The forecast called for rain, but as of 11 a.m. last Sunday morning, the weather was almost perfect: 22 degrees, with a light wind from the northwest and low humidity. At “base camp” for the CN Tower’s EdgeWalk—a half-hour walk along the rooftop of the CN Tower’s restaurant, 356 metres high, while strapped into a jumpsuit and harness—six willing daredevils stood in a loose circle, chatting nervously.
Maybe the most anxious member of the group was Randy Filby. Fifty-four years old, afraid of heights and HIV-positive (but always, as he put it, the “token healthy guy”), Filby certainly had the most riding on the day’s success. The walk around the circumference of the tower was his own personal fundraiser for the AIDS Committee of Toronto.
“I always wanted to be more involved in AIDS outreach,” says Filby, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and who has lost two partners to AIDS over the years. “I thought I could become a mentor, but never had the time.”
Filby hatched the plan two months ago at a Supertramp concert, where he and some friends were discussing EdgeWalk—Filby was so excited he bought tickets the next day. One friend got cold feet and backed out, but Filby, who works at Church Street’s Pusateri Fruit Market, cajoled a regular customer, Vincent Cote, to join him. Together, they have raised almost $6,350 so far, advertising at the fruit market, on Facebook and even garnering donations from Filby’s recent high-school reunion.
Waiting for the service elevator that ferries walkers to the top of the tower, Filby and Cote filled the nervous silence with small talk, discussing the friends, family and supporters who were watching and waiting in Roundhouse Park across the street. “How will they know it’s us up there?” wondered Filby. Finally, at 11:30, they went up. Forty-five minutes later, they returned, beaming. Visibly shaking from the adrenaline rush, Filby gushed about the experience:
“My knees were trembling at first,” he said, “but after you get out, it’s okay. They let us fool around, lean forward and backward, and they pointed out landmarks. We even saw our apartment buildings!” He’d happily do it again, he said, if it weren’t $175 a pop.
