The Rural Voice, 1989-03, Page 18FITZSIMMONs
Country PropertiesBROKER
HIGHWAY FARM — 200 acres, Bluevale area
Renovated 4•bedroom home. Large barn presently In
hogs. 140 acres of choice systematically tiled land.
Balance mixed bush about half hardwood. Only one
hour from Waterloo. An excellent cash crop or
livestock farm, available for spring planting.
CENTURY FARM — on county road. near Wingham.
Large double brick renovated home with stone
fireplace and 13 IX bedrooms. Pole drive shed 40' x 80'
with 40' x 24' heated, Insulated work shop. Large
dairy barn, milk house, slab silo. Call today.
33 ACRES — Recreatlon land. Seven acres dear
provides an uncrowded building site In a quiet country
setting on main county road. Balance Is mixed
woodlot.
HIGHWAY HOBBY/HORSE FARM — 50 acres close
to Wingham Excellent fully remodelled brick home.
Country kitchen wfth cherry cupboards, all appliances
and large dining area. New oil furnace and recently
roofed. Two car garage plus heated workshop. Land
seeded In 1987 for horse forage. Bank barn. Nicely
landscaped setting and many more important
features.
Keith Fitzsimmons
Real Estate
199A Josephine St., Wingham, Ont.
519-357-1117
Brian McBurney, Sales Rep.
R.R. 1, Wingham, Ont.
Kai! 519-335-3761 0,.3
AVOID
COSTLY
DOWNTIME
Overhaul and Repair
Your Equipment Now
Now is the time to check for
frayed hoses, leaking or
damaged cylinders — be ready
for the busy planting season.
Hydraulic Jack repairs
Fast reliable
convenient
repair service
itals
foment
Listowel
519-291-2280
an24swt Supply company
16 THE RURAL VOICE
OH WHAT FUN
IT IS TO RIDE
Just when you think you've
sampled everything life has to offer,
along comes something that forces
you to reconsider.
Super Wrench decided that my
Sundays were boring, and suggested
he'd take me for a snowmobile ride. I
don't know who was more surprised,
he or I, when I answered positively.
The last time I'd been anywhere near
one of those monsters was 20 years
ago. I had been thrown over the head
of the driver, headlong into a drift.
Back in the olden days, we didn't have
those suits of armour. I wore a pair of
slacks and a jacket. My slacks ripped
from crotch to knee, both sides. They
still talk about the cloud of steam that
mushroomed over the site.
But there I was, zipped into a suit
which made me sweat. The helmet
made me feel as if I was meeting
Darth Vader in combat, and the un-
holy gleam in Super Wrench's eyes
made me feel uneasy.
The machine's seat is not that big.
It's even smaller when Pork Chop One
and Pork Chop Two arc covering it.
Super Wrench, admittedly, took it
gradually. He didn't want me wetting
myself too early in the ride.
The trail ran over hill and dale,
and into the odd canyon. Going up
the first hill, I held my breath. On the
second one, I screamed curses at the
suicidal maniac who had mapped it
out on the trail. When we began
climbing the third, I broke the sound
barrier when I screamed. In case
Super Wrench hadn't got the message,
I beat him about the head and
shoulders, demanding that he stop.
I slid and crawled down that hill
while Super Wrench's laughter rang
through the woods. The last time I
was that scared was getting into a
bathtub right after watching Jaws.
The best part of the snowmobile
run was stopping at the clubhouse. I
suspect this is true for a lot of people,
judging from the crowd. Here they
josh each other about performance:
"Do you want me to heat up a little
milk so you can get it started?" the
owner of one machine was asked.
They had to pry my fingers from
the chair seat to send me back to that
thing. Super Wrench must have fig-
ured I hadn't had enough excitement
because I could still walk unaided. He
tried to fix that shortly before we got
home. The drop was long and hard,
and I swear I felt my spleen at the
back of my throat when I went up.
When I came down, there was nothing
under me. Then the machine clogged
up and stalled and all Super Wrench
could do was yell, "Why didn't you
lean when I leaned?"
"It's simple, you maniac," I
replied. "I wasn't sitting on anything
to lean on."
The machine would neither start
nor move out of the rut. When finally
we got a bit of life, I was instructed to
keep my hands on the gas until it had
worked itself out. Super Wrench was
pushing. Soon that was no longer the
case. The machine was heaving
along, dragging me on my belly as I
still worked the gas, Super Wrench in
chase.
When we got everything back
together I decided to walk the rest of
the way. I told Super Wrench exactly
what I thought about his idea of Sun-
day sport and cast a few aspersions on
his sanity. I did this in a high decibel
range all the way up the lane.
When we got in the house, the kids
could hardly contain their laughter.
"Had a nice time, did you?" they
asked. I couldn't begin to describe my
delight, so I didn't bother. It made the
rest of Sunday interesting: frosty
silence.0
Gisele Ireland's latest book, Brace
Yourself, is available for $7 from
Bumps Books, Teeswater, NOG 2S0.