Saskatchewan - A Big Small Town
Lately I’ve been pondering the too-rarely acknowledged benefits of “maturing”. Notably, wisdom, self-acceptance (not to be confused with “settling”!), and the willingness to smile at strangers. Maybe it’s the receding of giving a shit about what other people think of you. Because of course, they rarely do! I’m still figuring out just what that peace of mind is made of.
I know, there’s lots that isn’t so fun - all that hurts, and losing beloved friends and family members to the great unkwnown (which might account for far too many songs of death and loss coming from me!). But the joys are highly underrated. I’m about to drive to the next town for tonight’s show so my capacity for wringing the most out of the potential humour on the subject is limited, but let’s just say, no one told me things could just get better and better! Of course, you DO have to keep moving and you do have to make an effort to be engaged with the world around you (beyond a screen) but damn, I’m loving this chapter. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about the smiling part in the past, but I am continually amazed by how easily one can improve the spirits of others (and ourselves) just by looking up - seeing and acknowledging another’s existence with a smile. I know that sounds very Mary Poppins, but it’s real, and it makes life better. I will also confess to my shallowness that this benevolent spirit can immediately sour when met with silence or a scowl. I’m pretty sure my inner utterance of “fine….f*#@k off then!” neutralizes any illusion of authentic kindness! But fortunately, that’s a rare occurrence.
Or how about watching the humans you’ve known since they were infants grow into exceptional human beings and make great contributions to their world. Like Charlie for instance. Charlie took the picture above, near his home in Saskatchewan and sent it to me when I reached out to invite myself to visit him and his family while on tour. I’ve known Charlie and his twin sister Joanna, younger sister Katja, since they were 3 and 5 years old on Saltpspring Island. Charlie now has busy teenagers and has served two terms as the mayor of Saskatoon. It’s remarkable to have that kind of history with families to see the passage of time work its magic. I’ve left out dozens of other examples because…. I truly do have to go…
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I have returned to rural Saskatchewan on a Home Routes tour because for so many years, until I did a similar tour about 8 years ago in the dead of winter, I had ONLY been to Regina and Winnipeg. Oh, there is so much more to SK than that! Though the area has missed the memo about spring, it’s still a beautiful place to be with Big Sky and and folks who are quick to smile back.
Here’s the next shows! Just go to the tour page for all the links!
MAY 7 TUE- Fort Qu’appelle, SK
MAY 8 WED - Frontier, SK
MAY 9 THU- Eastend, SK
MAY 10 FRI - Outlook, SK
MAY 12 SUN - Melfort, SK
MAY 14 TUE - Saskatoon, SK
MAY 15 WED - Wynyard, SK
MAY 17 - 18 FRI - Salmon Arm, BC
MAY 28 TUE - Roundhouse, Vancouver, BC SongBird North (I’ll be hosting Betty Prokova, Susana Williams, and Tom Taylor
JUN 1 SAT - West Vancouver, BC
JUN 22 SAT - Luckies - Parksville, BC
JUL 12 -14 FRI -SUN - Courtenay - Van Islands Music Fest - High Bar Gang
JULY 13 - Tues - BTU - Saltsrping Island, BC
JUL 17 WED - BTU - Butchart Gardens - Brentwood Bay, BC
AUG 3 SAT - THE LUCKIES - West Vancouver, Harmony Arts Festival
SEP 24 TUE - Vancouver, BC SongBird
OCT 18 FRI - Grand Forks, BC
OCT 19 - Kimberly, BC
Oct. 20 - Castlegar, BC