September 6th, 2009:
Started out nice, but cool. It got windy and clouded over in the morning and by eleven, a few drops were falling. A huge black cloud in the west threatened us for awhile, then moved off to the north. Nobody wants rain right now.
We went to see the fireworks display Thursday night. We drove down Saskatchewan Crescent and were lucky enough to find a parking place (on the wrong side of the road) right by an opening in the trees. It wasn’t crowded so visibility wasn’t a problem. Only thing was, the Broadway Bridge was between us and where they were setting off the fireworks, so we couldn’t see anything low to the ground, but our view of the high stuff was great. We didn’t bother going back Friday night but I hear there was a tremendous crowd. It started an hour earlier than it had Thursday night, and with no school the next day, there were likely a lot more kids out. The show lasted about fifteen minutes; it was synchronized to music, which we could hear well enough, but I couldn’t see a connection between the fireworks and the music.
I thought the fireworks were being set off from the Traffic Bridge; some might have been but I think most of it was done from River Landing. Rockets were coming from several different points and meeting in the middle. I tried to take some pictures but dumped them all; I have not figured out how to take fireworks pictures with a digital camera. Next time, I’ll have to dig out my trusty tripod, and maybe read the camera instruction booklet.
This week, we are taking a motor home outing with the Sunseekers to Manitou Regional Park, near Watrous. As usual, we will go a day earlier and come back a day later than the actual outing. When that is over, we have to decide if we want to squeeze in one more outing on our own, or call it a season and tuck the motor home away for the winter. Late September could be very nice, or it could be rotten; we’ll hope for very nice.
Making conversation on one of our jaunts, Doreen asked me if there was anything I felt I had missed out on during my life; anything I wished strongly that I had done. You know, I was stuck for an answer. Career-wise, I have been a truck driver, a railway telegrapher, a book-keeper, a poultry farmer, head of a good-sized business, and a photographer. I suppose I could say I wish I had become a doctor; a veterinarian; a musician, but they were all offered to me – I just didn’t want them badly enough to make the investment in time and effort.
In life, I married the girl of my dreams and there is no one else I would have liked for a mate; I have experienced the joys of raising a large family and seeing them all turn out to be good, useful citizens. I know a lot of people and like everyone I know.
I have done my share of travelling, and have no yen to go anywhere else. I piloted a plane for half an hour, then lost interest. I have ridden in a helicopter with the door off so I could take pictures. I had a ride in an autogiro, in an ancient biplane, and in a hot air balloon. I spent a week on horse-back in the mountains, and canoed the Red Deer River (in Saskatchewan) from where it rises in Nut Lake to Red Deer Lake in Manitoba. I rode a motorcycle, drove a semi, and everything in between.
I have seen Canada from coast to coast, a good deal of the United States, and a tiny bit of Mexico. The only places I have a bit of desire to see are Newfoundland, and the Panama Canal; if I never get to see them, I won’t be disappointed.
What else could I wish for?
