The Rural Voice, 1995-05, Page 6MICROMAN INC.
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WOMEN TODAY OF
HURON COUNTY
is looking for new members to
serve on the Board of Directors.
This is for a one year term
beginning in June/95. Our meetings
are monthly, evening meetings and
both childcare and mileage
expenses are reimbursed. A Board
Development day is offered at least
once a year. If you are interested in
learning more about becoming a
Board Member, please phone Cathy
at Women Today, 524-6767, as
soon as you can.
wind -driven
PONDMASTER
FOR HEALTHIER FARM PONDS
28TH
YEAR
4
1
p INCREASES OXYGEN
CONTENT AND WATER
CIRCULATION IN FARM
PONDS. ALSO FOR ICE
FREE AREAS IN WINTER
FOR LIVESTOCK
FISH & WATERFOWL
Contact: R.R. #2, Mitchell
Bill French 348-8749
2 THE RURAL VOICE
Gisele Ireland
Is it fair? You be the judge
When Super Wrench makes a
request, which I consider above and
beyond my wifely duties, I naturally
expect something from him in return.
It usually works out pretty evenly, until
this last time. As a result, I'm forced to
take it to the
best arbitration
board I know,
my readers.
My task was
to rendezvous
with a guy,
coming from
Ottawa, some-
where on the
401 just outside
of Guelph. We
were to
exchange the
working innards
of a tractor in
my trunk, for his
cooked ones on his truck. In addition, I
was to pick up a hood and some rods.
In return, Super Wrench was to take me
to the Garden Show in Toronto at the
International Centre.
Super Wrench loaded the car, drew
me a rough map, and gave me five
hours to accomplish this mission. I was
nervous before I even left the farm. It
got worse.
The guy I was to meet was an hour
late. I used that time to try and
unclench my fingers from the steering
wheel after my encounter with the
speed demons on the 401. Getting on
and off this road was still a hazy blur. I
took deep breaths to marshal enough
intestinal fortitude to make the return
trip. When the guy finally showed up
he was all smiles and apologies as we
did our thing.
I nonchalantly asked him if he'd
seen a place to get a coffee on the way
back. I didn't feel I knew him well
enough to announce I had to use a
washroom in the worst way. "Yup", he
said, "just a piece down the road, it's
easy to get off and back on the 401."
He didn't mention you had to be in the
right lane to turn off. By the time I saw
it, I couldn't get over and therefore
missed it. With this added stress, I had
to go worse than ever. Missing my exit
didn't help much either. You guessed
it, I was in the wrong lane again and
trying to cut across would have resulted
in road kill. Now I was going the
wrong way and couldn't do much about
it. I still had to go, real bad.
I did spot a sign that denoted a high-
way north and started the car across the
lanes of Indy 500 drivers to get there.
Two drivers made a rude gesture,
several honked their horns during this
attempted exit. Finally, all that stood
between me and escape from the 401
was a huge semi. It was nip and tuck to
get in front of him, and finally he held
back on the gas to allow me in. I made
it off with just the squeal of my tires. I
didn't have to go any more.
Although Super Wrench would like
to differ, his job at the Garden Show
was a romp through a daisy field com-
pared to my experience. He complain-
ed his feet hurt before we even left the
parking lot. The reason for that might
have been that there were thousands of
cars and we had to park what seemed
miles away from the entrance. I babied
him along all the way through the
entrance. He has a dislike for large
crowds, but it doesn't even come close
to my hatred for the 401. I kept
pushing him along the aisles.
There didn't seem to be much there
that impressed him. Everything that
made my eyes light up, he could make
a lot cheaper right in his shop at home.
His wallet stayed glued in his back
pocket.
At one point I lost him. I backtrack-
ed and found him in deep conversation
with a man I immediately recognized.
He was the last person I expected to see
at a garden show. When I approached
them, Super Wrench was trying to
wheedle out of the guy what sins he
had committed to justify a sentence
such as this. The tail end of their
conversation was a pact that neither
would breathe a word back home that
they'd seen the other there. Such fools,
I thought to myself, there is nothing
more vindictive than a woman who
feels she's been wronged.
The first thing on my agenda the
next day was to place a chatty little
piece in our local paper about who from
our town had visited the garden show
and how much they enjoyed it. I know
I'll pay big time, but it will have been
worth it. I'm sure you'll agree I had
just cause, don't you?0
Gisele Ireland, from Bruce County, is
an author of several humorous books on
farm life.