Every year Theresa and I manage to go to the valley to see some of our friends. It is about a five hour drive to reach Arnprior where my friend Doug and his wife Patty live. Doug built a beautiful home for Pat on the banks of the Madawaska River.Their home is lovely in every sense, but the estate is what catches my eye.
Every visit, Doug and I walk the grounds and Doug points out the new acquisitions and changes he made in the garden of trees and flowers. We manage to play a little golf and catch up on who died and who did what to whom. You see, valley boys have a language all their own and express themselves in a unique way. It is quaint and people from the outside marvel at the expressions developed over the years (g'day). There is actually a dictionary for those who really want to talk like the boys from the Valley.
It is a charming place to live and during my 30 odd years living there I managed to escape pretty much intact. Our children were nurtured in that environment and turned out very well and still call Pembroke and the valley home. My friend John had the good fortune to be born in Eganville and still thinks it is the centre of the universe but so do many others from that area.
As we drive over there today, I will be thinking of the many happy events that entered my life and enriched it in so many ways. The events aside, the best memories I have are of the people who live there, and the impact they had and still have on my life. I cannot imagine a year passing without a visit to the Ottawa Valley. So here is to the Valley and the people who call it home. I guess I am one of those - kind of.
Every visit, Doug and I walk the grounds and Doug points out the new acquisitions and changes he made in the garden of trees and flowers. We manage to play a little golf and catch up on who died and who did what to whom. You see, valley boys have a language all their own and express themselves in a unique way. It is quaint and people from the outside marvel at the expressions developed over the years (g'day). There is actually a dictionary for those who really want to talk like the boys from the Valley.
It is a charming place to live and during my 30 odd years living there I managed to escape pretty much intact. Our children were nurtured in that environment and turned out very well and still call Pembroke and the valley home. My friend John had the good fortune to be born in Eganville and still thinks it is the centre of the universe but so do many others from that area.
As we drive over there today, I will be thinking of the many happy events that entered my life and enriched it in so many ways. The events aside, the best memories I have are of the people who live there, and the impact they had and still have on my life. I cannot imagine a year passing without a visit to the Ottawa Valley. So here is to the Valley and the people who call it home. I guess I am one of those - kind of.
You are correct in saying that the Valley will always be thought of as home. Strangly, as a young person it was a place that you always knew you'd leave but, knew you'd want to come back to.
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