Letter: A lovely downtown afternoon

My son, currently visiting from England, asked to be dropped off downtown to meet up with some buddies from school to take in the patio scene.

As we turned on to Durham Street, I turned off the air conditioner and lowered the windows to take in a bit of that treasured heat or perhaps it was the influence of my father who was one of those guys that was allergic to pressing that cool-air button as it “costs gas “.

With the cage open, in drifted a warmth that felt like an embrace. So good.

That hug from Mother Nature wasn’t by itself because with it came an unexpected vibe of people enjoying themselves.

There was no specific event. It was just a late afternoon with people sauntering in the sunshine and sitting in the shade at the restaurants laughing with each other across the tables.

That indistinguishable but enjoyable fuzziness of live music at a distance was also in the air.

It was lovely to observe, hear and feel. The temptation to call it a day and join this casual enjoyment of life was mighty alluring.

Yes, there is unquestionable room for improvement for our downtown and thankfully there are those among us tenaciously trying to deal with this Sisyphean challenge. 

It would be effortless to draw up a list of shortcomings that need addressing. But to have the capacity to suggest effective solutions that would be wonderful to implement if only money and societal change were no object. That is no easy thing.

However, on this solstice-soaked afternoon all I saw was a big bunch of Sudburians happy to hang out with each other.

It was pretty sweet to see.

Enjoy yourselves,

Douglas Miller 
Sudbury