Sidewalk to Nowhere

"Forget" (pronounced For-Jhay) is typical of many prairie towns. Once a bustling town with a hospital, grocery story and garage the moving of the railway decimated its capacity to make money. Slowly the buildings fell down, the roads grew over and the population reduced to its current mark of 38.

It was fascinating for the kids to spy the remnants and reminders of the town that once was. Sidewalks that go nowhere, and are in front of an empty field, let us know that once this was a neighbourhood.


The Ananda Arthouse came to this community and with it came an influx of new residents, artists of all sorts. And so one evening Caden and I went for a little walk around the town. And we came across a concert on a back porch of one of the remaining homes.

They weren't content to just have us listen and enjoy, and so they gave Caden his instrument of choice, a Djembe just like the one he has at home, and he got to join in the music. Jammin, singing and sitting quite literally in the middle of the prairie, surrounded by 1000's of acres of nothing.

It was one of those priceless, timeless moments that you could never plan for. And I was thankful for the song that is in my son, the community that let him participate in it and the place that is Forget.