Last night I had a crazy dream. I was driving down Highway 7 towards the Independent when all of a sudden all these great big boxes started popping up on either side of the highway, all around me at dizzying speed.
Giant tractors laughed at me from beside the boxes. There was a Rona’s box, a Home Depot box, a Wal-Mart box and other boxes that were not yet recognizable. The tractors looked hungry, like they were circling for more open fields to chew up.
The highway got wider as I drove along, almost to my destination. As the lanes widened, a rumble sounded in the distance. A thick cloud of dust preceded something kind of scary. I didn’t know what it was, but it sounded crowded. I didn’t want any part of it, so I headed towards downtown Carleton Place, where it’s usually pretty quiet.
It was too quiet. There was a lone car parked in front of the post office, but beyond that car and me, the street was desolate, there wasn’t a soul to be found. The stores were all empty, the windows dusty and unused, the locks rusted over. Downtown was gone, a ghost town now.
I looked up in time to see a tumbleweed float across the road near the bridge.
What happened? Where did downtown Carleton Place go? Why was it so cold here? Where did the sun go? I looked up into the bleak, grey sky.
A small child walked towards me, carrying a key. She handed it to me. I took it in my hand and it vibrated, shimmered, shiny and gold.
“What should I do with this key?” I asked the child.
“Put it in that door.” She pointed to the Town Hall.
“What will it do?”
“You’ll see.” She turned and looked down Bridge Street.
I ran to the door of the town hall and put the key in. I turned it.
A blinding light that had me shielding my eyes with my arm glowed up and down the whole street. I pulled out my sunglasses even as the warmth of the sun beamed down on my shoulders.
As the mist of gold cleared, a rainbow of colourful activity greeted me. People crowded Bridge Street now! Gone were the cars, the stoplight outside of St. James Gate.
The street was now paved in lovely cobblestones, for pedestrians only. Picnic tables and benches, colourful umbrellas and bistro sets placed outside the many quaint galleries, boutiques, cafés pubs and coffee bars.
There was not one empty building, no for rent or lease signs. Merchants greeted their customers with smiles and appreciation. A few that I know waved at me as I passed.
Page & Turners was teeming with people, the smile on Donna’s face a reflection of her emotions at the change in downtown traffic.
The alarm annoyed me awake before I could paint any more of the images in my dream. But that’s no big deal, I guess. After all, it was just a dream.
Our town: http://www.carletonplace.com
Our newspaper editor: dpindermoss@runge.net
