A recent letter writer to the Gazette (Terry Vonn) is obviously homesick when he complained about the lack of RCMP ticket details in the newspaper (Gazette, Jan. 27).
When you move from a small flat community from just east of here to the “Big Smoke” you go through Culture Shock. I too suffered from this phenomena for a few minutes when I moved here. You can’t take your Ski-Doo across a stubble field to the bar. There’s trees! There’s hills and valleys, indoor plumbing and traffic lights. And there’s even more to learn about, such as more than one radio station, cable TV, movie theatres, a whole lot of traffic and the list goes on and on. There are no horses, no farm fragrance to speak of, almost everybody is a stranger, it’s a real steep learning curve. You long for something familiar. Maybe the Gazette should print a big long boring list of minor infractions the police have investigated. It might make newcomers feel more at home.
Of course after a short time most people make the adjustment and see how a list of minor traffic offenders, fender benders, barking dogs, loud music, stalled vehicles, lost cats, drunks, stolen bicycles and all the other items really are quite uninteresting and are in fact boring. It takes a bit of time to adjust, but don’t get too worked up about it. You’ll find out there’s a lot more to read about and to do here in St. Albert than read about your neighbour’s misfortunes with the RCMP.
Bert LaBuick, St. Albert
