I remember watching my predecessor, Connor Lalande, write his Adieu, Pontiac article in the sunny newsroom at THE EQUITY as the leaves changed colour on the trees outside, just a few short days into my time here.
I remember wondering what he must have been feeling – was it anticipation? nostalgia? excitement? – as he moved away from the community I was just beginning to discover, onto the next chapter of his life.
I never thought I’d be writing my own adieu so soon, but my time to pursue what is beyond this region’s borders has come.
I am still humbled daily by the might of nature here; the sheer vastness of the region, the inky darkness that surrounds you driving down the 148 after sundown and its sometimes overwhelming silences.
I am amazed by the strength of the communities I’ve encountered here, and the generosity of their people.
And while all that anticipation, nostalgia and excitement I mentioned are present in spades as I look ahead, what is perhaps most palpable is simply gratitude.
To the whole team at THE EQUITY: thank you. Thank you for giving me my first full-time professional gig as a reporter; for supporting me through frazzled Mondays; and for putting up with my never-ending battle with the thermostat.
To those of you across the Pontiac (and there have been many of you) that have taken the time to help me better understand the lay of this land – from hyper-local municipal politics, to the appeal of the sport of curling, to where the heck a person can buy a beer after 10 p.m. in Shawville – I thank you, too. Know that many of you (avid EQUITY readers that you are, I know you’ll see this), have become true friends.
And of course, dear readers, thank you for sharing your world with me. I hope you see yourselves reflected with care in those stories of yours I’ve been fortunate enough to tell.
À bientôt,
Camilla
