Proud to be Calgarian

I live in one of Canada's greatest cities; Calgary. Blue skies, friendly people and no provincial tax. Oh, and did I mention we host the Calgary Stampede every July. This rodeo invites the world to come and see how we live for ten days. Wearing jeans and cowboy hats to work, dining daily on pancake breakfasts and bar-b-que beef on bun, we crank up the country tunes and even line dance in public. We buy beers for anyone that saddles up to us at the bar, everyone is our friend and it's one big happy party. What's not to love?

Well, it's the other 355 days of the year when Calgarians lose their sense of community and generosity. Calgarians have always been complimented on their friendliness, but it would seem as our city grows and more and more people claim Calgary to be their home, we are losing our friendly reputation.

It's no easy task to drive home from work on any given day without someone cutting you off, swerving into your lane, edging past everyone else in an effort to get to the front of the soon to end merge lane. Share the road!! Let people in in front of you. Thank people if they let you in!
Dining out? It is no longer a treat to go out for meal after a long day at the office since the service often ranges from poor to mediocre. Servers no longer seem to care about customer service. The looks of contempt when you ask for a soup spoon or the salt is enough of a put-off, but when they are annoyed that you need change in order to give them a tip it's really aggravating!

Try ordering a large drink at Starbucks. They can't just fill your order! The barrista must first explain in his condescending tone that they don't have large drinks. Only tall, grande and venti. What the hell? What happened to the customer is always right?? Just give me my drink please. Oh, and now I have to tip you because you made me a cup of coffee?

I recently attended my daughter's dance competition and was waiting to watch her group perform when the other mother I was with needed to go to the washroom. When she went to leave the auditorium, the usher told her, she couldn't leave. My friend explained she just needed to use the facilities and was told, "If I can't go to the bathroom, you can't either!" My friend came back to her seat and sat down speechless.

I hope the stories people tell about Calgarians are mostly positive and that the negative experiences are few and far between. I certainly don't want my reputation to be smeared cause I love being a Calgarian!

Yee haw!