According to what the calendar says, it's now officially the summer season as of June 21.
I would argue that it's pretty much been summertime since about the middle of May, but hey, whatever. And you know what? Let's talk about May, because something happened at the end of that month that will live on in local history for many, many years.
As you know, the last weekend of May saw the second annual Prairie Festival held in Outlook. Food trucks, dances, kids games, a show n' shine, history on display, just a whole lot of fun for everyone. But by the time it was over and the events were all tallied up, something rather extraordinary had happened, and frankly, it was entirely by accident on account of the rainy Saturday weather.
I was recently talking to my uncle Dale. You know, the guy who belted out some saxy tunes onstage with my aunt Shirley at the Bounty Theatre to kick off the entire weekend? Yeah, that guy! I told him about the rest of the weekend and how fun it was to see people of all generations coming together and just forgetting their problems and letting their hair down.
Dale then pointed something out to me. He said it was so great to know that in one fell swoop, there were several generations of people who enjoyed that Bounty Theatre over the course of the weekend. I had to stop and think - several generations, huh? And then it hit me; you had the older generations who came out in full force on Friday evening, you had the younger adult generation who came out on Saturday night for the Bad Influence rock concert, which had to be moved to inside the hall on account of the rain, and then on Sunday afternoon, you had the young kids being entertained in the hall by children's entertainers.
There you have it. Three separate days, three generations of people entertained in the Bounty Theatre.
Yep, I'd say the old girl is definitely back.
That weekend is something I'll remember until the day I leave this earth. That's how special it was. But now, with summer looking all of us in the eyes, I'm starting to think about how I'm going to approach the next couple of months. That's because this will mark my first summer as a fellow Outlooker like so many of you. I'm excited for it because it means new opportunities and a better chance to really explore my "new surroundings".
For starters, I've found my new reading spot. Several times now, I've grabbed my book, a pair of earphones, and made my way to Veterans Memorial Park at the fourway stop in Outlook. The grass is lush and green, the monuments are a reminder to always acknowledge and respect the past, and the whole thing just makes for such an inviting locale to sit, crack open a book, sip on something cold to drink, and just get lost in your literary adventure of choice. As for the earbuds, well, it's a busy intersection, so I like to cue up some soothing background noise on YouTube and try to cancel out all the noise of traffic.
Second, I'm finding that it's the simplest of things that can truly bring me peace. If I'm not feeling 100% or I can just feel the weight of the world falling heavy on my shoulders, you know what I like to do? I hop in my SUV, I drive down into the Outlook Regional Park, and I go and park in the old swimming pool parking lot facing west. I look at the sun starting to set in the west just behind the SkyTrail, and I listen to the radio. I sit, I think, and sometimes I'll even talk things out. You'd be amazed how much clarity you can find if you just think things through out loud and verbalize it.
What else am I looking forward to in my first summer as a tried and true Outlooker?
Canada Day, for sure. I've always been a July 1st guy. My buddy Chris always told me that he didn't consider the summer season as having 'officially started' until July 1st came to pass. I loved it when I was a kid growing up in Conquest, what with the ball tournament going on at the park and the cavalcade of kids games. As a teen, I remember so many memorable nights with the guys, bombing around the cruise lap before going to the park to watch the fireworks.
Now, as the roving reporter, it might be a busier-than-heck work day for me, but I still enjoy it. I'm getting paid to document one of the busiest, most fun days in the community. Who wouldn't enjoy that? I'm looking forward to the events this year, such as the parade.
I'm looking forward to so many things.
I'm looking forward to walking around the Irrigation Capital of Saskatchewan and seeing things from a different perspective.
I'm looking forward to seeing people out and about on such walks and relating to them, now as a fellow citizen of this town instead of "that guy from Conquest who doesn't just go home already".
I'm looking forward to driving just outside of town on a star-bright summer's night, parking on a nearby grid road, opening up the sun roof, cracking open something cold (let's face it - it'll be a Coke or a Powerade, so just calm down, local cops), turning on some Tom Petty (he relaxes me), and just taking in my surroundings. Nothing to do right now but just be in the moment. No worries, no commitments, and no limits. Just living in the moment.
Of course, I hope to be on the road a couple of times this summer, but my destination remains unknown at this time. Until then, I'm just looking forward to enjoying my first summer right here, and on a whole other level, getting to really know my new home community.
Next week, I'll dive into something else I'm excited about. The time has come....for me to write a book.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
