A day for the history books. Well, it's mundane history, I will admit, but history nonetheless, of a sort. Today we arose and went forth and partook of our first Calgary Stampede pancake breakfast. It was at the Crossroads Market, an outdoor/indoor market about eight miles closer to the city center. Pulling into the parking lot, we saw a line-up and up ahead people were collecting their two pancakes and two sausages from these rather sullen dudes flipping flapjacks. They also had free coffee and free entertainment in a big enclosed area with tables. Some country/Irish group from the USA (we surmised), and all looking related, were playing up a storm. They were good musicians and great dancers and entertainers. Wheee! Yet most of the folks forking in their free food were sitting there like bumps on a log, looking utterly depressed.
There were, in the audience, I should add, a fair number of cowboy hats. Let's say 20 to 30 per cent. And guess what two participants in the audience not only had cowboy hats, but also jeans, and western shirts/vests and boots? Hmmmm? Well, one of the two was moi and the other was my "pardner" in life. We were kickin' up a fuss as we chowed down our grub, clappin' and hollerin' our approval of the goin's on at the front, etc. (Or perhaps to be more accurate I should just say that by comparison to the average reaction in the audience, ours was more on the appreciative side...)
The other big event (again relatively speaking) was our acquiring, for under a hundred bucks, from Walmart, one of those outdoor glass-table-and-chairs-with-an-umbrella sets. In fact, I sit at it now, in splendid isolation on the back deck here, save for a solitary squawking magpie, somewhere. (And I do hear urban noises: a bus, our neighbor doing something behind their fence there, voices from a neighbor's house, etc.) A dominant impression, looking ahead and to my left (away from the house) is that of greenness--coniferous and deciduous trees, grass--as well as fairly tasteful bungalows. It's probably the prime time of the year for appreciating where we live. (And oh yes, I also hear a whining puppy next door, occasionally, and some other, more normal-sounding bird chirps; and again the air is clear and clean, and despite it being 8:30 we still have lots of daylight to come...)
There were, in the audience, I should add, a fair number of cowboy hats. Let's say 20 to 30 per cent. And guess what two participants in the audience not only had cowboy hats, but also jeans, and western shirts/vests and boots? Hmmmm? Well, one of the two was moi and the other was my "pardner" in life. We were kickin' up a fuss as we chowed down our grub, clappin' and hollerin' our approval of the goin's on at the front, etc. (Or perhaps to be more accurate I should just say that by comparison to the average reaction in the audience, ours was more on the appreciative side...)
The other big event (again relatively speaking) was our acquiring, for under a hundred bucks, from Walmart, one of those outdoor glass-table-and-chairs-with-an-umbrella sets. In fact, I sit at it now, in splendid isolation on the back deck here, save for a solitary squawking magpie, somewhere. (And I do hear urban noises: a bus, our neighbor doing something behind their fence there, voices from a neighbor's house, etc.) A dominant impression, looking ahead and to my left (away from the house) is that of greenness--coniferous and deciduous trees, grass--as well as fairly tasteful bungalows. It's probably the prime time of the year for appreciating where we live. (And oh yes, I also hear a whining puppy next door, occasionally, and some other, more normal-sounding bird chirps; and again the air is clear and clean, and despite it being 8:30 we still have lots of daylight to come...)
posted by Ted | 7:20 PM
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