For me, a Ph.D. student at the U of T in the years 1988--92 and a postdoc at York in 1992--93, the special feature of the set theory center in Toronto was its outreach from foundations into living mathematics; then it was set-theoretic topology brought to Toronto by Frank Tall 50 years ago. This openness has also been characteristic of the classical period of the Polish school which flourished much earlier and where I got my basic education in set theory. These two convergent traditions, of the Polish school and the Torontonian version of applied set theory, formed the basis of my set theory and my constant belief that set theory and foundations in general should be done in very direct interaction with live mathematics: topology, functional analysis, algebra.

In my talk I would like to present the stories of a few Torontonian set-theoretic ideas, where I had a chance to contribute, through their adventures in topology and functional analysis. This will include: thin-tall spaces, Boolean algebras and C*-algebras; stepping-up in Banach spaces; extracting well-behaved subsets in compact spaces, Banach spaces, C*-algebras; rigid compact spaces and Banach spaces, etc. My functional analysis ride has been possible only due to the connection of Toronto with S\~ao Paulo, where I was lucky to spend 10 years in fantastic conditions, and where I could develop new lines of applications of Torontonian set theory. This global, multicultural aspect of the Toronto school in set theory is its another outstanding feature which we should celebrate.