A summer breeze

Left work early, as usual, a stiff flap of wind was kicking dust into the bright sun, just missing the tumbleweed. The wind was warm and eerily quiet. I hopped in Pepé the wonder car and headed down Main Street. The mayor waved from his woman's shoe store, Karen in the deli/bakery waved. I saw Chris in the bank and the old farmer I interviewed today nodded at me as I drove past at the unspoken speed limit of 35 km/h.

Young constable ### waved overly friendly as we passed slowly in an intersection. In my first week in town, the day after my introduction and photo was on the front page, he pulled me over for rolling through a stop sign, where there was no one else around. I’ve been told since it was likely because I had BC plates. He happened to pull me over in front of my office so I grabbed my camera and notebook and hoped out, at which the poor guy scrambled for a moment like some Police Academy slapstick and yelled, “stay in your car! stay in your car!” probably thinking he’d have to draw his gun for the first time. Anyway he quickly recognised me and has been apologising ever since.

As I drove home, past the cop, the baker and the women’s shoe maker, for several minutes I forgot where I was and felt kind of at home. Some kind of storm’s blowin’ in - though on the prairies I'm starting to realise there's always something blowing in...or out. Either way you can watch features drift along the horizon for hours. Sometimes they steer south of town and everyone says "looks like the old Hampstead farm's gettin all the rain today," or "well at least old man Tarington’ll be happy down there."

I got home to my stinky little place and went for a nice walk in the surreal summer weather. It was a nice afternoon.