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The Best Kept Secret

  When I was first hired by CKVR-TV as an anchor and reporter back in 1993, I was living in a small apartment in Richmond Hill.

I was happy to commute back and forth in my little Honda Civic, up and down Highway 400.

There was no way I was moving up to Barrie.

That was farm country.

Where the rubes lived.

It even had a Co-op store, where country bumpkins bought their farm feed and supplies.

The only culture that city had was agriculture.

Imagine!

I was better than that!

I had been born and raised in the thriving metropolis of Oakville, then we moved to Brampton when I was a teenager.  

I even lived in Montreal for several years while in my roaring twenties, for goodness sake!  La creme de la creme of culture and sophistication!

Well, after three long years of driving up and down that Highway 400, surviving snow storms and other harrowing highway experiences, I succumbed.

In 1996, I moved up.

Literally and figuratively.

And I have, since then, eaten a lot of crow.

A lot.

And I have never looked back.

And I would never move back.

Anything south of Highway 89 is too crowded.

Claustrophobic, even.

In my 17 years working at the TV station, covering stories that took me from Muskoka to Markham, from Lindsay to Orangeville, I had the privilege of travelling throughout the best keep secret in North America, in my opinion.

The sweeping vistas and scenery, the peaceful serenity, the glorious fall colours, the sparkling blue waters, the magnificent rock cuts, the clean, fresh air, all of it.

And I now get to call it home.

Today, whether I am travelling through Oro-Medonte, or Springwater, or Essa, or Tiny or Tay Townships, I am gobsmacked by the beauty.

Everywhere you look, it's picture postcard perfect!

A scene worthy of a painting.

And that Co-op store?

I happily frequent it regularly - to buy treats for my horse.

Yes, I was able to fulfill a childhood dream of having a horse after moving to this area.

And I am happy to call myself a rube - happy to be a part of this breathtaking region in Central Ontario.

Happy to have moved "up" in the world.

Literally and figuratively.


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