Over the past months we have become so used to the lack of much traffic on our street that when we hear a car, we, (OK mostly I) rush to the window to see what’s happening and who has ventured onto our avenue.
Usually it is a single car, perhaps a neighbour arriving home from work or it might be someone dropping off an envelope at the church rectory. Occasionally it is a teacher heading to the school down the street. Once a week it is our delivery person for Moose Jaw Express. And in other instances, it is simply someone pulling over to talk on their cell phone.
But one day last week I heard more than one car, with voices exchanging greetings. A horn would blast and another would reply.
I don’t care if I’m labelled a nosey person or even the “Neighbourhood Watch.” I simply had to gawk out the window to see the action. Dozens of vehicles lined the street, some decorated with balloons, others with signs. Adults and children were inside the vehicles and some adults walked up and down the sidewalk talking from a safe distance.
Housemate was summoned to view what I thought might be a parade for someone’s birthday. He looked out, nodded at my excitement and returned to whatever it was he had been doing.
Being the snoopy person in the house, I opened the front door and stood on the step, looking south towards the end of the avenue. Cars lined the street to the corner where school buses were decorated with balloons. I figured out it must be a parade for St. Agnes students, and learned later, that yes indeed, that was exactly why all those vehicles were on our street.
It was fun and exciting to just be a spectator. Imagine how much fun it must have been for the actual participants and for the children and parents for whom the parade was meant. If I had had a vehicle I might have been tempted to join in the procession, getting involved in a community endeavour that brought citizens together while they remained safely apart.
Congratulations to everyone who has been organizing such school-related parades and to others who have been the driving force behind the birthday and anniversary parades and the processions aimed at the city’s seniors’ homes. You are making a difference.
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In an earlier column I wrote about the bells ringing at St. Joseph’s Church. Rosalie Boots, one of the organizers of the daily bell ringing, mentioned that credit should go to Martin Rossler who rings the bells during the week and to Marcel Gagnon, the weekend bell ringer. Thank you gentlemen!
She also pointed out the idea came from the Lashburn Anglican Church where the bells ring every day to remind people to pray during the pandemic.
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
