The most important thing I was taught about stories is that they must have three things - a beginning, a middle and an ending.
If my weekly column was a story, this one would be the ending. The dénouement, if you will.The secret to writing a good ending is to make sure all the loose ends are tied up and the reader feels content with the conclusion. An even better ending comes with a twist - a revealed secret.Now that you're expecting something juicy, I'll reveal the ending to this, my final column.
I came to Saskatchewan from Alberta. For most of the time I have been here, each person who found out I came from Edmonton said, "That's quite a change, eh?"
My response was always said with a shrug, something like "less traffic, I guess," or "yeah, they don't sell my favourite brand of jeans here." But the truth is, crossing the provincial border was not as dramatic as people seemed to think.
Throughout the last 65 weeks I spent writing for the paper, (you measure life in weeks when you work for a weekly publication) I have played with many ideas. From the follies of cooking a turkey in August to the importance of making snow angels, I have enjoyed the freedom of writing whatever I want in this space every week.
But I always avoided the topic of rural versus urban, small town versus big city. I disliked the widely held belief that city people are a completely different race from rural dwellers.
After living in both worlds - the metropolis and the agricultural area - I have reached a conclusion. People are the same all over. For better or for worse, we all excel at both friendship and exclusion, kind words and tactless comments, generosity and selfishness.
My husband and I are moving back to Alberta now, with over a year of Yorkton culture locked in our minds. I have learned the art of stopping to chat, gained an appreciation for cabbage rolls and realized the Roughriders aren't really so terrible after all.
Hopefully I was able to reciprocate that pleasant experience to anyone who took the time to read my musings. My goal was to bring a bit of humour, and perhaps a touch of glamour to the everyday scenes I based my column upon.
I thank you all for reading.
