Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom (And Whimsy)

Posted on December 11, 2024 under Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom with 3 comments

My hometown

 

“Son, take a look around,

This is your hometown.”

My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen

When you walk every day of your life, you notice things. Rarely do you see things that are startling. If you’re a hiker, you might see a rare bird, some flowers or a vista that leaves you gob smacked. Driving to and from work is so routine that your car automatically takes you to the drive-through at Tim Horton’s. It’s all rather mundane.

My daily walks follow the same route. One day, it’s clockwise and the next it’s clockwise. The circuit is the same, but the point of view is different.

Speaking of mundane, let me take you on the walk I take on the days when I am called to substitute teach. If you’re having trouble sleeping, read on!

When I step outside my door, I am facing east. With the exception of a few weeks in December, I get to witness the sunrise… when it’s not raining for three consecutive weeks. There’s something special about a sunrise. It bespeaks of hope for a new day. Some days, it positively reeks of optimism. I am glad that I’m an inveterate early bird. And speaking of birds, there are a handful of places along the way to school where murders of crows congregate to provide a wakeup call to neighbours.

Before making the turn onto Main Street, I invariably meet the guys from Sullivan’s Auto Service who are clutching a Timmie’s on their way to work. These are good guys. Hard working with a good sense of humour.

I head west towards the school, a few kilometers away. I love the stillness of the early morning. There are very few vehicles on the road at this hour of the day with the exception of hospital workers who always give me a friendly wave. With Christmas just around the corner, the light standards are bedecked with flashing Christmas lights, a candy cane delight.

The stores in the downtown core go all out at Christmas and I often stop to admire the creativity of those who put together these amazing festive window displays. One doesn’t get to appreciate the details if they’re driving.

I walk along the south side of the Main and marvel at how much things have changed over the decades. Across the street, where the venerable Wong’s Restaurant dished out some of the best Chinese food for many years, is now the home to a mosque. Who would have thought that this was possible in The Little Vatican?

Almost without fail, there is a car parked on The Main with two old fellas (probably my age!) smoking with the windows up. They’re probably talking about sports or politics, but there’s a good chance that they’re chatting about the good old days. We always exchange a friendly wave and a smile.

I pass the Credit Union. I have been a member for 72 years according to their records. My dad was the manager there for a long time. It has grown exponentially since its early days in the League building which now houses Farmer’s Mutual. Directly across the street is Happenstance. This was once the home of Sears and Macintosh Hardware Store. When we were young hockey players, this is where we purchased our hockey sticks. They were kept in the back recesses of the building. A top-of-the-line CCM wooden stick would set you back $3.49.

As I wait for the light to change, I stare across the road at Town Hall where I spent 9 years of my life as a counsellor. Just in time for Christmas, there are new exterior lights on the clock tower that turn a different color every 8 seconds. It’s quite stunning.

Oak Manor Men’s Wear is now a watering hole. For the longest time, this iconic store with its unique interior, was a hot bed of political gossip. Long before politics became a nasty blood sport, a person could go inside and come back out in sartorial splendor, along with the latest polling information.

The Capitol Theatre is no more. When we were kids, fifty cents would gain you admittance to a Saturday matinee and enough change (.13 cents) to get a bag full of candy at Dot’s Confectionery across the street. The building will be the new home of a barbeque restaurant.

Further along the way, I pass Grape Leaves Restaurant, one of many new Syrian businesses in our town. This used to be the Celtic Music Store. I wonder what Bernie MacIsaac would make of this. And right across the street, next to the Tall and Small (best muffins on the planet), is the Peace by Chocolate store, another Syrian enterprise that had made national and international headlines.

At the corner of Main and Hawthorns, I pause and wait for the lights to change. Back in the 1960s, on the land currently occupied by Chisholm Park, there was an excellent outdoor skating rink. The Wheel Pizza and Sub Shop might be the most iconic business on the Main. It has been there for decades, and its legendary pizzas have made it to every corner of the world and even into space!

As I make the slow turn onto West Street, I look across the way to St.F.X. University. I’m quite certain that I could write a book about this institution, having grown up in its shadow.

There are some regular, early morning walkers along this part of my route. We always say good morning and exchange pleasantries. One of these days, I must stop them and ask them their names.

I am one of the first teachers to arrive at the school, an old habit from my teaching days. I like to ease into the day. I greet the secretary and the school’s maintenance supervisor and then head off to my classroom to see what the day ahead looks like.

I have become a bit of a fixture at St. Andrew’s Junior School. I don’t know all the students by name, but they all seem to know mine. All day long, I receive cheery greetings of “Hi, Mr. MacDonald.”

The school day ends and it’s time to head back home. I stand at the cross walk with dozens of students, waiting for Ray, the crosswalk guard, to grant us safe passage. There’s another crosswalk just down the hill but this is not where I cross. I don’t know this crosswalk guard but we always wave and say hello. I often wonder how he spends the rest of his day.

Even though I’m generally a bit fatigued after a day on my feet, I love the walk home. Invariably, I meet up with a few students and I find out about their day. Keeps me young being around young people.

On many occasions, I will stop at the People’s Place Library on my way home to drop off a book and pick up another. Lately, I have been reading some of the old classics like Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and The Great Gatsby.

“To market, to market to buy a fat pig,

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.”

To Market. To Market. Nursery Rhyme

A day in the life of a not so retired retiree.

My hometown.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. I’m doing a one man music and story telling Christmas concert at the Heritage Museum this Sunday, December 15th from 1-3 p.m.