I love this province and time after time I have defended it, described its beauty and praised its personalities.
During the summer holidays, I like nothing more than exploring the small towns and cities always finding new sources of pride. We travelled thousands of kilometres this summer posing for photographs in front of a grove of crooked aspens, various giant fibreglass and metal animals and a large number of historical sites.
Work and leisure led us down divided highways and hole-filled side roads. I enjoyed every day on the road and joked about being the Queen of Saskatchewan.
I don't joke about loving this place though, and I am still constantly being surprised by new beauties and stories.
This summer a bit of the story of our province reached beyond its borders in a rock and roll fairy tale. The characters became heroes and the scribe who gave the story to the people chose to present it in a gritty, rock and roll style. It didn't make the heroes look valiant and it didn't make one of the most beautiful cities in Canada look very good.
I'd heard people who had supported the heroes in their quest for glory turn their backs because of the article and I think others worried their growing fame had changed them turning them from good old Saskatchewan boys into something much less savoury.
They were booked for a local gig before the spotlight shone the brightest and I was curious to see what would happen. The long-haired band, the Sheepdogs, took the stage, suffered technical difficulties during the first song and then proceeded to win over a crowd of fans and the curious with harmonies, grooving guitar styling and a rapport with the crowd that showed gratitude for their support.
Sometimes someone from outside our province comes in and tries to tell a story to the world and it doesn't demonstrate the love many of us have for this place. Others who have only driven by on the TransCanada highway tell people "yes, I've been there, it's boring." They make fun of flat roads and fields, a lack of trees and the sparse population. Others spend a short time visiting and then either decide to stay or spend time wishing they could.
Those of us who love this place are rarely bored and love the wide open spaces, space to breathe and run, and paddle, and drive, and dream and collect beautiful stories.
