Alis’s Narrative Account

Pulling into Alis’s hometown, I was immediately struck by how different this small town felt than the large city I currently live in. I had many experiences with small towns in Saskatchewan, and the place Alis now called home brought back memories. After making my way through the main strip populated with hotels, truck stops, and the stereotypical Chinese restaurant in Western Canadian small towns, I drove into the residential areas. Although it was winter, I envisioned the neighborhood in the summer, with bikes sitting on the front lawn. I imagined kids organizing themselves for a game of kick the can in the evening, kids who had to head home when the streetlights came on. Returning to the present, I imagined kids making their way to the outdoor rink to join a game of shinny, and having to be dragged off the ice for dinner. I pictured neighbors in the middle of the road turning their car engines off and leaning out their vehicle windows in order to have a quick conversation about the small town sports teams, or the latest news in the paper. I imagined neighbors waving to each other as they left their houses in the morning and conversing as they shoveled their driveways. As a young girl, Alis lived in a similar community, although she did not describe her small hometown in a nostalgic way.