Regina Nostalgia

Thank you The Critic for starting this page. I’ve been away living in Toronto for almost four years and my last visit was a week long, back in October 2006. A week is not a lot of time to observe how the city is really changing, so my recollections of my hometown are already way outdated. I’m returning for eight months on contract for work. It will be interesting to jot down my nostalgic notions of the place before I get to know the new Regina.

Unlike The Critic, I love change. Regina stayed the same for too long for me. The same job for a small company. The same walk through same deteriorating downtown. The same students at the fitness centre where I taught. The same pubs, the same stores, the same faces at the super market.

When I moved to Toronto (I moved for love, not for Toronto), I discovered what transition is really about. I swear, businesses in my neighbourhood rotate every month. A Thai restaurant is suddenly a water specialty store (?). That girl down the street who looked friendly moved before I could ever say hi. I have yet to see the same person twice at my gym. This city changes on the hour and sometimes it makes me very nervous.

I missed familiarity. Regina started to look better and better. In Regina, I not only knew how to get somewhere, I knew the shortcut. I had a great routine. I knew people. I could afford to buy a house someday soon (though I hear that may not be the case anymore). Overall, I think I was healthier and happier.

Or, was I? This is the Grand Experiment for me.

Things I’m looking forward to:

• Knowing where everything is
• Wide, open spaces to run the dog
  
• Sky you can see to the end
• Fewer line-ups
• Fresh, breathable air
• Rider pride enthusiasm and community spirit

Things I’m not looking forward to (and that are certainly not unique to Regina):

• That suburb feeling and big box store culture
• Having no choice but to buy a car
• Polite but firm dismissal of anything having to do with Toronto. Regina can be very “why would you ever live anywhere else?" More so than Toronto, actually (it’s too busy gazing at London, New York and LA, but that’s another column).

I think that a lot of these are assumptions based on nostalgia and memory, both suspect on a good day. The Real Regina might be something completely different by now. Will I love it? Will I hate it? Will I have absolutely no opinion at all?

I wonder.

Is there still a turtle at Les Sherman park?