HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-10-24, Page 2Sugar and. Spice
By Bill Smiley
Offer me a ticket to any exotic spot
in the world, any October - Rome, Paris,
•fAla. thienS, Rio, Tahiti - and I'd turn it down
There could not be, anywhere on this
globe, a finer place to be., in October,
than Canada. •
October has everything, Glorious
golden days with the foliage flung across
the land in such magnificence it's as
though the Creator were chuckling, "I
am far from dead. Just try to match,
this with yotir puny genius."
Nights are remarkable. Cool enough-
for a sweater, but usually caltn. Perfect
for a stroll around the side streets of a
small town, with the smell of btlining
leaves poignant on the soft air, and the
spurt of orange flame as someone pokes up
his fire. It's against, the law to burn
leaves, but such laws were .not made for
small towns, and are generally ignOted.
And why not? •
' All the burning leaves in all the small
towns Of Canada wouldn't pollute the air
as much as one hOnt on fiVe per cent of
the highways in Canada With about a million
stinking cars belching their bad breath.
But October has something. for
everyone. The hunter is happy. He can
squat in a blind until he's almost
crippled, or lurch through a swamp until
he's almost on his last birch; He may see
nothing more than a few late and lazy
crows, or the starling heading south, but
by .George, he feels great When he gets
home: and tracks, mud all over the hOnSe,
and tears into that peanut butter sand.
wich his irate wife has left out for hitn.,
More intelligent hunters, of Conrad,
Will go after partridge, and prowl along
an old bush road in comfort. The most
intelligent hunters will. sit down in the
Stitt, lean against the bole of a tree', have
a 'perfectly relaxed nap, and go home: with
good appetite and Clear conscience:
Fishermen like October, they flog
thettiSelVes' Ott Of bed in order to Mt the
water at dawn Every one of them has
lurking hunch that this morning he's going
tO hit that big rainbow. And he can Stand
there, ohiveritig, in the misty morning;
happy in the knowledge that none 'of the:
tiiiiSande anglers of poefithe Day will be
fouling his line, Searing the' fiSh; They're
all hoifie in beti, •
tor- the 'sorts fen, 'October is the
With Of the year, He might te6 almost
nothing: of his family ter 0' month, but
he's , happy AS an idiot Witri an ice
cream cone, :sitting frOnt of the boob
tube,' wildly switching channels as he
tries to club-house sandwich the height of
the football Season, the beginning of the
hockey season, and the World Series;
October is Thanksgiving. 'By 'some
piece of uncanny goOb lUck ,or good judg-
ment, it usually turns out, to be a beautiful
weekend, and this year's w a s nigh perfect,
in these parts.
It's a grand occasion for closing up
the cottage,,-or getting together With the
family for a gorge of turkey and pumpkin
pie, or just getting out into the' country
and counting the things, you have to be
thankful fOr.
This year We had our daughter andher
husband for the holiday. She insisted on
Cooking the entire Thanksgiving dinner.
And she insisted on using her method,
which is known aOkow roasting.
This method tikeepa all the good of
the turkey' in, and When it's finished, it's
So tender it just falls off 'the bones,"
End of quOte.
You cook it for hoilr8 and hours at
about 200 degrees; instead of the usual
825 or so. Many a turkey I've cooked
in the normal fashion, and they always
come out golden, meat falling Off the
bones,
1, said, "Carry 'on, kid." .My wife
bit her lip, her .tongue 'and her finger-
nails,. but kept silents Every hour or
SO she couldn't stand it,. and Witnild sneak
out, while' Kiln. wasn't the kitehen, and
have a leek. The turk just lay there, like
a big; dead bird. It was pretty obvious
that the only process that was Setting in
WAS rigor mortis.
,Bitt: no interference With. Modern
methods. The .grand moment arrived,
after cooking'nine-pound bird i too,
dolly a nnidget„„
tier'husband cah't carve, so I did
the lienblirti. I like my steaks rare, but
for' rare turkey.-1 '
almost Sprained to wrist oh my,i0gt
slice With the carving knife,
Meat falling off the .borieSI' I had to,
tear it off with plieksi But it was a great .•
dinner; The stuffing was well and truly
Sttiffedi, the Stilled:OSA were exceptionally
tender, and the white Wind WAS hatig'eni
There VA's, only 'one catch. the kids,
had to 'get' theft bus right after`
That was Viohday MY wife And
looked at the kitchen, looked at each
&heti and went to, bed. We fitilthed doing
the' diStied, -Wednesday' evening,,
rOSSelS Post
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1973
-Serifing Brussels and the surrounding community,
PlAblished, each Wednesday afternoon at BruSsels,. Ontario
by McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy LtT Editor Tom Haley - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Others
$5.00 a year, Single CopieS 10 cents each.
Second class mail. RegistratiOn No. 0562.
Telephone 887-6641.
The yellow month
The bushels of red and yellow
fallen leaves that are -all around us
and crunch under our feet as we
walk remind us that the lazy, quiet
days of summer are over. But October
has its own pleasures - at least
equal to those of summer. There is
gorgeous colour in the trees and on
the ground and even in the dark
black freshly ploughed fields rim-
med with green grass.
The air in October is clean and
cool a-nd crisp, like a bite of an
autumn apple or a drink of a thin
dry wine. 'The air may even carry
the scent of burning leaves, smoke
from carefully raked up piles -
sadly now considered to be air poi:-
lution.
Just when the landscape all
around us is worthy of some quiet
contemplation everyone has to get
back to work after the summer dol-
drums.
Clubs and organizations have had
their first fall meetings-and tom-
munity activities of all types' are
picking up: The Brussels Post would
like to co-operate with all Brussels
organizations and provide coverage
of their activAties.
However, newspaper people want
time ,off to enjoy,,the lovely days
of fall too. Contrary to what may,
be a popular misconception, the
people who work here are not avail-
able . 7 days a.week or 24 hours a
day.
A lot goes on in Brussels and it
is our job to have as much infor-
mation for our readers as possible.
But before you get angry at us be-
cause we did not take pictures of
or write up some set event, stop
and consider several alternatives.
In the case of special events,
was the Brussels Post notified a
couple of weeks in advance? Special
occasions a're planned in advance
let the paper know in the planning
stage.
As for routine meetings, did
you send in an account to the paper
not just the minutes, but a des-
cription of what the guest speaker
said or what decisions were made?
Although we like to print news of
all area clubs we cannot possibly
cover every meeting in the area we
serve and must rely on accurate,
up-to-date reports froM club secre-
taries or other correspondents.
We'll try our best if ybu will
too, , Then we can all enjoy the
-- both the weatherand the +a l
UpsUrge in activities.
.• t