The Rural Voice, 1992-11, Page 8THE POWER
TO MOVE
BEYOND
OVATION
EMM
-13
mmerm
INISIMMM
AEI
"This sled
really puts the fun
into trail riding."
MEM 11111.
▪ Brisk performance awaits when
you turn the key on the electric
start Ovation LE. Its free
spirited 337cc twin commands
the YPZ clutch and you're off
and running on one of
snowmobiling's most delightful
experiences. With its TSS
▪ suspension, modified Pro-
- Action Link skidframe and
inherent lightness, this sled is
—just plain fun to drive. You'll
find the Ovation handles the
trails like the bigger sleds and
gives hours of snowmobiling
— entertainment on spoonfuls of e.
gasoline.
/I:l:l:II:i:I:I:I;I:I;I:I:I;I1-
ARGYLE
MINN
MARINE &
SMALL ENGINES Ltd.
88 BRITANNIA RD. East
Goderich
519-524-5361
4 THE RURAL VOICE
Gisele Ireland
Changing the guard down home
The look of incredulity and sheer
amazement that crossed Super
Wrench's face as he was being told
by his son exactly "How it is",
confirmed something I'd suspected
for quite a while.
There was a
subtle shift
taking place in
our family and
the reins of
authority were
definitely being
grappled over.
There isn't
even a specific
day or time when
it began. It was
gradual, like the
thickening of the
waistline and the
thinning of the
hairline. One
day, they were driving the tractor
while we did the slugging and then
we were driving as they flexed their
newly found power.
Once upon a time, I used to make
the major decisions in the house:
what colour to paper the hall, what
brand of cereal I bought, what I wore
to church and what I served at a din-
ner party. Not any more. If I want to
save myself an excruciating headache,
I hand the reins to them and watch
'em go. I've always hated papering
and my daughters tell me it shows.
So I let them. If shepherd's pie is too
conventional for a dinner party, I let
them make a fancy schmancy casser-
ole with 18 ingredients and some on-
ly available in monsoon season in Sri
Lanka. If they're afraid I'll fracture a
hip falling off the hay wagon I gladly
become water boy and tool getter.
I must admit, the tough part was
taking orders to do something I could
likely do in my sleep, blindfolded:
the weekly royal loading of the hogs.
Our son has hated pigs since he's
been able to call them unmentionable
names. He'd sooner shave with a
rusty razor than come anywhere near
them, until the big power play. Super
Wrench had been feeling a little off
colour for several days and his son
demanded he stay in the house and
ordered me to accompany him to the
barn to load the hogs.
What a corporate takeover. I was
told to stay outside the pen until he
was ready for me to open it. I gently
told him that his father and I had a
routine perfectly worked out and it
didn't include me staying outside the
pen. He totally ignored me and pro-
ceeded to manhandle them out on his
own. At one point he was under a
pig, the next moment he was on top
of one and within a breath, he was
doing arm -to -arm combat with one
standing on its rear legs, attempting to
escape the loading chute. I knew bet-
ter than to make comments. We load-
ed the hogs and went to the house to
get ready for work. He tried valiantly
not to limp and I knew of at least
three parts of his body that would
likely be black and blue by noon.
I've become accustomed to being
relegated to the anemic, iron deficient
era with major bone loss. Super
Wrench hasn't. He still has these
silent struggles for the reins of power,
especially with his son. The girls can
wrap him around their fingers with
just a look or a fresh elderberry pie.
The latest troubled waters concerned
the locking of our son's tool box in
the shop. Super Wrench needed a
tool out of it and couldn't find a key.
No wonder, it was hung around our
son's neck.
At lunch that day, the son of Super
Wrench tried tactfully to explain his
tools would remain locked while he
was absent because Super Wrench
was a "bit of a slob" in the shop and
always forgot to put things back
where he got them. Not only that, he
had major memory losses about who
came in and borrowed what and
rarely could recall if the chain was on
the tractor in the field or the truck in
the yard.
I couldn't help but smile. Some-
where, back in my foggy memories, I
recalled a similar lecture taking place,
only the roles were reversed. Super
Wrench's memories must have coin-
cided with mine, because he gave me
a slow, lazy wink, put his arm around
our son's shoulders and offered to
continue the negotiations in the shop.
I wonder who will come up with the
reins?0
Gisele Ireland is from Bruce County.
Her most recent book, Brace Yourself,
is available for $7 from Bumps Books,
Teeswater, Ontario. NOG 2S0.