Village Squire, 1976-10, Page 21the stalks and stems from which they
obtained their life remain. Yellow pumpkins
and deep green squash are piled high in one
corner. Corn stalks, shorn and white in the
pale autumn sun are stark skeletons against
the ploughed soil. The bittersweet is still
scarlet on the bough and one last aster stands
valiantly alone amid its fading companions.
I was happy when I brought the children
here last spring. It seems like only yesterday.
Days become so fleeting and precious when
they're numbered. In the spring they still
gave me reason to hope.
"Stop working completely! We'll try these
new drugs on .you and see what happens."
Dr. Cramer said the words flatly, without
dispelling or giving hope but I did, because 1
had to. So I took a leave of absence from my
newspaper - promising to be back shortly,
packed the children's belongings and mine
and we took the train home. Home to the farm
where I was born and my aging father -
Mathew - gruff, practical Mathew. Even as a
child I never called him Dad or Father but
always by his first name and now it seems
somehow appropriate when my children do
also. He welcolmed us as a respite from the
loneliness he has endured since the death of
my mother two summers ago. He had refused
to sell the farm. It would be like selling part of
him and so he kept it - renting the land and
living in the house, among the memories.
To-gether we planted a huge garden,
patiently, slowly. Day after day we watched
for the first green shoots to come forth -
repranting those which were drowned out in
the abundant rain. The children were excited
and thrilled with their first experience with
the miracle of the seed. Growth was
extraordinary this year. I've heard farmers
say that they've never seen its equal for yield
and as long as I was involved with the
abundance of green growing things, hope
seemed to linger. But all summers turn to
autumn and sometimes hope to despair. I
realized, of course that 1 was becoming
weaker and sometimes the pain was almost
unbearable but two weeks ago Dr. Cramer
took it upon himself to dispell my hopes -
forever.
He was staring out of his office window as I
entered then he turned suddenly, his eyes full
of that look of pity I have come to dread.
"Your illness is terminal Mr. Tanner," he
said. "You have six months, perhaps, a year
at the most. I thought it best to tell you." And
so for fourteen days I have awakened with the
pale sunlight of fall, sifting through the naked
trees outside my window and each day I am
forced to remember that life is no longer
leisurely but a very swift moving thing.
I find myself shivering in the warm wind
and needing human companionship as I walk
towards the orchard where Mathew is
gathering the apples. A half-filled barrel
stands beneath a d'warf spy tree and there is
Mathew in his faded blue overalls. He
reaches, grasps the cherished fruit in hand,
lifts it down and places it in the barrel with
infintesimal care to prevent bruising. He
straightens his back, puts a gnarled hand to
his forehead to shield the waning sun from his
eyes and sees me coming.
He is one of the first people I have told of
fall is
fashion
The Vested Look is
First in Fashion
for Fall '76
See the newest in
Suits, Sports
Ensembles, etc...
All Vested...
At
MAIN CORNER,
CLINTON
.:.e'4)
BEFORE YOU
GET ALL TIED UP
in the Christmas rush, select
your g,fts at leisure now while
our new shipment of merchan-
dise is complete.
DISTINCTIVE AND
EXCLUSIVE GIFTS
Take advantage of our Christmas
lay -away plan.
Seaforth Jewellers
Main St. Seaforth
Phone 527-0270
FIBERS
Yarn and Craft
WEST STREET
GODERICH
Macrame Needlepoint
Yarns
Large Stock Craft Supplies
Handmade Shawls, Afghans,
Toys, Baby Sweaters
MAIL ORDERS FILLED PROMPTLY
OPEN 9:30 - 5:30 Dans
CLOSED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1976, 19