This could be the introduction to a movie, or a sitcom: a small, silver truck drives south into Toronto, the back piled with boxes, bookshelves, and one incongruous dressmaking dummy. A blue tarp from Canadian Tire flaps over it all. Inside the cab, twisting to keep her knees away from the gearshift, is a wide-eyed country girl who is here to make it as a writer in the big city. The truck is heading to the apartment of her newlywed sister and brother-in-law, both student ministers. Cue the opening music and a sequence of images that promise much hilarity and character development.
Of course, the heroine of such a movie or show would not be living in an apartment quite as nice as this one, or have nearly as good a relationship with her sister. She could not have the support of a boyfriend already living in Toronto, because she must be available for seduction by her boss/coworker/neighbour/UPS guy (one of those. Not all of them. Though I wouldn't put it past some networks). And she certainly wouldn't have a miserable cold the day she moves in, because that would simply not be attractive or engaging for the audience.
Having written this, I can't seem to get the opening to David Copperfield out of my head: "Whether I am to be the hero of my own life..." Well, am I, Mr. Dickens? Maybe not until I kick this cold. For now, I sit in a fortress of tissue boxes and paperbacks, watching the sky clear and waiting for my head to do the same. Then I'll get down to the business of being a heroine.
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