“I’m placing an ad,” I told my daughter. “Wanted: Engaging young adults willing to come to our country home and pretend to be our children.”
“Mom, that’s not funny,” she said.
“Compensation includes accomodation in a house filled with antiques and art, access to mature perennial gardens with swimming pool, excellent meals featuring local farm produce and unlimited wine, civilized conversation, beautiful surroundings.”
“MOM!”
“You do realize that July has come and gone without a single visit from you and your sisters?”
“We’re busy. Everyone’s getting married and there are showers and rehearsals, and Matt’s birthday party, and guests coming from Paris.”
“Successful applicants must say things like, “I have such great memories of this place,’ and ‘Can I help you in the garden?’ (Don’t worry, we won’t take you up on it”)
The truth is, our country house has felt like a ghost town for a few years now. Out in the garden I hear their voices:
“Mom, can we go to Ben and Jerry’s?”
“Look, we’re building a fort”
“Can we sleep out in the fort?”
“Can we come in? It’s too scary in the fort.”
“Can we swim after dinner?”
“Marco. Polo. Marco. Polo.”
Aside from ghost voices, things are blessedly quiet out in the garden. I try to emphasize the secondary gains of the situation: I can weed for as long as I want. I don’t have to worry about anyone drowning or breaking a leg. I don’t have to fight with anyone to turn off the computer and come outside. I can READ!
Change is hard. Especially when you have loved things as they were. I think many residents of our little town of Knowlton feel much this way. Outside our gallery I bump into people I know just vaguely and with very little provocation they begin to rant: “This town is dead. DEAD!!!!” Eyes bulge. Veins pop. I glance around for zombies but there’s no one out on those sidewalks, it’s true.
Many things have happened to create this situation – the grocery and liquor stores moved to the outskirts, the ski hill closed down, the population is aging, there is a Walmart now. Still, other towns in the area seem to be jumping.
“Come on. Would you want to be Sutton?” I counter. ” Is there even one store you would want to shop in there? Aside from the bakery?” I quickly add. “And Bromont. Have you driven through lately? So tacky it’s embarrassing. At least our stores are good stores: Jones, Bromewood, Athletica, Woolrich. There’s the theatre, Shakespeare on the beach. Buzz. Florale. We’re classy. We’re interesting. The new antique stores are good. Looks like fewer storefronts are for rent this summer.”
All this falls on deaf ears. These folks have converted to a mindset and mere facts cannot dissuade them. And it’s true, there are fewer tourists and the ones who come into our gallery are mostly older couples from small-town Quebec. They like to see the art, which is nice, but it doesn’t pay the rent.
I think it very likely that things will change for the better in Knowlton, because the opposite just doesn’t make sense. Any fool can see how gorgeous our town is, with its hill, its pond, its river, its beautiful buildings. Who wouldn’t want to spend time here? There will be a renewal but who will be a part of it? Perhaps our little gallery, amongst others. In the meantime, there may be secondary gains we can concentrate on, like the possibility that some of our commercial buildings, converted homes, will once again become residential. Would that be so bad? Would we love Knowlton less? I don’t think so.
Oh, and by the way, my kids are all coming down this weekend. Hallelujah.
(I hope this post doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. I try to write in a humourous vein and part of humour is exaggeration. Still, my apologies to anyone who feels offended, especially those unfortunates who live in Sutton or Bromont.)
artefact 