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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1961-08-16, Page 6PAGE :SIX LUCKNOW SElYT11TEL, iG a:• • CKINO,W1, :ONTARIO,, WEDNESDAY; AUG, Mb, .19.d.I oft.xc z5 • {AV v�n �f{I+cil ?Nittic s .; C7rRi41., mpuins uuunimmonhini+m�mm�mmnm intni nimiimimun inn imm�o m pl and With Russians rocketing smugly. around—the earth, And the,Berlin. crisis calling forth' belligerent an= nounceinents from all concerned;. the only escape for, the shy, sen - Smiley manzai Next thinghe knew, she was cos- tiering' her. husband, and urging that "every hot. should . have a dog" and that "we're'' depriving the kids of'.a•precious experience." • sitive erson ,these das is. into: isle ' was rather halfhearted fairyland. SO ,let's. about the whole thing,. as; he was , no doggy -lover, :and: besides; hews p Once upon a tirrie. there was e a lady whno us forpts.o'-hadpe. • 'She rolled. her 'eyes; 'in horror at the thought of •a dog• in, the. house. Her• lip`; curled, at, the very amen- tion of . cats. ,She „ looked ,with` equal disgust, upon budgie, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs and 'rabbits, I admired ,this lady •for„. her forthright • 'Attitude,': •.Whey{ her kids begged for a pet, she'd snap,' "Over :my dead body!"' She stat - ,ed flatly, that ,pets were, stupid, useless •and dirty-. �thirig'S, 'children' were disconsolate; ,but'. resigned.• ' It wasn't, that she .was afraid of Animals•.. I've seen • her reach • right • out and' touch• a dog, 'on Several occasions: Some people would ' have thought she was pushing the beast away, but she. always elaited she was patting it..I've seen, her, while she sat chatting 'With cat owning friends, scratch a cat's stomach with her foot. Occasionally, if the friends, left the: room to make tea, the cat would wind „up at the other •:end of 'the:. roony ' suddenly, but she'd neverAdmit to kicking' it. About four , years ,ago, sourer, thing h'appen'ed'r This lady suf always 'leery' of these sudden en- • thusiasms, as they 'invariably' cost. him a.,lot of money, ;grief or abuse. However, that 'C'hristm,as • , there' w'aS a coal -black. spaniel'' pup un- der the' tree. He was named Play- boy by :the; .ecstatic children. • • He was the epitonme, of -all ' the. evils that accompany Small, pups. Merely erely smirked at efforts to train him, and left his trademark with equal, disdain on linoleum, hardwood floor• and rug. He howl:- ed ike a lovesick tornt'at -every night • for weeks: He 'ate ' the toes off ' the lady's new Italian. shoes. He had lice. He" needed ,shots. He juni,ped' up onthe lady and tore her stpckings: or scrat- ched her legs; She hated him. ' Time. passed. The pup, very slowly, . acquired some sense, a' haridsome.presence;'and a person- ality ,to niatch his name: Relearn- ed to•swim, to.run from big' dogs and td snarl at •little •ones. He qac- rn 'copanied the kids; to 'school: He' went shopping with the lady. He called cn her husband at,hrs lilacs of business,. , :lust about the tittle he was old though h to • start goitre with, girls, fired on Of those emotional f vas k;lletl„;by a ,truck The kids back -flips.. ei timor to' lhe SOLI viers lncons91a,ble., The: mother suddenly: discovered . that” • she adored the pup; wept- bitterly;.& her eyes .filled with tears ,every time his' ,'name came, up, for That, was. 'to be the end of. Pets. It:was:,too much to bear: .So! last winter, •the lady's daughter, tak- ing 'advantage' of .a day when her mother- was out of town, .arrived. home with a• .scrawny little stray ki.tten. :.Hen dad. didn't: .have the guts to ,kick ' the thing out in the snow .She'd counted on this. /Her mother didn't ;'either, when .she got,;hoine.• She, contented herself with raising' genera]` hell and blasting the dad for not getting ridof it. • • The kitten • was nai red Piper, and he 'thrived:' Once hi '`a while, it -crossed the .,father's mind that the creature ,might be a , girl, but,.. as usual, he avoided • :the issue and hoped for the.best. Came the spring.'' One night the father let the: young cat. out: ,for the usual, and ,he vanished, though .the 'dad stood there,' in his '•underwear,. call'iing, for half an hour.: In the morning, kitty' turned up,•. red-. eyed and ruffled. • ';' ' For: the neXt couple. of weeks, there was' a lot of activity around. the house In ',the' daytime, ' .the ,little , girl defended ' her pet with a..'broom against the white, brin- dle, black, and purple' cats who. haunted •the .yard. and seemed, to 'want . to fight with Piper. At night, the family felt like a hunt- ing party in the jungle, crouched about the campfire; While- ' the hyenas ,..howled all around: 'Iii '•a few weeks, the whole thing Was obvious. The kids went right on calling Piper "he," but it' wasplain that the 1boy kitten was a female •cat. Guess who was elected 'to strangle, or drown, the fruits, of her labor. Yes, , the fath- er steeled himself against corning •catricide, At this • point, .a 'new • character enters our story., The boy. in this fanii1y had a birthday corning up, The lady, it another of those Mental sdrnersaults, decided they'd .SUrprise him with a pup, There Was a mad scramble, but the, pup a coal -black spaniel was there onthe birthday, ' .and was promptly named Playboy the Second,; With the, 'advent `•of,. •the pup, poor old Piper.. was pushed into the background,' despite, her con dition. There: was some fear that She'd' have .a miscarriage, out: of sheer pique.h rHut they: • • reckoned without that, sense of dramatic tirning inent in•'th—e pregnant,., female: In the middle of the night, while the family was staying with friendsat a cottage, she ' began to have her pains. ,She ' managed to keep' most of them• up all, night. The lady . fili- ally inally closed h'er' eyes 'about, s.ix, with no news.yet from the mater=' nity ward; which••viras the seat of the car.; At seven. ' a.m.; .she was' `awakened by „a' shriek from, her daughter. 'Piper's having : ~ her babies! The first one's .white!: It` looks just like 'a dinosaur! Within seconclk every kid 'in the vicinity was:. on the spot. ,: They st/ood around in a .circle, watching 'the •whole performance and' cheering •� g each ''new arrival . to 'the echo,. The mysteryof birth is no longer 4 1 Theie's no moral 'to this story;. but.I couldn't help thinking,. when: I ;was home last week-eri•d, • that. it, Was rather odd: for my` who hated:pets `for' years, •to'"b'e dancing attendance on two ,child ren, a `self• -satisfied cat; 'three, kit- tens ; and.' a brand hew pup By. the way, -does .anybody :want a • lovely kitten?.:, Your choice of White, purple or '•• brindle. S.ex:;' male, I think.,:It ,appears that the kitten=drowning deal for . dad: is•' postponed. indefinitely • • MAY' .START .'CAUSEWAY THIS FALL ON HIGHWAY 86 John Hanna, M.P.P. for Huron - Bruce stated recently that work , 'may . start: later . this year on the caus'ewaY . across the 'prairie .south of'.'`Wingh.am, • which. will join Highway . 86 from' the ,easterly to „•westerly limits' and ' w'ill mean through traffic will not 'have' to use the old bridges in Lower Winghaim: First job; will 'be a new. bridge. 'over the. river. • ' The work , ties in with the:. new, bridge which will :be' built- at Zetland between „ Wingha.m and a rnys.tery to them. • '.Whitechurch. • ;eggcy r For Life".a Prepare for a Business Career by securing• u diploma issued bya'the ROSINESS •F'DUCATORS' ASSOCIATION OF 'CANADA. • Sr, and 'Jr. Courses: * ' New Qualified ad 1Vtodern Manual Typelectwrictersan. . New Mi'ileo ra h, and l orta • g P Machines. • Dictap '" Monthly`T ition $26, 20th ,Annual Fall Ter op ens September 5th, Goderich Business CoiIege • JA 4-851 or`.1154 WEDNE CUL miss ham, wa, Miss E1= Linda Lucknovi grandpa Wraith.' • Doris• week at Mrs, Or. •Miss is spend Frank. B friends,: Billy. ed with Mr. al WhIgha Weddin nesday on John was the ington - life on. Arthur •Mr. a family Sunday. Mr. a -Leaside ray He. Sunday 'Wraith: derioh. parents: