments drain into this river; stretching over 23 miles through the GTA and emptying into Lake Ontario.
- Ester and David Rosenberg p. 33-34 - The original owners of the real Concord Floral.
- Fecal transplant p. 85- The procedure works by taking healthy bacteria from the feces of a carefully screened donor and transferring them to the colon of the recipient.
- Fires p. 32 - The characters talk about fires. Starting fires, hanging out around fires. How do fires create different ambiance and emotions? How does the presence of fire change memory?
- Fire fight p. 116- a battle using guns rather than bombs or other weapons
- Fox p. 130- Nearly every culture regards Fox symbolism as including stealthy, near-silent movement because the creature is so well-acclimated to the space it inhabits. Immediately, Fox represents slyness, elusiveness, the mysterious, and adaptability.
- Flashlight app p. 13 - an accessible use of light through your phone.
- Freak p. 44- one that is markedly unusual or abnormal
- Glencairn p. 34 - A street 20-25 minutes from Vaughan.
- Giovanni Boccaccio p. 37 - Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Author of The Decameron.
- Girl Guides of Canada p. 65 - Girl Scouts equivalent in Canada, started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928
- Great blue herons p. 65 - large wading bird commonly near open water.
- Grand Mall p. 56 - there is no listing of a Grand Mall in the GTC and therefore this appears to be fictional and may refer to Vaughan Mills, an outlet mall.
- Grand Mall Seizure p. 73 / p. 94- A type of seizure that involves a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions
- GTA- Greater Toronto Area, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York.
- Hydroponic Lights p. 33 - Provide indoor lighting for greenhouses.
- “Ice Cold” p. 68 - unemotional or dispassionate; unfeeling
- Immigration to Toronto p. 33- Toronto is one of the most multicultural urban areas in the world. Each year tens of thousands of newcomers from around the globe choose our city as their new home.
- Migratory birds p. 65 - the regular seasonal movement between breeding and wintering grounds. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by the availability of food.
- McFlurries p. 18- McDonald’s answer to the Blizzard. Ice cream and candy or confections mixed in. The Rolo McFlurry is not available in the US.
- Merked p. 76 - defeat, beat-up, kill.
- Milton p. 39 – Poet and Writer of the 19th century
- Morality Play- type of dramatic allegory, prompts protagonist to choose good over evil
- Mouldy couch p.117 - a growth of fungus that causes decay. Typically from age and environment.
- NIMBY p. 65 - Not In My BackYard, a person who objects to the siting of something perceived as unpleasant or hazardous in the area where they live, especially while raising no such objections to similar developments elsewhere.
- Nakedness p. 44 (symbolism)- depictions of nudity have become symbolic of exposure, vulnerability and weakness
- Pine Ridge Way p. 94 - Just Joey’s street.
- Pankow p. 33 - Borough of Berlin.
- Raffles p. 65 - raising money, selling tickets, and winning prizes.
- Rose-breasted grosbeaks p. 65 - member of the cardinal family. Nicknamed “cut-throat” due to its coloration.
- Red Sweater- p. 16- Imagery of the red sweater.
- Robert Pattinson p. 35 - a famous English actor. Most famously known for his work on “Twilight.”
- Rosa Mundi- A sport of R. gallica ‘Officinalis’ and an equally good shrub but with crimson flowers, striped with white.
- Roman candle p. 116 - traditional type of Firework.
- Scourge p. 27 - An entity or phenomenon that causes sickness or catastrophe
- Seizure p. 73 - sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain that can cause changes in your behavior, movements or feelings, and in levels of consciousness
- Stolen street signs p. 105 - form of theft; most commonly exploited by teenagers.
- Scarlet tanagers p. 65 - These birds are fairly common in oak forests in summer, but they often remain out of sight as they forage in the leafy upper branches. Sometimes in spring, when the Scarlet Tanagers have just arrived from their winter home in South America, a late freeze will force them out in the open as they search for insects on roadsides or in gardens.
- Tim Horton’s p. 26 Toronto based chain with donuts, coffee, and other fast food items.
- Toronto p. 23- Capital of the province of Ontario. Largest city in Canada and most populous area. Noted for its balance between urban and green spaces. Translated as “where there are trees standing in the water”
- TTC p. 47 - An abbreviation for the Toronto Transit Commission- public transport agency that runs the buses, streetcars, and subways around GTA.
- Tetanus p. 121 - a serious infection caused by bacteria entering your pores. 10-20% of cases are fatal. Commonly nicknamed “lock jaw.”
- Trellises p. 33 - A tool used to train vine or rambling plants to grow vertically or in a specific shape. Can be industrial or ornamental
- Trent University p. 39 - a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario
- Trotto Danza p. 38 -14th Century Italian Dance music
- Tumblr p. 26 A web based platform created to be an online place to share content easily. Blogs and photos were the early attracted
- Two-fours p. 116 - a case of 24 bottles of beer
- Wallahi p. 36 - An Arabic phrase that means , “I swear to Allah.”
- Whitman p. 39 - Essayist and Poet
- Wolves p. 29- A wolf stands for intelligence, freedom, shrewdness, loyalty, communication, compassion, intuition, friendship, awareness, power, trust, energy, spirituality, and togetherness. When you are lost, a wolf plays the role of a totem animal to show you the correct path and discover yourself.
- World War II p. 33 - Germany was invaded by Nazi’s (cause of death of the Roseberg’s daughters).
- White night p. 116 - a night that never gets completely dark. In Russia, they have annual White Night Fesivals to celebrate the end of the school year and the summer solstice.