We had one hotel, one grocery store, one bar, one restaurant. One bank, one department store, one convenience store. One school for everyone, from kindergarten to graduation.
We didn’t have strangers and we didn’t have crime. I only knew one kid who’s parents split up but they moved away soon after. Every single person in my town was white - with the exception of one black guy (the product of an extramarital affair).
My parents were happily married. Dad was a mechanic in the mine and Mom was the bank manager. I have an older sister and brother; our younger sister was born when I was 11.
We lived in a yellow bungalow with a white picket fence and a dog named Patches - I shit you not.
I had no idea how sheltered I was. When I moved away at the age of 18, the world slapped me in the face and told me to stop being such an idiot. ;-)
3 comments:
Wow, that's way north and in the middle of nowhere. How did you escape? Dog sledge?
By plane, silly! I actually quite liked living there as a kid; it was all I knew. And the culture shock I experienced when I left made me turn around and go back. I was there for 3 weeks when I realized I had already outgrown it.
The last time I went home was for a friend's wedding in 2001 and all I could think was "how do you people live here???" although the familiar sound of my favourite bird song warmed my heart.
I don't think I'll ever have reason to go there again but, if I did, I'd go in the winter. It's frickin' cold enough to kill you (literally) but the sky at night will take your breath away. The Northern Lights of Labrador!
Northern lights is just crazy beautiful. Magic.
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