Dee's diary
May Day passes without being caught
May Day, on the first, with its May poles and flowers, skittered right past and many missed an opportunity to hang some pretty-coloured baskets on unsuspecting people's doors. It is a Carleton County tradition to make tissue paper baskets, add something sweet, knock on the door and run away. The receiver of the basket gives chase, and he or she plants a kiss once you have been captured. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? It wasn't so much fun if you got caught by one of the community's old bachelors who delighted in catching and kissing.
Reversible fashion
Women's fashions come and go, with many making a comeback years after they made their first appearance.
Reversible pleated skirts – do you remember this fashion piece that was so popular back in the late 1950s and early ‘60s?
And they were expensive ($25 each) for a must-have item in every woman's wardrobe. That was a lot of money back in those days.
They came in all colours. Mine were grey on one side and pink on the reverse, and the other a red, navy and white plaid. But their time in the fashion world was short-lived and they were soon gone. Will they ever make a comeback?
The world of fashion is finicky. This spring and summer the street length dress is in the limelight. Catalogues and fashion magazines show the dresses in hot pink, red, orange, lime green and other brilliant colours. Polka dots, stripes and patterns of all shapes, colours and sizes on handbags and shoes are also in style.
War zone, aerial battles
Connell Field has become a war zone with two crows, a grey squirrel called Numbnuts (named by a grandson), and a pair of osprey fighting for control of land and sky over the ballfield.
The crows and osprey have spectacular air battles. They vent their frustrations with shrill whistles, squawks and loud caws. Eventually they get tired of playing the game and one or the other flys off in disgust.
It's a different story when the big, grey squirrel is involved. The crows show no mercy as they fly at the poor fellow as he tears along the cable in the backyard, hoping he'll make the safety of his nest before the old, black tormentors knock him off his private highway. When things aren't going their way, the crows hang around the trees the squirrel jumps into to hide from his enemies. Here he stays until the crows give up and go about their daily chores. Then he skitters along the cable, trying to reach home before the crows return. If he gets tired, he rests on his belly with all four feet hanging down from the cable. A comical sight indeed!
Through the years
An old-fashioned Christmas took the spotlight in an 1868 Carleton Sentinel and "Oh! Those Golden Teeth" was the theme of an item in a 1903 Dispatch.
Town lively – December made its appearance under very favourable auspices. It came with very good sleighing, the snow on Friday last being sufficient on the capital bottom which had been formed by the cold, dry weather of November to make a smooth and nice ride. As a consequence, the town has been quite lively, farmers taking advantage of the good travelling to bring in produce in great variety, which has commanded a fair price.
Turkey, 10 cents per pound; pork, 7-1/2 cents; mutton, 5 cents; beef, 5 or 6 cents, and butter, 20 cents.
The river is still open.
Golden caps stolen – A young coloured chap named Hudlin, about 13 years of age, was carrying wood into Dr. Manzer's office on Saturday. At half past eleven Dr. McLean missed four gold caps with which he had been working and the Dentists decided Hudlin must have taken them.
They telephoned for the Marshall, Owen Kelly, who came up and had a heart-to-heart with the boy who stoutly denied that he had stolen anything.
Finally Dr. McLean found one of the caps in the thumb of the boy's mitten and after a while the chap took off his shoes and took two others out of the lining of them. Groping around on the floor, he found the fourth where he had thrown it when he was trying to hide it and someone came along.
Perfect Day
When you come to the end of a perfect day
And you sit alone with your thoughts
While the chimes ring out with a carol gay
For the joy that the day has brought
Do you think what the end of a perfect day
Can mean to a tired heart
When the sun goes down with a flaming ray
And the dear friends have to part?
Well, this is the end of a perfect day
Near the end of a journey, too
But it leaves a thought that is big and strong
With a wish that is kind and true
For memory has painted this perfect day
With colours that never fade
And we find at the end of a perfect day
The soul of a friend we've made.
NOTE: This poem was set to music and is heard at graduations, weddings, anniversaries, etc., around the world. My friend, Brenda Smith, and I sang this song at our graduation from Canterbury Regional High School 50 years ago, in June 1958.
Weekly smile
The family had gathered around the television to witness the arrival in the United States of the Pope. As they watched the Pontiff step from the plane and symbolically kiss the ground, an aging aunt surprised everyone when she said, "I know just how he feels. I hate to fly, too."
***
When Tom answered an ad for an experienced carpenter, the old-timer interviewing him grabbed a handful of nails and asked him to hold them. After they had chatted a bit about the weather, he told Tom he was hired.
"You're hiring me without knowing my qualifications?" Tom asked.
"I wanted someone who wouldn't waste time," the old-timer said, "so I looked for someone who would unconsciously arrange the nails with all points down, ready for nailing. And you did!"
The last word
Cats are so unpredictable. You never know when they'll ignore you next.
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