Where Cowboy Boots are Accepted

Home. There are many definitions of what home is. It can be anything. It can be the photos on the walls of your family and friends, it can be the place where your dog greets you at the entryway. It is where the memories of your family gatherings, the sibling fights, the birthday parties take place. Yet we ask:

What is home?

It is the smell of buttermilk pancakes being cooked early morning and the sweet smell of maple syrup that wafts through the air and sided with bacon. It is the sound of the creaking and cracking of temporary amusement rides that were set up improperly, the smell of fear when you are about to go to the ride not knowing if you will ever come down from the top. It is the sound of the banjo and guitar twanging in the background mixed with the booming drum of the marching band, and the blaring trumpets. The smell of leather cowboy boots wearing out in the hot sun mixed with remnants of beer. The children screaming pulling their tired parents after them and the smell of deep-fried pickles and scorpion pizza.

The sight of plaid everywhere, but that is a regular occurrence. This is where Cowboy boots are accepted year-round and no one questions it. The fireworks at late night with stolen kisses as they go off in all directions and that's what you feel is... fireworks. It is dancing with the radio on from your car and dancing in the headlights in your cowboy boots.

Winter- it is so long, the constant cold, the layers of coats, so you can peel them off and freeze at work because no one knows how the air conditioning works. It is the smell of hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows, the sound of a car's wheels whirring in the snowbank pleading to get out, the sight of neighbors rushing and pushing the car out of the slopes of snow and shouting instructions as they work together to get the car on track again, the drivers that forget where the gas pedal is, stupidity enters the brain at first snowfall. Yet the city is decorated with blue and red lights. Couples go on walks and explore the cold temperatures, which are warmed by their hearts as they walk hand-in-hand.

It is the distant skiiers on the hill that are dotted like flies on the white background darting back and forth, the ski lift moving in the familiar way we are all used to. It is children falling on the ice from little practice and the parents encourage them to get up and whip around with their hockey sticks.

All four seasons in one day- it starts with the blaring sun to the sudden damaging hail in the middle of July, which morphs into heavy rain and suddenly snow- all in the middle of July and it all melts away. Migraines are painful and a regular occurrence for nearly everyone. This is the only place in the world that this happens and has happened. This is the place where the weather is not small talk, but a conversation that can last for hours at a time.

The known landmark is so small that we forget about it. The towering office buildings look down on it as if it was a little sister or brother, yet it had been standing there for longer than they have. They use lights and paints so we don't forget about it, so we don't forget that at one point it was the tallest tower in Calgary. This is what home is, this is what the hometown is. This is what Calgary is.