Thoughts to ponder in the coming days:
Visiting friends in neighbouring provinces, eating meals with unlimited numbers in restaurants, having a soft drink on the patio of a friend’s house, attending concerts in the park, travelling here and there in search of homemade pie and worthy grilled cheese sandwiches, checking the crops, searching for deer and antelope — these are some of our favourite things.
And soon, if politicians are to be believed, we will be able to do all of those things and more as Saskatchewan takes a leap of faith and lifts most, if not all restrictions under which we have been living for a long, long time.
It is exciting to look ahead to a future without extra rules and regulations, but also sobering to think what might happen if it turns out we have jumped the gun and a fourth wave stops us in our jubilant tracks.
Medical professionals are cautious and advise that we don’t abandon all the measures that have been taken to bring us to this point, a point where there is more optimism than there was a few months ago when COVID numbers were steadily rising in dangerous numbers.
With those warnings in mind, it would be appropriate to take baby steps forward, enjoy our new freedoms with caution while anticipating an autumn that will return us to regular and everyday activities we have missed for 15 or so months. Be careful out there.
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Congratulations to the Moose Jaw and district Grade 12 students who are graduating this year, ending their high school years in a new way, mostly without the fanfare normally associated with this occasion. But with some ingenuity, these young women and men have still been able to celebrate their achievements and will surely remember the unconventional events held to mark the occasion.
From our vantage point across the street, we have had a chance to have a look at Vanier’s three evenings at St. Joseph’s Church where gathering size was limited. From our outsider perspective that limitation in no way dampened the spirits of the graduates and the few family members in attendance.
Seeing how classes have adapted, I wonder if next year’s and future grad classes will go back to the traditional events — cap and gown celebrations, elaborate decorations, large banquets and supervised parties.
Good luck and best wishes for successful years ahead.
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The topic of high school graduation always brings to mind the year 1968 when my class had 30-plus students participating in the graduation grand march. And then two days after the final day of Grade 12, I headed off to Moose Jaw to start my newspaper career.
That was 53 years ago on July 2 and I never gave any thought to the idea that I might still be involved in the industry so many years later. I imagine Jack Muir, Ray Guay, Regis Yaworski, Ron Walter, Eli Karmin, Jonas Weinrauch, Susan Parr, Don Myers, Mike Grieve, Mariann Johnson and others who met me that day at The Moose Jaw Times-Herald had no idea of the extent of my longevity.
Much has changed in the community over the past 53 years. Much has not changed either, offering journalists new and varied ways to gather and present the breaking news stories and the human interest pieces that tug at the hearts and provide insight into our neighbours’ interests and way of thinking.
In all those years I have met many interesting characters, including the fellow who showed up with shotgun in hand to have a visit with me over coverage of a court case. We had a lovely chat and he went on his way, taking his gun with him. The gentleman passed away a few years later and I hoped he took with him fond memories of the newspaper editor who agreed to meet him, not knowing if he had a loaded weapon or one just for show.
Such was the uncertain life of a journalist in Moose Jaw, long before it became known as the Notorious City. They have been wonderful years.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
