You ever have one of those mental planning sessions? The kind where you think to yourself about the hustle and bustle that the next day is going to bring, where you’re going through a checklist of this, this and this that you hope to accomplish, and all of it done at this, this and this time?
I think we all do that from time to time. We have to, right? Otherwise it’s pure chaos out there.
That was me last Friday night, sitting in my living room and a Netflix movie held on pause while I went through my own mental checklist. I knew I had a busy day ahead of me in Saskatoon the next day on Saturday.
The day would end up going off without any hitches; that is, until my drive home many hours later…
Saturday, 3:20 pm – I pull into the parking lot of the 8th Street mall in Saskatoon and notice right away that this lot is full to the brim, much more packed than usual. The culprit? Yep, that dang ‘Avengers’ movie, which I come to realize in the next few minutes is being played basically around the clock in more screening rooms than usual at this particular movie theater. Hey, I guess Disney’s got to find creative ways to make that serious bank on opening weekend. To my surprise, getting a ticket to a late showing that night is easy, with plenty of seats to choose from. Doesn’t it seem like big chain movie theaters have gone out of their way to *not* use human beings, with the box office being replaced by kiosks? Nevertheless, I snag a 9:50 showing. Six hours and change to kill.
Saturday, 4:00 pm – With more than two hours to kill before I have to cruise out to the museum for the Hall of Fame, I run a couple of errands at the nearby Best Buy and Indigo bookstore. Yes, I’m one of those weird people who still read physical books made out of trees instead of relying on the battery power of a Kindle or any other electronic device.
Saturday, 5:30 pm – This Burger King that I ordered for supper is terrible. I know, fast food in general isn’t good for you to begin with, but my burger has that ‘sitting in a warm space, was probably actually cooked hours ago’ taste to it. It’s promptly thrown out and the taste washed down with a Coke. At least the fries were okay.
Saturday, 6:45 pm – The induction ceremony at the Agriculture Hall of Fame hasn’t started yet, as things have reached that middle point between supper and the actual ceremony. I’m able to snag a few minutes with Roger Pederson, the local inductee that I’ve come here to cover for our fine publication back home. The ceremony itself later is top notch, and the venue filled to capacity. Not surprising at all. One of the inductees, a 98-year old cattleman, makes a couple of carbon tax jokes at Trudeau’s expense. The room laughs hard and applauds accordingly. I immediately like everyone in this room, as well as the spry old Clarence, the in-room comedian at the moment.
Saturday, 9:00 pm – I’ve finished my duties at the Hall of Fame, and I’m back at the 8th Street mall parking lot just waiting to go in for the movie. I grab one of those movie magazines on my way into the theater as a way to hopefully kill time. Luckily it works for once.
Sunday, 1:10 am – Three hours and change later, and the movie is over. I won’t be like the trolls on the internet and spoil anything, but it’s a good one, folks. It had a mountain of hype and 11 years worth of buildup as told through more than 20 released blockbusters in that timeframe, but it exceeds expectations, at least in my book. ALL the thumbs up. I spent the next half hour or so talking to myself about the movie and texting friends about it.
Sunday, 2:05 am – This McDonald’s that I ordered is much, much better than my attempt at Burger King nine hours ago.
Sunday, 3:00 am – I’m on Highway 45 coming home to Conquest, and the snowfall that the weather folks talked about is starting to come to fruition. Soon enough, I’m in the Swanson and Ardath area and the white stuff is starting to blast at me full force. Visibility is zilch. I get on a grid road that I typically take into town and it’s even worse than the highway.  I slow it down to maybe 55-60 k/hr for the rest of the way home, and still manage to miss the turnoff into Conquest by about 70 feet due to the sea of white basically blinding me. Back it up and hang that right, buddy. I roll on home and snap a picture of the snow built up on the back deck when I’m warm and inside.
A fine day indeed, but with a most unexpected ending. Funny enough, by late Sunday afternoon, you wouldn’t have thought that five inches of snow had blanketed the entire region.
Canadian weather, I tell ya…
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
