The Brussels Post, 1975-09-03, Page 2by Karl Schuessler
When the fire department burned down
that tumbled-in barn of mine, most people
thought I made a mistake. They wondered
why--while the fire boys were at it didn't
let them put the old brick farm house out of
her misery.
Misery is the only thing people see in that
house I. bought a month ago,:
"But look at those beautiful gables," I say.
And I point upward and lead their eyes to all
that fancy turned wood worked between the
gables. That fret work that goes by many
names. Gingerbread. Barge boards. Verge
boards.
Most old houses don't have that any more.
They're all fallen off or taken down when the
renovations start.
"Dust catchers," they shrug, "Bird
perches. What else are they good for?" And
their eyes move back down over the broken
windc4s and sagging porch roof and tall grass
and prickly burdocks.
Few say it. But all mean it. What a mess! If
those three and a half acres didn't belong to
me, that place would be a perfect site for the
local town dump.
But they don't realize. I don't tnind dumps,
I sort of like dumps. I feel good in them.
It's something. - to reach bottom. To scrape
the dregs. To walk outside through piles of
rusty iron and wormy wood and torn up fence
wire. To shuffle inside through fallen plaster
and peeliIng paint and cracked cement.
There's something about decadence. It can
purge the soul and empty you all out. -
The only place to go from the bottom is up.
And that old house couldn't be much worse
and still call itself a house. The only place this
house Can go is up. It can only get better,
I feel good about that. Because I can h ave a
hand in it. I'M refusing to join the winds and
the rains and vacancy and varidalism. They all
say she's too far gone. There's no more hope.
It's better to light -the fire or bring in the
wrecker's ball.
But I know better. I know there's Iota of _
geod left in her.That sturdy Shine toiandatien
-- the two foot thick kind that no One build
anymcire. Cement blocks are only distant
relatives to the rocks' Might and beauty
Then there's all that real solid wood left in
her. The black ash wainscotting that covers
the sides and ceilings of the kitchen. The wide
elm boards that frame The doorways and
windows. The maple floors--hidden under a
coat of paint or a linoleum. The cherry
bannister and rails that won't budget when I
lean on them.
This old crummy brick house knows what a
door is. A real solid door. None of this
lay-my-fist-into-it-and-my hand's-through•
the-other-side kind of door.,
This house knoWs what a room is too. Big sized
rooms with walls that really separate. None of
this skinny stuff that only partitions and
leaves every whisper heard.
This house knows that people did take. time
-- or they should take time -- to sit outside, To
spend an hour or two sitting on the verandah
-- the front verandah. None of this backyard
Front
patio business.ones forp taacskurpeo.rches are for work.
This house knows you have to have trees.
Forty foot high maples to bring shade and
their own special kind oegrandeur. I won't
hgeavneerattoionsus fffoerr tshaepmlintgos graonwd owp.ait for two
"But the plaSter?7Look at all the falling
plaster? The cracked cement? Who n eeds
cistern? And that rotting post on the
roof? Who wants
Andt
all
l
hoaae that work?"
shingles. on the f
"Look at those lovely gables. Those four
lovely gables," I insist, In a house like this
you have to keep looking up I tell thetn.
Whenever I weary of shovelling plaster and
scrapping putty and hauling out the rot and
tint, and Whenever I start to wonder if maybe
all those people are right, I tell myself. "Look
at these four lovely gables;: those four great
gables." And „Oink how they'll look When
they're painted! Magnificent of course!
Those gables keep me going, They convince
me I did the right thing that impulsive Stiee' nday
afternoonafternoon when: I signed lip for the'&n
Iniaginel fell' in love with font gables. And
to have them, I Wound tip buying everYillit4
eke Underneath: That's the kind of expels,,
Support &dry-. 'gable! needs!
Amen
Last fling
Frie
ith
Sa
rty
ailed
it
de
oyd
yom
Rosy
Blto
As
radle
rnii
d hl
sle, '
ngele
at fe
pire
th th
veil
led
hite
each
Shirt
ter,
ides1
hidey
tece ji
th v
over
an, n
ressei
The
xedo,
irt w
as N
gists
Sal
1
FR
Phone
N,
AktaAres
4
,t1,1,111.
rtisseis Post
AMINIIIMINIMIIMINI1111.1.11.1110111....111MINO
BRUSSELS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1975 ONTARIO
Serving Brussels ri•zi the surrounding community.
Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Bros.Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor . Dave Robb - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
CNA
Subscriptions .(in advance) Canada $6.00 a,year, Others
$8.00 a year, Single Copies 15 cents each. -
•
u,.,ON
Lessons from lightning
If you're like us, every once in a while you get
bogged down with the cares and responsibilities of
this weary life and all but overwhelmed by what you
imagine is expected of you. At such times we like to
look to the fundamentals of nature to remind
ourselves ju ;st how tiny and insignificant' we really
are. It isn't difficult to find some new piece of
knowledge to put us firmly in our place.
Last week we were totally intimidated by facts and
figures concerning Ii ghtning coming from Dr. Frank
Creed, principal research officer with. the National
Research Council's electrical engineering section.,
He's been working on lightning research for the past
30 years, so he knoWs of what he speaks.
Lightning, he says, should be treated with the very
greatest of respect. Having always been fascinated
rather than frightened by electrical storms which are
a part of every summer in this area, we couldn't wait
to read on. And it wasn't Dr. Creed's practical
advice we were interested in, but the characteristics
of the lightning itself.
It comes in many forms, including forked, heat,
ribbon, bead and streak. ; Some authorities suggest.
the core of a strip of lightning is as small as a
half-inch in diameter, though its field of discharge
can be as wide as 20 to 30 feet.
The speed of lightning varies from 100 to 1,000 ,
miles a second and it carries thousands of volts. And
if that doesn't impress you, how about this?
Some lightning, called "positive giant" strikes,
which occur every million or so flashes, are as hot as
30,000 degrees Celsius, more than five times hotter
than the surface of the sun.
Still think you're something of importance to the
well-being of this Earth?
About that practical advice. The safest place to be
in a bad thunderstorm is inside your car. But don't
lean on the outside of it —it could be fatal.. Stay
away from water, isolated tall trees, electrical
wiring, metal pipes, sinks, fireplaces and plug-in
appliances and don't use the telephone.
Sit in, the middle of the room and if you're
concerned about the proximity of the lightning, count
the seconds between.a flash and the following clap of
thunder.i They occur at essentially the same time,
but light travels faster than sound.So if you see a
lightning flash and don't hear the thunder for five
seconds, then Dr. Creed says, the storm's about a
mile away, working on the principal of sound
travelling a thousand feet per second.
If the lightning and thunder are perfectly
simultaneous, you can start worrying about your own
self-importance again.
(Listowel Banner)
"`a fte for belog. good o, Pro here because thy folig tic er
cat et stand atoutd 'the house."