Regina Leader-Post

Introducti­on to Moskaluke a memorable acciident.

- Rob Vanstone (Rob Vanstone is the Regina Leader-Post’s sports co-ordinator.)

It was a seemingly unexceptio­nal afternoon in the insular existence of a rumpled scribe.

I parked my alleged car outside the Regina Leader-Post, occupying only two spots, and waddled into the 12th Avenue entrance.

A young lady was standing by the door, so I said hello and asked if I could be of any assistance.

“I’m here to see Jeff DeDekker,” she said, pleasantly, referencin­g our entertainm­ent co-ordinator.

Ever courteous, I offered to let her into the building — there is a security door at the back — and direct her toward Jeff ’s desk. She smiled and thanked me.

We had a pleasant chat, consisting of small talk, while strolling down a hallway toward the newsroom. After going through two sets of doors, I pointed her in the direction of Jeff, and one again staggered over to my cluttered desk.

Suddenly, there was a buzz in the newsroom. Could it have been my cologne? Was a big story breaking? What could it be?

I asked around, checking various sources in the newsroom, and was informed that Jess Moskaluke was visiting us.

She, it turned out, was the very nice person at the back door.

I had no idea.

I am, you see, the most insufferab­le of musical snobs. I listen only to jazz while routinely dismissing other genres. Nobody, I boast, can rival me for sheer closed-mindedness when it comes to music.

This form of myopia is generally a point of pride.

But it seems that I am making exceptions. Take Jess Moskaluke, for example.

Before meeting her, without even initially knowing that I had met her, I was well aware of her good name. She had been profiled in the LeaderPost and in other forms of media.

What I didn’t know — at least until that chance interactio­n at the back door of 1964 Park Street — is that she is, unlike some people of prominence, down-to-earth and devoid of pretence.

Upon meeting a nobody like me and waiting to access a building, some stars might have complained about the inconvenie­nce, or even about not being recognized.

Others in her situation might have had an entourage, or at least a handler.

Moskaluke paid a solo visit. Nothing about her radiated “big star.” That impressed me as much as anything she has written or sung, which is saying something.

This is someone, remember, who in 2017 won a Juno Award for country album of the year. On YouTube, she has received more than 32 million views.

A list of awards and accolades could fill the space that remains in this column, and then some.

Yet, Moskaluke does not carry herself with the airs of a celebrity. That makes her even more admirable, in my appraisal.

Also applaudabl­e is the fact that she has not forgotten her Saskatchew­an roots.

Born in Langenburg, she now resides in Rocanville — as opposed to Nashville.

Nobody would blame her for moving to the mecca of country music, but she is a staunch Saskatchew­anian.

That point was underlined a few weeks ago, when the Regina LeaderPost’s Mark Melnychuk visited Moskaluke at her home and prepared a video.

While viewing Mark’s work, I was reminded of my chance introducti­on to Moskaluke.

A casual conversati­on with Mark confirmed that she is still the same person I met at the back door one fine day.

I also discussed the brush with greatness with my learned colleague Mr. DeDekker, who spoke effusively of Moskaluke as a person and a performer.

Yes, I am a sports writer and a jazz nut, but I am also a sucker for a good story and a nice person.

In this line of work, it is not uncommon to cross paths with people who have attained a measure of celebrity. I have discovered that the best among them are popular for a reason. Most of them handle fame, and interactio­ns with the public, with grace and good nature.

That descriptio­n certainly applies to Jess Moskaluke.

 ?? SUBMITTED PHOTO ?? Jess Moskaluke made quite a first impression on the Regina Leader-Post’s Rob Vanstone.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Jess Moskaluke made quite a first impression on the Regina Leader-Post’s Rob Vanstone.

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