I am told that there are people all over the world who can, and sometimes do read this column that appears weekly on the Exit Realty Fusion web site. The column also is picked up on another web site, the name of which I cannot remember.
I clued into this when I started receiving comments on the column from places in Florida and Arizona. Before, in another life, I was happy if somebody in Pelly, Saskatchewan read it, which they did. I was big in Pelly and Norquay, I can tell you. Why, did you know that every morning when the local newspaper hit town, there was a group of ladies who met for coffee in Norquay so as to discuss my latest column. This following, I will admit, was mostly, if not entirely, because my wife was born and raised on a farm between Pelly and Norquay, and her mother still lives on it.
So, if there are people in Florida and Arizona reading this stuff, then perhaps I should give them some sort of a lesson of what we are all about, and where we are.
We live in a city called Regina. I will not tell you what it rhymes with but most Americans pronounce it "Ree-jeena", which is not correct. Regina is the capital city of the province of Saskatchewan. A province is the same as a state. Saskatchewan is an Indian word meaning, "Land where you can watch your dog run away for four days."
Saskatchewan is a province of over 1-million people. Regina has a population of around 200,000, and is growing. We are a part of Canada. Americans do not always educate themselves about Canada. One time, my wife and I were visiting my sister, who lives just outside of New York City, over the Christmas holidays. She had her neighbours in. One of them asked my wife, "Is it true that you have to visit the Queen of England every year to ask permission to keep living in Canada?"
Anyway, Saskatchewan sits right above the states of Montana and North Dakota. It is about a seven hour drive east of Calgary, where the 1988 Winter Olympics were held.
The common perception of Saskatchewan is that it is so flat and treeless that you could build the biggest pool table in the world on it by just cutting the wild grass. And, people think we are under snow the whole year round.
It would take me a long time to tell you about what Saskatchewan is really like. We have everything here, and that is why people are moving here from all over the world.
First, the weather. We have four distinct seasons. Our Springs are wonderful, a time when flowers bloom, leaves adorn the trees, and thousands of birds return from their southern migrations. Our Summers are endless days of sprawling blue skies and gentle winds. Summer is good enough here that I can play over 100 games of golf on some of the world's most magnificent courses. You haven't golfed until you've played Long Creek in the tiny town of Avonlea. We have more lakes than most places in the world, and endless beaches. We have the kind of fishing up north that draws thousands from the world over. You can drink the water right out of the flowing rivers. Our Autumns are things of beauty. They are painted in the soft yet arresting colours of leaves turning. The fields of the agricultural community here are alive in the Autumn because that is when the harvest takes place, and it is an awesome thing to see. Okay, now, the Winters. There are times when our Winters can be biting in their coldness. Blizzards can happen at the blink of an eye. But you have never seen anything as beautiful as this place after an overnight snowfall has left a brilliant white blanket that carpets the whole province.
Okay, now the economy. Saskatchewan has its farms, grain, cattle, chickens, pigs...you name it. It also has the biggest supply of potash in the world, it has uranium, it has diamonds, it has oil and gas, and in the last few years it has had the most stable economy of any state or province in North America.
Saskatchewan is the best place to raise a family in the world because the people here really do care about their neighbours and your kids. We have two big universities in this province. We have professional football. Our team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, play out of the smallest city in the Canadian Football League. Yet, they sell out every game, and are easily the wealthiest team in the league. They are getting ready to build a domed stadium here. They have been in two Grey Cups (Super Bowls to you) in the last three years. They are the Green Bay Packers, or Dallas Cowboys of Canada. They are known as Canada's Team. There is hockey, tons of it, basketball, skiing, curling . . . hell, every sport you could think of. Camping is wonderful here.
Saskatchewan is also the fastest growing province in Canada, and why not? We've got it all. And, in the last couple of years, people have plugged into that and made the move north.
We've had former U.S. presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton visit us. Ronald Reagan came here years ago. The great country singer Johnny Cash used to come here, head up north to fish, and entertain the fishing camps with mini-concerts. The Rolling Stones sold out our 50,000-seat Stadium twice in a weekend appearance. Wayne Newton has been coming here for years. Bon Jovi will be here this summer. The greatest country performers ever come here every summer for our Jamboree.
Hopefully, this gives our American friends an idea of where this column comes from. And, please, take it seriously when we send out the invitation, "y'all come!" You'll surely be most welcomed. And some of you may even decide to move here. If you do, give Exit Realty Fusion in Regina a call. If you do, the added bonus is, I'll get you a date with Jarrod Michael Livingstone, another one of our undiscovered treasures.
