Sometimes when I leave this ivory tower, I like to take the long way around. You see some beautiful country and meet some great people that way.
So, on a recent trip with a friend, we drove south from Delisle, west from Outlook, south from Milden, west from Dinsmore and south from Elrose.
Then, giddy with the smell of hay and the sight of grain elevators, we set another lofty goal – Success.
It’s a beautiful name for a town, no doubt reflective of its residents’ aspirations and achievements.
Read Also
Topsy-turvy precipitation this year challenges crop predictions
Rainfall can vary dramatically over a short distance. Precipitation maps can’t catch all the deviations, but they do provide a broad perspective.
Heading south on Highway 4, my friend suddenly hit the brakes.
“I saw the sign for Lienen lying in the ditch. We have to take the Lienen turnoff if we have any chance of Success.”
I didn’t see the sign, but I do know Saskatchewan roads. So I had no trouble believing a sign could be hiding in roadside grass, possibly even covered with soil from the paleolithic era.
“I’ve been striving for Success for years,” I confided, after we negotiated the turn and turned up a Randy Travis tune playing on the radio. “And now, here we are – on the road to Success!”
Now, I’ve heard tell that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the road to Success is definitely gravel. Hot, dry gravel. Dust filtered into the car as I opened the window for some cool air.
“It’s a long road to Success,” I ventured.
My friend’s eyes rolled. We drove on. Hawks wheeled in the sunlight, scouting stubble fields for rodents. Shadows grew long.
“Success is elusive,” I later observed. I got a curt nod for my conversational efforts.
We came to a road heading to Beverley. Success was nowhere in sight. A left instead of a right, and we had missed Success entirely.
I guess that’s what it comes down to sometimes.
I was eager to continue our travels, perhaps to Plenty or Liberty or Conquest, or even to Fairy Glen, where it sounds like I might have relatives.
But my friend just cocked an Eyebrow and told me to Forget that Endeavour.
“And another thing,” he added, as we wheeled onto Highway 1. “We aren’t going to Limerick anytime soon either. I don’t think I could stand it.”
Some people just don’t like to take the long way around.
