Lucky Me

Checking online news from cities around the country, I came across these headlines.

From Calgary: "Stabbing rampage wasn't meant to kill anyone, police say"

From Montreal: "Mental illness to be defense in Laval cop slaying"

From Edmonton: "Police ask for help in tragic carjacking case"

I could go on, but you get the point.

And now this, the top story on the news from 101.5 The Hawk, my local radio station. I swear to you, this is the top story:

"Lobster Stolen in Arichat on Weekend, RCMP seeking info about crustacean bandit"
I
almost wish I had written this blog entry last week when the top story was a missing tricycle (I thought it was amusing). That's the story that got me thinking about how truly lucky we are in this part of Cape Breton.

I'm not trivializing these lobster or tricycle thefts, as I'm sure the victims have felt the impact of their losses. However, I think even they would admit that, in the grand scheme of things, their loss could have been much greater.

Growing up, I remember being so desperate to graduate and get out of my community....to go to a big city, somewhere with more action and people and noise. I remember thinking, "this place is so BORING, nothing ever happens here." At the time, I didn't realize what a blessing it is to be able to say that. I think the biggest crime ever committed in the history of my hometown of River Bourgeois, at least in my lifetime, was the attempted robbery of the local Credit Union. Two men got away with a few dollars, and I'll never forget us crowding around the family TV set, watching the ATV reporter broadcast the story from the front of the Credit Union. I'm pretty sure that was the first time our community had been on the news, and it was all very exciting, since I was only about 8 years old. I could be wrong about the year this took place, but I'm sure it must have been 20 years ago. The fact that a 20-year-old attempted robbery (involving no violence) still sticks out in my mind as a huge crime in my community - that is really saying something about where we live.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is Pleasantville. We have our share of abuse cases, vandalism, domestic violence, and fatal car accidents, as does every community in Canada and abroad. Though these cases are largely unreported, their existence is a fact of life in rural Cape Breton. But luckily, we are spared the violent, random crime that is becoming so common in larger cites and towns.

Having lived away from Cape Breton, for several years and in several different places, I have had to adjust my fear and paranoia accordingly, depending on the city. Our family just relocated from Lower Sackville, a beautiful community, and, in my opinion, a perfect place to raise a family if your job is in the Halifax Regional Municipality. In Sackville, we locked our car and our front door. My son was not allowed to leave the small cul-de-sac where we lived, and had to check in with me every hour on the hour when he was playing outside. I never left my kids in the car alone, even just to run into the corner store. My son's bike was locked up every night. The fear of child abduction was always on my mind. The fear of mugging and gun violence was always in the back of my mind, especially walking through the Wal-Mart parking lot at night with a million bags. In general, I was more alert, more aware and more wary of the people around me. Nothing bad ever happened while we lived in Sackville, but it was "the city", and you can never be too careful, I decided.

Our mindset in Cape Breton is much different. I can tell you that, in the six months we lived in River Bourgeois, neither our car nor our house has been locked even once. (Since moving to Port Hawkesbury we've been locking up, so don't get any big ideas) My son can go play outside for hours without me having to worry about where he is. There might be half a dozen cars that drive on our road the whole day, so traffic isn't an issue. I can run into Bucky's garage for milk and even chat with the clerk for a few minutes, without having to worry about someone coming along and swiping my kids out of the car. My sons bikes, and many other toys, are outside in the yard every night, and never once have we woken up fearing they might have been stolen while we slept. What my son might consider "a stranger" is, in all likelihood, the father of a girl I went to high school with, or a woman I used to babysit for. When I see a bunch of shady looking teenagers on the street, chances are they're not going to accost me, they're probably going to say hello because I know their older brother or something. And gun violence? My only fear of guns is that I'd probably suffer a heart attack and die of shock if I heard of gun-toting criminals roaming the streets of Richmond County. Maybe it's naive of me to think that I can live here with this sense of security, but history speaks for itself, and I'll take my chances for now.

The moral of my little story is this: consider yourself blessed if you're lucky enough to reside in our peaceful little corner of the world. Remember that not everyone is as fortunate to raise their kids in such a safe place. If you leave, don't assume every town and city is as safe as ours.
Appreciate living in Cape Breton!

Even if it is boring.