Rumours of titanic proportions abound
Rumours seem to be everywhere these days. You can run from them, but you can’t hide. You can duck, but you can’t stay out of their way. You just can’t get away from them.
I try, honestly I do, but they have a way of following me and tracking me down.
Just a few weeks ago I was part of an occasional afternoon threesome: three friends sharing one bottle of red and one bottle of white, and two of us noshing endlessly on French burnt peanuts provided by the hostess. Remember them — French burnt peanuts? Gosh I hadn’t had them in years. They were almost better than the merlot I was sipping, almost, but not quite.
Anyway, an hourlong conversation that was rife with rumours from the outset unexpectedly turned concrete. That happened when the hostess said something like: “Have you heard about a cement plant being built in Welland? I’ve heard from a very reliable source that a cement plant will be located across from the flatwater centre site. Some land around there was recently purchased by a cement company, from what the source said.”
Holy rumour-mongering, Batgirl! That came as a shocker, especially considering the idyllic nature of the area, one growing increasingly popular as a sports tourism venue and destination and one favoured by and popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists, among others, three seasons out of four. Will the scenery and serenity be imperilled by tank-like cement trucks lumbering through the area five or six days a week? Shouldn’t that part of town be sacrosanct and safeguarded against such development?
Not wanting to be accused of spreading rumours, I kept the info under my hat, as the saying goes, save for two trusted colleagues, both of whom expressed shock and dismay. “But remember, it’s just a rumour for now,” counselled one whose wit and wisdom eclipse mine.
And there it remained, under my homburg, until a few evenings ago when yet another rumour tracked me down and held me captive against my will.
This came from someone with a reputation for trustworthiness that is beyond compare. You can believe the hyperbole, it’s not a rumour.
I was told that the former Ucar property along Canal Bank
Street was recently purchased, buyer unknown. Was it just coincidence that it followed so closely after the discussion about a cement plant moving somewhere into that vicinity?
Add to this the chatter about the former John Deere property catching the interest of a prospective buyer or buyers and one begins to wonder: maybe there is something to this after all, maybe there is something going on, maybe it’s something more than just rumours?
Let’s face it. Let’s be honest about it. If someone had walked up to you out of the blue just two or three months ago and told you a developer had wanted to build a titanic Titanic development in downtown Welland, would you have believed it?
“Aw, just a rumour,” you probably would have responded, giggling to yourself. “Welland is rampant with rumours, believe me. The rumour mill is going three shifts right now. You just can’t believe everything you hear.”
Pass the French burnt peanuts.