The Rural Voice, 1987-04, Page 10"SUDDENLY IT'S SOLD"
FARM
LISTINGS
WANTED
FARM LISTINGS WANTED: We have
many inquiries for farm properties of all
types and sizes. If you are considering
marketing your farm property this year.
please give us a call. I would appreciate
the opportunity of discussing the sale
of your property with you at your con-
venience. and with no obligation to you.
Ask for Mason
16 years of farm sales experience
15 farm properties successfully marketed in Huron
County in 1986
CLINTON
519-482-9371
or
519-523-9338
CANADA FARM
LABOUR POOL
ATTENTION FARMERS
Need a break from the
DAILY ROUTINE of chores
or maybe you need extra
help for the busy seasons?
Why not let the Grey -Bruce
Canada Farm Labour Pool
assist you in fulfilling all
your farm labour needs?
We have a number of
people registered who are
qualified & willing to work
on your farm.
Give us a call in
WALKERTON
881-3671
and
OWEN SOUND
371-9522
1�
CANADA FARM
LABOUR POOLS
8 THE RURAL VOICE
YOU CAN'T LOSE
FOR WINNING
Being first at anything, we think,
carries with it rewards worth dreaming
about: the winner's circle, immense
monetary advantages, public adulation.
Being second or third doesn't count.
During a recent week-long break
from college, my eldest daughter spent
some time with me discussing life in
general. As mothers are prone to do,
I attempted to spur her on to even
greater achievements. "With a little
extra effort," I remarked, "you can
graduate at the first of your class."
She turned to me with a thought-
ful expression on her face and replied:
"I'm the first-born in this family, and
believe me, being first isn't all it's
cracked up to be. I got blamed for
every window ever broken because
I wasn't watching the others. I took
it on the chin for the snake in Dad's
sock drawer. I shouldered the blame
when a full-scale war broke out over
the ownership of a pencil when the
minister had come to visit. I wished
at times that I had been second or third
in line, because the others got sucked
up."
There was no snappy comeback
for that, because suddenly some pretty
memorable firsts crowded into my own
mind.
The early bird may get the worm,
but around here the early riser gets to
stoke the furnace with wood so every-
one else can rise and shine in comfor-
table temperatures.
There is fierce competition among
farmers on the line to see who will be
the first one on the land. The lucky
winner is also the first to get stuck to
the axles and has to S.O.S. for rein-
forcements.
Or take the lucky owner of the first
of anything new that's just arrived on
the marketplace. Being the first to
own such an item carries a price. A
"new and improved" model usually
follows after all the kinks have been
ironed out. Having a first may make
a dandy item for the bragging corner,
but the guy who waits for the im-
proved version gets full enjoyment
from his trouble-free acquisition.
Being first in a fight is not desir-
able for anyone with any smarts at all.
Whether you're the punchee or the
puncher, boasting through a fat lip
reduces the whole thing to the sand-
box level.
Giving a new recipe its first run,
especially for company, is always a
mistake, especially if you cook like
I do. If I don't have what the recipe
calls for, I substitute. How was 1 to
know that cayenne pepper, which
looks just like paprika, blows the
diner's brains out his ears when it
hits the taste buds?
And I always seem to be the first
to put a scratch on any new car. The
damage may hardly be visible, but the
rest of the family members carry on
as though I've brought the car back
home in a shopping cart. The next
person who drives the thing might
put the trunk into the back seat, but
he'll only be asked, "Me you all
right?"
The latest first in my life that
doesn't grease my cookie sheet is the
silver hair I discovered by my right
ear. I convinced myself it had to be
a trick of the light, then I contempla-
ted rushing out for a bottle of dye. I
ended up just yanking it out — a pre-
cautionary measure in case it attracts
others like it.
But undoubtedly there will be
others sneaking in there. Still, the
shock won't be nearly as great. After
all, it won't be the Errst!O
Gisele Ireland, from Bruce
County, began her series of
humorous columns with The
Rural Voice. Her most recent
book, Brace Yourself, is
available for $7 from Bumps
Books, Teeswater, NOG 2S0.