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EPISODE 6        SHARING  COTTAGE LIFE WITH GEORGE AND PENNY   AUGUST 23-25   2022 GEORGIAN BAY

alan skeoch

august 23-25, 2022

COTTAGE LIFE ON  GEORGIAN BAY

Some regular;ar readers may wonder why the episodes stopped so abruptly,.

Marjorie and I took a three day holiday with George and Penny and sampled cottage life

in Ontario. 

why should you be interested?  There is a chance that some readers do not have cottages…or do not

have old style cottages that were once common.  So here are a few pictures

of cottage life on Georgian Bay, Ontario.   We are so lucky to have the Great Lakes

nearby  so just pretend you came along with us.  It will be a short trip….time enough

for a wilderness walk and a lingering swim before the leaves turn red gold and the water

cools.

SURPRISE

“What day is it , Marjorie?”

“August 24, 2022, I think!  Holy Cot, this is our 59th wedding anniversary…we forgot”

“59 years have passed by ..full years.  Do you think the boys will remember?”

“I doubt it since we did not remember either”

Penny and George took over…dinner preceded by gin and tonic.  And followed by

outlandish stories of all our married lives.,,all four of us….hooting and laughing at

the foibles of married life.  A wonderful time.

“Remember when you insisted that our honeymoon hotel have one double bed….no

other beds, Alan?  You did not want marriage to start with separate beds.””

“Yes, and the hotel creeps just shoved two single beds together with a big sheet disguise.”

“Remember what caused the two beds to split apart as we consummated  the marriage.?”

Stories like that rolled from our lips….four voices trying to top each other…good time friends..

Nothing quite like a cottage road weaving through an oak and white pine forest.

EPISODE 629       GRANDSON JACK SKEOCH TO GRANDPA ALAN SKEOCH

alan skeoch

Aug. 19. 2022

“Grandpa,. all our unit bought hats to hide our heads.”  

“Why?”

Jack’s answer makes me ashamed to be a Canadian… but at

the same time proud of my grandson, Jack Skeoch.   These are bad times

for us all, but particularly bad for young people of principle.

Today, Jack and I spent the whole day clearing the barn.  We talked a lot,

Not preachy kind of talk   just grandpa to grandson.  Just an old man

talking to a young Canadian soldier, Princess Patricia Light Infantry (PPLI) who had just passed basic training.

 Now Private Jack Skeoch.  Pleased with himself…. for Basic Training is no joke.  

“We get yelled at a lot…and 

push ups are demanded for tiny tiny infractions. Our unit surprised the sergeants because we are remarkably

physically fit. Watch this….”  

Jack dropped flat to the ground and did rapid fire push ups as if they were handshakes.He is tough.

And that is where the hats enter the picture.

“Why did your army unit…your new friends…buy those nondescript baseball hats, Jack?”

“The hats hide our short haircuts.”

“Why hide the haircuts?”

“Because our short hair…shorn like sheep…our short hair identifies us as Canadian soldiers…new soldiers.”

“So what?”

“So when we get week end  leave we like to have a beer or two in Edmonton pubs…not a lot Granddad…sometimes we

 get into trouble.  A lot of the local guys in Edmonton like to pick fights with us.”

“Must be a reason?”

“No reason Grandpa…makes no sense at all but it happens.  So we all went out and bought

the baseball hats to disguise ourselves.”

“Maybe the locals are jealous. It takes guts to join the Canadian army….and not everyone is accepted.”

“Some make comments…try to egg us on.”

“Do fights happen?”

“Not yet.  Anyway we are not allowed to fight back.  The sergeants made that clear.  If we get

into a fight we could be sent home…booted out of the army,”

“I guess there is a point.  We do not want Canadian soldiers running around

looking for fights.  We expect better of them than that.   Does that sound right, Jack?”

“Seems so.”

Jack just came home this week.   Three weeks of leave after passing basic training.  He went away 

as a 19 year old kid unsure of what life path he would take.  A lot of kids face that today.  They

dom’t have clear steps in life’s journey. Voltaire’s Candide….young French kid who ventured into 

the world around him and concluded “If this is the best of all possible worlds, what then of the others.”

  When I was Jack’s age I had no idea what I would

do with my life.  Just rolled along.  Went to Victoria College at the U. of T. for no firm reason.

Best reason I could think of was it might be a good place to find a wife.  But that thought was suppressed

at first.  Went with my best friend Russ Vanstone who was just as lost as I was back then.   Nicest ting about first year university was our college football

team.   Just like Jack’s army unit.  New and firm friends.  I skipped a lo of lectures and drank a lot of beer.

“Jack, what do your high school chums think of you joining the Canadian Army?”

“Most do not know….I never say.”

“Why not?”

“Most would not understand.  Being a Canadian soldier is the last thing on their minds I think.”

“But they must know?”

“Nope, they don’t.  We do not wear our uniforms…no one back here suspects I am a soldier.  And I

like to keep it that way.”

“You had a goo job before enlisting…making good money…gave that up.  Must have been hard to do that?”

“Not really.  I wanted to do something myself…find a purpose in life. you might say.”

“What do your mom and dad think?”

“They agree…they don’t go around boasting but I think they are impressed

that I made the decision.   Dad  welcomed me into his business.  But he did not interfere.

You know that because you and Grandma came with them to my graduation along with my sister Molly.

Some of the guys did not have tha kind of support.”

So Jack and I Spent the whole day making the barn presentable.  I have a small rental busiess . Historic objects

used in the motion picture industry.  Piles of things that movie set people rent.  A lot of the things cannot

be seen due to the clutter so Jack and  I sorted the good from the bad.  Then hauled the bad to the dump. It was good fun.

Some things we found were just plain junk but Jack never said that.  He respected my collection. 

“What’s that, Grandpa?

“Tree climbing harness …hang tools from it and a chain saw…Heavy”

“And you don’t want it?”

“No movie request…horse harness is more popular.”

“Can I have it then?”

“Sure…but dangerous.”

Jack and Molly Skeoch, long ago, admiring my collection of ancient machines….fanning mills.

“Jack, some people are horrified at this stuff.  Fine by me.  They will never be competition.  There is

a secret few people understand in this business.  To make a period movie believable then things worn. bent or busted

by the human hand are necessary.  Especially for rural sciences.   A broken plow leating against a rusty 45

gallon drum with a broken pump inserted makes a good background scene.  A teeter totter with peeling paint  for a playground..

A bashed up hawker’s cart for a market scene.

.   Jack did not object to these gems..  We debated the fate of a wooden four drawer filing cabinet…1920;s kind….then

cast it in the junk pile which made room for an 1890 grain cleaning machine which looks prettier.   A set of spike tooth harrows on wood

mounts was also hauled to the dump.  Just too dangerous to lay hidden in the weeds like a bear trap.

I learned more about him.    He is a good 

person making his way on his own like hundreds…thousands…of high

school students cast adrift by the Covid pandemic.   He made me feel good about our

collection….never used the word junk.regarded artefacts from the distant past as treasures.

.

Strange thing about the day.  Ordinary day really but I think it will be fondly remembered forever.

I am thinking about Jack’s decision to wear a hat.  Such a simple thing but full of meaning…a lesson in life.

alan

alan skeoch

Aug. 19. 2022

“Grandpa,. all our unit bought hats to hide our heads.”  

“Why?”

This story is coming next.  It makes me ashamed to be a Canadian but at

the same time proud of my grandson, Jack Skeoch.   These are bad times

for us all, but particularly bad for young people of principle.

Today, Jack and I spent the whole day clearing the barn.  We talked a lot,

Not preachy kind of talk   just grandpa to grandson.  Just an old man

talking to a young Canadian soldier who had just passed basic training.

I learned more about him.    He is a good 

person making his way in a uncaring world. 

The fact he bought this hat made me ashamed of some Canadians.  Proud of Jack.

The story is coming.

But right now there is no room in my office to type. Our house is full of people…every

room taken.

alan

alan skeoch

August 17, 2022

“Please Get out of my way , Alan, I am busy.”

“Now is that any way to talk to your husband?”

“Only way … if the husband is you, Alan.”

Naturally I was deeply hurt by this order.  Marjorie’s “Order Number One”

But I will follow instructions.

Marjorie seems overworked…do not see why.

Alan, put out the garbage….I  do not do garbage

Alan, cut the grass…three lawns….I do not do grass, bought you a new mower

Alan, could you load and empty the dishwasher at least once in your life….I do not do dishes

Alan, could you at least put  your clothes in the laundry basket….I do not do laundry

Alan, could you at least make rice pudding…I do not cook even though I love rice pudding.

Alan, could you help make the bed….I do not make beds

Alan, could you wash the truck….I do not wash trucks

Alan, could you clean out the truck at least….I bought you a leaf blower for that purpose.

Alan, you did not buy the leaf blower, it was a gift from Andrew…..I do not do gifts

Alan, could you clean the toilet….are you kidding, I do not do toilets.

Alan, could you cut those broken tree branches….I do not butcher trees.

Alan, could you dust and air the dog bed…I do not do dog beds

Alan, could you pull weeds from zinnia bed….I do not pulll weeds, I think the zinnias like company anyway

Alan, could you get rid to the squirrels in our roof…I do not do squirrels

Alan, could you go to the store for bread…..i do not shop, why do you think I bought you a bicycle?

Alan, could you feed the birds, seed is all ready for you….I do not feed birds

Alan, could you take Woody for a walk….I do not walk dogs.

Alan, could you get gas for y car….I do not get gas, too expensive

Alan, could you clean up your desk….I keep important stuff on top, like my camera. I do not do desks.

Alan, could you be a spare with my bridge club…I do not do bridge unless flattered as a helping husband

Alan, could you clean the windows, the grandkids are coming….I don’t do windows.

Alan, could you at least hold the ladder?  ….suppose I could

Alan,  I am very busy… Doing What Marjorie?

Now readers should not get too alarmed.  These are overstatements

meant to be self-decrecating.  Granted, however, they are close to the truth.

And I must make some changes.  I’m a man.  I can change. I think. Maybe.h Right now I do not know how to use the stove,

the washer or the drier  Nor do I know how used clothes get from our bedroom to

the laundry basket.   But I can change.

My indolence is not all my fault.  When we got married Marjorie politely asked

me to ’stay out of the kitchen’…a strategic error on her part.  And on my part as

well because I can no longer look after myself.  Marjorie was a professional…a 

U of T  Home Ec grad.

 Before marriage I was a prospector and had a crew to look

after.  We rotated the cooking.  Ate a lot of porridge and French toast.  Self-reliant.

Was even skilled at cutting the first slice from our sides of sowbelly (bacon) because that’s

where the blow flies laid their larva every day.  Gross, I know that.  Marriage

ended that bit of self-reliance.  Marjorie even joined our bush crew one summer…cook,

seamstress, entertainer.  Entertainer?  Yes, she had to make a bathing suit

for Serge Lavoie….bathing suits were not needed until she arrived with her sewing machine which

was just a boat anchor at Mile 79 on the ACR because we had no electricity.

She had scissors, needles and thread however.  

Why does Marjorie do so much work?  Simple and admiring answer is that women are

natural  multi-taskers.  They can have three pots on the burners and a couple

of pies in the oven all at once while emptying the dishwasher and getting the daily

paper.  

I TRIED TO CHANGE LAST WEEK…FAILED

“Marjorie, today I am going to make rice pudding,” I announced last week.

“Wonders never cease.”

“Where is the rice…and brown sugar, cinnamon, raisons?  I have the milk”

“Just let me get the rice ready,” she interrupted and got The rice boiling.

“Rice is the essence of rice pudding, how do you expect me to be self-reliant?”

“Pay attention to the stove top. You could burn yourself or set the house on fire”

Bottom line, I really did not make the rice pudding.

Marjorie is a multi multi multi multi tasker.    Lucky man, Alan.

NOTE: STORY INCOMPLETE as family arriving from England.  Your job? Check to see if there

is a fine if you let Giant Hogweed grow on your land?  The plant is the very devil.  Caught us

unaware….again.  Must go to bed and send story as it is ….alan

alan skeoch

august 14,2022

SRTLL THEERE WAITING FOR UNSUSPECTED PERSON

John Windham wrote Day of the Triffids long ago wen I taught English at Parkdale C. I.  A movie was made as well

I  Wonder if he really knew about the

giant Hogweed?  This invasive plant is hard to get rid of because once it goes to see those

seeds can wait in the ground for 15 years to germinate.

My son’s Giant Hogweed persists even though he tried to remove it clothed head

to foot in protective gear…cut the plants to the roots, poured poison down

the throats of the roots and then wrapped the plants in garbage bags for proper disposal.

I am not sure what he meant by proper disposal.

Lo and behold….the Giant Hogweed came up again this year after a few yeas hiatus.

And this year it was not detected until the flowers became seeds.  Trouble…Trouble…Trouble.

What can be done?