If, as a parent, you wanted to take your kid somewhere beautiful in Calgary for a couple hours in the morning, you might go to Bowness Park. Or the zoo. Or the pathway along the Bow River. There are plenty of fine destinations in the city — friendly, flowery places where coddling parents love to take their young.
But here’s a news flash: the world ain’t all peacocks and petunias. A kid’s gotta learn that sooner or later, and what better way to teach that lesson than by taking a stroll down 32 Ave. N.E., one of the most unimaginative stretches of asphalt in the city? There, planes roar overhead, and semi-trucks rip past mere metres away. The sidewalks run out suddenly, leaving you to walk on dandelions, cigarette butts and under all that, a bit of grass. Where there are fences alongside the street, they’re usually topped with strands of barbed wire. L. and I killed a few hours walking past strip malls in this urban paradise as we waited for our new car stereo to get installed.
All told, I’d say our expedition was a success. L. saw humanity’s capacity for dullness, we weren’t turned into roadkill and we can now listen to our iPod in the car.
"Never bring me here again, Dad."