The Village

Somewhere is the Ontario wilderness is a peculiar village, sometimes sleepy, sometimes bursting with activity. This village is small, naturally beautiful and full of interesting little communities and families. There is one general store, a post office, amazingly two book shops, a river running through it's heart and miles of thick forests. In the winter it is a frozen wonderland, and in the summer it is a lush playground. Thankfully it is not completely secluded and there are no monsters in the woods....as far as I know...

This is the village where Elizabeth and I grew up and where we adventured to in the our little Enterprise this past Canada day long weekend. It was our first lengthy road trip together since I acquired the carship. She held up pretty well on the four-hour-each-way jaunt. It was a trip down memory, lane travelling those roads again, all the old stopping places, unique houses, little hamlets along the way.

Our time spent there was also one of reminiscence. Our tiny elementary school still looked the same, except for the renovated play structure. I remember when Elizabeth would arrive first at school and wait for me to arrive by bus. Before the first bell rang we would discuss the Star Trek: Voyager episodes we watched the night before. I remember how at recess we would walk the playground listening to home made ABBA cassettes on the walk-men our sisters gave us. It actually worked out quite well, her walk-man could only fast forward and mine could only rewind....those were the days! I also remember charming old computer programs such as story book reader, fun typing tutorials and other simple yet surprisingly very entertaining educational games.

It was also delightful to go swimming in a river and the lake! That is one thing Toronto doesn't have in the summer. Growing up with such swimming options, it is hard to enjoy using a pool. I also miss going for long walks down green, woody country roads. Sure Toronto has parks, but there is still the distant wiz of traffic and the distant skyscraper skyline. Back home the only sounds were birds and wind and, well...ok, distant motorboats and four-wheelers, too.

Every year, on July 1st, the closest, slightly bigger town would have a fire works show, that were set off from an island and explode above the lake. It wasn't as glamorous as city fire work displays but it had it's own charm. This year my family decided to buy a bunch of fire crackers and make a mini little show of our own. Along with card games, the walks, the swims, we learned to have fun without movies or video games.

It's not be a creepy, haunted village, nor a backwards town from centuries ago. No, it's a quaint place where there is a slower, perhaps more appreciative pace to life. Something us big city dwellers could learn something from, I think.