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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-04-20, Page 25• a• contifiu d from last week. the, quick leaps of the children, spots;' enough to make the poor The teen-age girl now helped like young deer.. They soon tired child cross-eyed.'The men kissed with the cooking, and I could see of such strenuous activity. The one another on both cheeks, but h e -r i n the doorway of the fire and the shouting faded away, there were no • affectionate earthenfloored kitchen, fanning and all became darkness and farewells for the women, except the charcoal fire, and making the silence *again. among themselves. After these evening meal. Sometimes, I saws, • On how Ruz day the entire last festivities, my neighbours :her studying tier lessons by family appeared in new clothes. resumed their usual serene way candlelight. The tittle girls wore identical.. .of life. Every day at sunset, ,the One day, the grandfather ,dresses in bright 'colours and grandfather . washed . tts face, brought home a sheep Which, for violent •pattern-., probably cut hands and feet outdoors, then sometime, served as a plaything from discarded- clothing. They entered timoliouse to bow -.'toward for. the children. They ,chased it ' waved to hie when I went but the Mecca for his daily- prayers. With 'sticks, pulled it in circles by balcony, and I called '"Happy Now The children, neatly dressed, the tail, acrd generally mauled the • Ruz" as I waved back. ••Wretu•rned to school, ,their long poor thing until it looked dizzy and During the following days, stockings exchanged., for socks. '9 bewildered. The animal 'always relatives and friends' came to The Smallest ones took off their ran away at the least'bpportunity visit my,_ nelghbours. " All • the shoes to play in bare feet. Spring but it was soon recaptured. 'children were dressed in brilliant had truly arrived, and my sunny The 'old man dug out a large colours.; The mothers proudly balcony beckoned to me to neglect cavity in the ground,. lined it with shoed off their newest infants household chores. , stones 'anti added a crude roof. whleh they carried under their One tnor ning, sometime later, I After that, the sheep disappeared, chadors, (long veils) They stayed• saw the grandfather - leave the • possibly to have its various parts fora chat and went away' After the house in nn ual hurry. The stacked n e.a t 1 v in t h e n e w holidays, ; tl,es'b —festivities, pregnant mother hadn't appeared storehouse. ceased, and 1xf4'. resumed its and the childrenwere carrying in.. Another day, the. grafidfather former routfcf!e, , . vessels of water. Presently, the came home with many .sacks of On the 13th ,day after Now Ruz, old man returned followed' by a ( coal dust. With the help of the the sun arose on a mild .spring- heavy middle-aged woman- who children who carried water, he like morning. The leaves were waddled rather than walked. I 'fashioned it into a round black opening, their tender green Muds., caught the feeling of suspense as I mounds, leaving them to harden in like tiny hands reaching toward watched her roll up her sleeves the sun, then his small 'helpers the sun. At an early hour, many - under the chador and thoroughly stored them away in sacks. After people began to gather on the wide wash her hands and auris,:: She these operations for which the.old boulevard "beyond' our • kucheh. moved to and fro between 'the . man wore striped pajamas, Family groups spread out their kitchen annex and the living, everyone was black with coal days necessities in the vacant lots quarter. while the children stood • dust. They all hauled water from . nearby, while their children about expectantly. Then one,of the the jube and washed merrily,' romped and shouted at , the girls carried a tray of, what pouring it over one another with a prospect of an all -day picnic, for . appeared to he instruments, and tin vessel. The children and their it wasTonsidered an indication of handed them through the door to grandfather • then changed their misfortune to stay indoors on this the older woman. clothes and. the pregnant mother d'ay of the year.A. few men played ' The . children played half- had another interlude of washing. musical 'instruments. Others heartedly in the sand .for some The'mere or less benign winter danced amid a circle, of .people time a ''il the "woman beckoned moved inexorably. toward spring who clapped to the rhythm. • ahem into the house. Altera while but the old man didn't take another By noon, I looked'down on a vast they came out . c h a t t e r i n g • wife. As the season of Now .Ruz moving'pattern• of colour which excitedly,The grandfather soon , (New Year) approached he filled all, the open spaces within followed, a smile of''satis'action seemed quite content again. sight. The high wind tore at the creasing his leathery face. He ° During the first. warm spell of womens' chadors, and they lighted his pipe. leaning against spring everything was taken from billowed •oul like the sails of the wall and savouring •its smoke. the house. Piles of bedding and ships. Vendors moved along the It must have been a son, i thought. "clothing, were washed. The ` boulevard, holding aloft coloured and all was well-. I breathed a sigh ._eh--ldren-beat. the-olti', faded -rug :balioarrs --arid --bright -paper of rellef.a.si returned.to.rn. work, with sticks. took it out ta the jube But where was the father? He had for cleaning, then spread it in the - Our neighbours entertained •not arrived' for this • important sun to dry. A new clothesline held niar}y visitors wrhoha.d arrived the.;'' event. I could imagine him, some the extras,' and the 'pregnant previous day: It was difficult to day, strolling casually 'in as mother washed wearily' all day. imagine how they all slept in that " though nothing had occurred. The children enthusiastically small hodse; Duringthe morning, Perhaps, he might admire his new ' ...swept and dusted the hourse...Old fam�il an pu!stscaio�uf,,l;i s�onlauts .usualur _ di�st?)a±a.no: 'boxes were thrown out thheir equipment. pment. Old pieces of feeling toward Kis wife. served as playthings for the ..carpet' were spread in. the Sun • The 'Mother soon returned to youngest ones. • The schoolgirls : against the sheltering wall, and.in ,. her duties, looking pale- but brought home skipping ropes the centre of this stoodthe freshly , otherwise fairly slim and normal. which they..u-Sed happily in their polished samovar. The children— How curious I was to see the new spare time. but everyone helped raced about, with their new 'baby; but I new that,jt.,would be a with the 'work. ;The mother had . balloon`s and windmills. Qne of the •long time before they brought him become huge with her child, and small gids • gave an expert outdoors. Thenext youngest •child she proved about:heavily at • her demonstration with -.three- hula- ..was trying to get upa.nd toddy'. as tasks. troops. She walked or ran, and• at though the little" thing • knew• On Now Ruz eve, everything . the same time kept the hoops • instinctively that, from now on, seemed to.be'ready. The children whirling in, perfect tempo. The she must stand on tier own tiny • danced happily about the sandy older ones tried it in turn, but the ' feet. - .enclosure. The grandfather hoops floopedafter one,twirl.. The-111-an"-trit's� �time--eve r -d -ming• -- brought home two potted plants srnall boy'became so frustrated at Now Ruz, I hadn't seen the young which he admired in various his futile attempts that he took the ' father. Could the .array have settings, After dark I noticed that hoop and threw it against the wall, s t a t i o n e d. him far a a y, I four small • bon -fires had .been Afterwards, in a jealous rage, he wondered, or was this last child lighted. The children gathered knocked down the whirling hoops. one too many? I pitied their ,,and •threw fresh twigs on the 'of• his more talented sister. In poverty and their harsh life. Yet. I flames; but whenever. they between periods of eating .and knew that these .prowl people threatened to dle out: the young drinking, the.family wandered out would scorn My -pity. They were daughter hurried 'around with a. on the boulevard to view the can. of kerosene, pouring a little - passing throng.. At dusk, long on each one. Soon, I heard great . lines, of tired people waited • shouts of joy while they all took patiently at the bus -stop for turns jumping- over the fires. transportation home. The What a dangerous pastime, 1 children, exhausted` from.. play, \ thought, - especially • for the clung to their parents. youngest ones who ."seemed to The next "morning, all the enjoy it the most. But it.was a gay • visitors left m"y .neighbour's sight: the bright flames .against house. The Baby, wore a bright the darkness, the laughter, and yellow dress covered with. black 4 etr , thrifty and independent. Most likely, they had spiritual resources which we comfortable people knew -little about. But -tthe many questions in my. 'mind were never to be answered. . Ina few days, my husband and I left Tehran on a Much needed. holiday. Three weeks later we arrived home at night, unpacked our bags, and went to bed. Next ,morning, before I prepared breakfast, -I rolled up the haters on the kitchen balcony: Looking. across, at my neighbours' place as I always did, 1 couldn't believe my eyes. . The house stood as before but it seemed . like an' empty,,;,'shell, drained of life. No childish shouts greeted my'ears. The rigor gaped open to display the emptiness The wooden platform in front had disappeared. The sand lay in disordered heaps. The wire chicken enclosure •had been kna iked over, and a ,few broken fragments of pottery,. lay where they hail fallen. 011e .cracked 'flowerpot_yaith its dead plant stood outside the door. Could • it, I thought, Have been one of the plants which the old man had brought home 'so proudly at Now Ruz? As I looked about the lifeless property, I discovered a few workmen with picks and shovels digging into the soil. Yes, what I feared most had happened: The play was finished: that colourful drama which had entertained and • irlst'ructed me for months. I had responded walla warm glow to the simple happiness of these unsophisticated people who lived ASunday evening song service Parties and special events at sponsored by the Christian ,.,,Huronview. Willa Taylor gave a Womens Club of South Huron was 'Commentary and showed slides of very much appreciated by the a recent trip to Florida. residents last week. Mrs, Luther of Hensall led the devotions and along with • ..Mrs. licit -ton and accompanied by Ivlr. Luther at the piano sang two. duet numbers. Mrs. Windower and Mrs. Britton• both contributed poems and Mr. Luther a piano solo. Monday afternoon program of Old Tyme music dancing and sing song was well attended with Mrs. Mary Taylor, • Norman Speir,- .Jerry Collins, and Alice Roortda, provided• the music for the occasion. The Family Night program this week consisted of slide pictures We are sorry for the .error iul that have been taken of Birthday. ' last week's:issue. onto Vin c� rithin without nia1ide Or envy toward their more fortunate, brothers. It was }lot likely that the landlord 'would. ever realize what he had done.. This • thing which he destroyed in 'one blow had been b..pilt-'and maintained with pride and tenderness - u I felt bereft, for my n*ghbours' life hadVbecoine a parlkiit my own. We had exchangea over the distance between us, a feeling- of mutual. warmth and good -twill. Where had they gone'? How were • they living with that tiny new life among them?•In my heart, I COuld only wish that God would protect them, and give them back their happiness. . For me, -the day turned dark. No children, to wave and smile as I stood onthe balcony. The curtain had fallen in my drama. Nothing - to do now but say ''Bravo", as there never could be another play like this. Perhaps, I had found out at last just what it means.to love my neighbour. Several musical, numbers by• the •Huronview Orchestra,_ accompanied on the piano by, Gladys Van Egmond of Clinton; made a very enjoyable evening. Miss Marion Gray thanked those taking part in the program as' well as our faithful volunteers, Mr. and Mrs., Harvey Howard. Plans are being made .to hold • open house at Huronview on Senior Citizens Week 18-24 and it is hoped to have the assistance of • the Senior Citizens Clubs in the County with the program, • 0 THE RED CROSS IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU HELPING PEOPLE LIKE YOU EE PiiIosop i r e)A 1. FIELOR IS A FELLOW,' WHO DOESN'T THINK THE BONDS OF " MATRIMONY PAA! ENOUGH INTEREST. CONSISTING OP STEERS, I.1EIFERS »A CAL AES. FOR CONSIGNMENTS CONTACT THE MANAGEMENT -VICTOR HARGREAVES • JACK R1DDELL 4; .2-7511 Chnto. _ ° . N 237-M31 DaSh.WQOd DOUG RIDE LL 237-3576 Dashwood AUCTIONEERS: HECTOR Mc.NEI L LARRY GARDINER by .REMODELLING .REP,AIRING. HANOVER FURS ESTABLISHED WITH GODERICH`FOR 20 YEARS We Pick Up And Deliver Fur.,s For Cold Storage In Goderich .JOE'S BP _Service Station, ' and -C-off -�- --- ee--Strop 411 Huron Rd'., Goderich 5246871 • WE ALSO MANUFACTURE NEW FURS. AT REDUCED PRICES PHONE 364-3360' OR- MAIL THIS COUPON i Hwy Hanover Furs, Operated by H. Gorbet, N .. = 211 10th St., Hanover, Ont. 11-• 1 NAME address • ' _- 'a._ _ - 1 PHONE NO ' I. mesulleammiimilmomo . nisi am] • • The Beta Sigma Phi. Meeting frt. ., April 11 took the;form of a'hus-trip to Centralia and,.. a• tour 'of Dashwood Industries. Accompanying the Goderich chapter on this interesting tour were .friends, and ttie Clinton sorority chapter, , , - The, group were served a delicious dinner at the plant followed_ by -..•vet vJnformatrveq., _ and 'interesting lwd..hour tour. After the,tour. there was a slide • prese -.tion. showing ,the window , t * group hail just se.e"'n being manus. cturred, in various homes and apartment buildings. ' The evening concluded with r1 lunch of coffee and donuts; 'Reg. Trademark In a few short weeks the snow and cold will be replaced with indications that spring is just around the corner. Meantime, we have time to make important plans on how to make the coming season* run more smoothly and profitt.bly. Here is where Cyanamid Farm Supply Centre can be of assistance. Oyu staff will • gladly help you plan the best cropping program and the most efficient ferti izer program suitable to your soil. conditions. Give us a call,, and don't forget our new telephone number 482-3423, or just drop in and see us. OUR MANUFACTURING, LOADING, DELIVERY AND SPREADING EQUIPS ENT YIS.IN READY CONDITION TO SERVO YOU NOW. • x b We have the following equipment on hand to give you.the' best service possible: BUMPER to. 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