The year is 90 per cent over and for many, this final season is more depressing than usual.
The trees are barren, devoid of . . .
colour, and the drab grime of road salt and dust hangs on cars and buildings. The long days of summer are a faint memory and the commute to and from work is rapidly becoming a trek in the dark. The air is dry and as the temperature plummets, the wind’s starting to have some bite.
Amidst the wrapping paper and tangled strings of lights, there are still bills that have to be paid. The stress of the holidays has arrived already, but the payoff of celebrating with loved ones is still agonizingly far away. Even then, Christmas time can also serve as a painful reminder of those who aren’t around to celebrate anymore.
In this area, there are other causes for a gloomy outlook at this point in the annual journey around the sun. Like many other rural areas across the country, local health care workers are stretched to the max, putting in countless overtime hours to care for people in their own communities. These selfless people are the anchor that’s keeping this community from fading away, but they need help, and pronto.
Victims of this spring’s flooding are still in the process of recovering and safeguarding their homes, enduring bureaucratic incompetence and battling for contractors’ time. Their municipalities are in a similar boat, spending hundreds of thousands to maintain infrastructure through the deluge, but still receiving no compensation from the province. Instead of a welcome reprieve from the chill of winter, this coming spring will bring apprehension in many parts of Pontiac, the threat of more flooding at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
It’s on these dark, dreary nights that the human need for community is made most apparent, even more so in this current age of endemic loneliness. It’s trite at this point to rail against the social disruption caused by an addiction to screens, but nonetheless people can’t tear their eyes away. Time marches on, technology careens ahead, and humans do their best to keep up.
Communities are built by things like the food drive that Bouffe Pontiac holds every year, or the snowsuit fund that the Maison de la famille organizes. Acts of kindness and generosity are the antidote to pessimism and despair. Meeting face-to-face with neighbours and strangers alike at a community dinner hosted by a local church or RA is vital for keeping the winter blues at bay.
If the thought of closing out 2019 seems like too much to bear, it’s worth remembering that the strength of the community doesn’t come from one member, it’s a combined effort. This region is a great place to live because the folks around here look out for their neighbours. Pontiacers might not have a lot in the bank, but they know how to pull together when it’s required.
Why live anywhere else?
Caleb Nickerson
