Daytripping Issue - Summer 2020

Lake Huron
The
Daytripper
Finally on to PARIS, ST. GEORGE, DUNDAS and BURLINGTON
SHOP
NY
LOCAL
Do Mice Go to Heaven?
By Maryleah Otto, Brampton
MI
ONTARIO
AN OLD FASHIONED DRY GOODS STORE
IN BUSINESS FOR OVER 150 YEARS
•Irish Linens • Tablecloths
• Kitchen/Bath Towels
• Placemats & Napkins
• Table Runners • Doilies
• Ladies White Cotton
Embroidered Nightgowns
100% Cotton Print Fabrics
for Quilts and Crafts
& So Much More
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
Large Variety of
Beach Towels
Duvet Covers, Sheets,
Pillows & Blankets
43 GRAND RIVER STREET
NORTH,
PARIS
519-442-4242 www.johnmhall.ca
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
In a
Plastic
Surgeon's
Office...
"Hello, can we
help pick
your nose?"
One summer, when my grandson
was just five years old, we had a mouse
in the cottage. Mice are often a problem
there because we do a lot of barbecuing
outside on the deck and thus the screen
door to the kitchen is being opened and
shut frequently, allowing access for the
field mice that live in the bushes. After a
fine steak dinner one evening, I noticed
a small grey-brown creature hopping
around in the living room, its beady
black eyes watching me carefully, its
whiskers twitching. A mouse!
Much as I hated to do it, I set a trap.
In retrospect, I’m sorry that I didn’t
have any live-traps, for that would
have been more humane, but all I had
were spring-traps. Letting mice take
up residence, and worse still, breed, in
the cottage is out of the question. So I
baited the trap with cheese and peanut
butter, and placed it carefully under the
sofa. At that moment, my five-year-old
grandson, Graeme, came into the room.
“What are you doing, Grandma?”
he asked. I explained to him about the
mouse. He looked at me thoughtfully,
shrugged, and went to bed.
The next morning, he asked
me if I had caught the mouse.
I said I had. “Where is it,
Grandma?” he asked.
I paused for a few moments
before telling him that the mouse
was in the garbage. He looked
at me with obvious disapproval.
“But Grandma!” he exclaimed,
“You can’t put it in the garbage!
We have to bury it! You know, like
they do when there’s a funeral at
church!” I hardly knew what to say. The
idea of retrieving the mouse and finding
a spot to inter it in the garden didn’t
really appeal to me but the look on my
small grandson’s face broke my heart.
“OK Graeme,” I said, “we’ll bury it in
the garden. You can choose the place
when you come home from school this
afternoon.”
At four o’clock, Graeme and I went
into the garden. “I think we should bury
the mouse in the rose bed,” he said, “so
then it can smell all the flowers.”
I didn’t want to point out the
inaccuracy of this assumption so I just
said, “Yes, the rose garden is a lovely
place.” I had put the mouse into a small
box and wrapped it carefully in gold foil
paper. Graeme held it while I dug a hole
with my trowel. When I was finished, I
saw that my grandson had removed the
mouse from the box and was holding it
gently in his hands.
“Why did you take the mouse out of
the box?” I asked.
Graeme looked up at me soberly.
“Well, I took the mouse out because
if we bury it just like this, without the
box, the roots of the rosebush will
cuddle it!”
As we covered the little creature
with soil, I felt tears welling up
in my eyes. Surely only a young
child would say something like
that! I hugged my grandson
close to me and held him tight.
“Yes, Graeme,” I said softly, “the
roots of the rose will cuddle the
mouse, and it will go to Heaven.
Thank-you for wanting to bury it.”
Robert Hall Originals
The
Visit our 2600 sq. ft.
Indoor Showroom!
OPEN ALL YEAR:
Tuesday-Friday 10-5, Saturday 10 to 4:30
Masks are required for indoor showroom
138 Sugar Maple Road, St. George, ON 1-800-360-2813
www.roberthalloriginals.com
Ontario’s Largest
Pewter Studio & Rock Shop!
Fun Event!
Rockhound Family Day
Saturday, August 15
WASHROOM FACILITIES AVAILABLE
Bus Tours & Group
Tours Welcome!
“The Wealthy Widow”
Jock, a 70 year old
extremely wealthy widower,
shows up at the Country
Club with a breathtakingly
beautiful and very sexy 25
year old who knocks
everyone’s socks off with
her youthful appeal and
outright charm while
hanging over Jock’s arm
and listening intently to his
every word. His buddies at
the club are all aghast.
They corner him and ask,
“Jock, How did you get the
trophy girlfriend?” He
replies, “Girlfriend? She’s my
wife!” They’re knocked over,
but continue to ask. “So, how
did you persuade her to
marry you?” Jock says, “I
lied about my age.” His
friends respond, “What do
you mean? Did you tell her
you were only 50?”
Jock smiles and says,
“No, I told her I was 90.”
Page 62
“You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” — Daranna Gidel
SUMMER 2020