My Hometown

A lot of people I met in Laughlin last week asked me what Halifax was like. Most came from the American west (which makes sense, given the location of the conference), so to them, Nova Scotia is a distant land, largely unknown. I always try to put it in terms I figure they'll understand (i.e. relate it to something in the United States), and wind up saying "it's a lot like Maine", which is in some respects true, but in others not quite accurate. Regardless, it doesn't really help, because most of them have never been to Maine, either.

So, for the folks out west who were curious about what my hometown looks like, here it is - Halifax, Nova Scotia, once known as the "Gibraltar" of the Atlantic. It's one of the world's great small cities (metropolitan population about 400,000, give or take) with a number of highly regarded universities, a diverse and vibrant cultral scene (of which I'm happy to be a part), wonderful parks, lots of green space, manageable traffic, friendly people, and surrounding areas that feature some of the most breathtaking scenery you'll find anywhere (Peggy's Cove is the one most people know, but it's just the tip of the iceberg).

I love traveling, especially to areas like the American southwest, which are so different than Nova Scotia, but I never forget where I'm from. I'm a Nova Scotian and a Haligonian, through and through. It's part and parcel of who I am. As the plane takes off, or as I'm crossing the border into New Brunswick in a car, I'm usually humming to myself the tune, and more often than not the words as well, of the great folk song "Farewell to Nova Scotia".

"The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on every tree
All nature seemed inclined to rest
But still there was no rest for me.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, your sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

I grieve to leave my native land
I grieve to leave my comrades all
And my parents whom I held so dear
And the bonnie, bonnie lassie that I do adore.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, your sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

The drums they do beat and the wars to alarm
The captain calls, I must obey
So fare-thee-well, fare-thee-well to Nova Scotia's charms
For it's early in the morning I am far, far away.

Farwell to Nova Scotia, your sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

I have three brothers and they are at rest
Their arms are folded on their breast
But a poor simple sailor just like me
Must be tossed into the deep blue sea.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, your sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?"

Paul Kimball