Halifax rarely has temperatures above 10 degrees in November. The last couple of days have been unseasonably warm … and very foggy. Last evening, I was on the waterfront with a friend. The harbour was calm and flat, and the fog was thick. It was a perfect setting for a Halloween spooktacular. As we walked along the cobblestone sidewalk on Lower Water Street, I noticed all the wet maple leaves that had fallen from the nearby trees. I love maple leaves. They symbolize Canada, and I am extremely proud to be Canadian these days.
These days, Halifax is teeming with new Canadians. My friend and I, both retired educators, decided to take public transit to the waterfront to avoid the traffic the population boom has generated. The high school near the bus terminal was letting out, and the accordion bus filled quickly with students representing the shift in population. It made us smile and realize how different the world had become since we attended high school in Halifax in the 1960s. But was it really? I remembered that there were new Canadians then, too, mostly from Eastern European countries or Britain.
The route took us through my old neighbourhood. It was awesome. I got to show my friend my old stomping grounds as we wound our way through the city to the waterfront. I was so glad we had decided to use public transit. I do not remember the last time I did that. The bus hit the gridlock that happens when there is trouble on our bridges. An accident had one closed in both directions, so we sat an extra 15 minutes. The bus driver told us what was going on and invited passengers to disembark and catch another bus at the corner if they could to reach their destinations. Those who did thanked him. In fact, most people who disembarked at any stop said ‘thank you’. That was new.
But the two little old ladies we had become sat and continued their visit, solving all the world’s problems, past, present and future until we reached the Waterfront Terminal. It was a great visit. From the Clayton Park terminal, near where I grew up, to the Waterfront Terminal, the ride took about75 minutes. It was the best ride ever. The walk to the restaurant was magical in the quiet, spooky mist and on the leaf-ridden, wet cobblestones, and the meal was superb. The Uber ride home is another story.
