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I have lived in Winnipeg most of my life. A brief 10 year stint in Toronto never stopped me from being ‘Peg city proud. But I am not just from Winnipeg. I am from Fort Garry. That’s my hood, that’s how I roll, that’s what I know. Why is it that no matter where we live when we are older, we still hold our ‘area’ of origin close to our hearts. Brownies, ( or cubs) skating, craft sales, and summer drop-in programs at the community centre ….it all happened there. Remember the little canteen with all of the candy, the super sweet hot chocolate in the coke cups in the winter and the cinnamon lips? 1000 points when you punch in BROWNIES. The school you went to, the parks you played in, the roads you biked on, they made up YOUR area. And you never really thought about it much, until you met people from ANOTHER area. It just seemed so foreign. ‘Why would anybody want to live in any other area than this one? My area is the best!’ And beyond that, we woud categorize the areas in to ‘GOOD’ areas and ‘BAD’ areas. The ones where no one wanted to be from. (I will not be specific, because there is one in particular, that we all know has changed..it starts with a T and ends with an A) And then some areas you maybe wished you were from. Some areas were famous for hockey, others famous for having a big school, others for having nothing. There were rivalries too. In particular, Fort Garry and Fort Richmond seemed to always be duking it out. Who’s highschool was the best etc. But at the same time, we would seemingly stick together if approached by St. james or East k. people. Then we joined forces. It was/is partly how we identify ourselves within our city. When people ask where I am from, I still say, “Winnipeg, grew up in Fort Garry”. Then they say, “Ahhh, a Fort Garry girl”. To this day, I never know if that is a GOOD thing or a BAD thing! Which area are you from? Share your memories, leave a comment! I want to know, I may have something up my sleeve!
Winnipeg rocks.
xoxokerr

Sitting at the waffle place in Osborne village, I look around at all of the customers and wonder if I really fit in. Do ever feel like maybe you’re just not cool? I sure do. There were always the few in school, that were just cool. They didn’t even need to DO anything. Remember? The minute they walked in the classroom, or the lunch room, or the school dance….they would just have that air of coolness. Be it a boy or a girl, they had what it took. OK, maybe it was that they were above average in looks or athletic talent. Or maybe they that lived in the big house and had the pool. Or they had great style. Notice how I didn’t say great clothes? It was STYLE that they had. Always ahead of the game when it came to fashion and music. They would wear stuff that would only seemingly be available to the rest of the high school population 6 months later! How did they do it? How did they know? How did they find out what music was cool? I found out from THEM…but where did THEY find out? Liked by most teachers with marks to prove it, these ‘cool people’ seemed to be well rounded as well. They never got in trouble, but they were just wild enough to successfully sneak in that beer to the dance, or to snag their parents car late one night. Never busted, never caught. They were like TEFLON. (punch in DORK for 1000 points) I’m not saying I was the biggest dork in highschool. I had a group of friends, we did stuff. But, one slip up and I would always get in trouble. If I didn’t study for that test…FAIL. I wasn’t allowed my license until 18. I was in the highschool musical. Usually the ‘cool kids’ played sports. Don’t get me wrong, I’m older now. You’re older now. Does this phase us anymore? Probably not, right? Around 30 years old is when I really stopped wondering where I fit in, and just did ‘me’ instead. No longer wondering where the cool kids are getting their fashion and music sense from…I can just wear and listen to what I like. I don’t feel the need to be a vegetarian one week, on an all meat-protein diet the next, into Apple computers or all of a sudden a hot yoga maniac. I like fashion, sure, but I’ll still copy others…I don’t need to be a trend setter. Too much work! Music? Sure, as long as it’s not death-metal..I’m game. I am however enjoying a cup of 4 dollar basil-infused imported tea right now at the trendiest and coolest place I could find in Osborne Village. Looking around, I guess today, maybe I am hangin’ with the cool group. For the next 6 minutes anyway…then I leave and turn into a pumpkin.
I love each and every one of you! You are all a huge part of my life! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
xoxo
kerr