CALGARY, AB
After moving to Calgary back in 1997, former Manitoba resident Jeremy Berg still has yet to strap on a pair of skies, much to the chagrin of his new Alberta friends.
“Frankly, I feel a little pathetic,” said Berg. “When I first moved, I told myself I’d be skiing all the time. Skiing to work, skiing to the pub after work, skiiing to church, everything! But I’m sad to say, in all these years I haven’t even touched a ski pole.”
Berg had been invited to go to Banff a few times by his Alberta friends, but he has always found some reason not to go.
“He’d claim it’s too expensive, or he was afraid of breaking an arm,” explained a Calgary friend. “I mean, yeah, if you’re used to Manitoba wages it might seem pricey, but, come on, you’re in Alberta now, live a little!”
Still, after twenty years, Berg feels like a Manitoban-in-Alberta rather than a true Albertan.
“I swat mosquitos that aren’t even there,” said Berg. “It’s just a reflex.”
He also claims he prefers lakes to mountains, that he eats more pickerel than beef, is a better curler than bareback rider, and has decidedly more centrist political views than most of his friends.
“You can take a man out of Manitoba, but you can’t take the Manitoba out of the man,” said Berg. “I’m perfectly fine paying 13% sales tax. It’s in my blood.”
For the record, Berg is the guy in the Patrick Laine jersey in the third row at the Saddledome.