Page 25 - With Ella Smith and Joanne Donovan

ISSUE : Issue 52

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1989/8/1

never heard of it. But my father--! was telling you about him. He always slept with his Bible under his pillow, so he wouldn't have nightmares or bad dreams or anything. And if he was drinking or any? thing, no matter what happened, he'd get down on his knees and he said his prayers. And he was staying here, up at Jim's--I guess it was before Mom and Dad were mar? ried. I know it was the story that they told me about. And he came home, and he was drunk, and he tried to get in bed without (the lady of the house) seeing him. So he went up to bed, and he said his prayers, and he took the Bible off the nightstand to put it under his pillow. It was in her boys' room, eh? And I guess when she got up to make the bed the next day, when she lifted up his pillow--it was Seven Days in a Whorehouse. (That was the book?) It was a bad book that her son had had. And Dad had it underneath this pillow, for the Bible-- that's how drunk he was. He always slept with his Bible under his pillow. So did Mom. I don't know why. Mom always did. They always did that, to say you have good dreams--if you do dream--or stop nightmares. That was faith--he really believed that. Dad. And Mom--God, when my mom died her Bible was the most dog-eared thing you ever saw. (Spent a lot of time under her pillow.) Oh, and everything--pieces written into it--little things, slips of paper, there were things written onto it. There were a couple of things she had. My God, they were beautiful. I don't know where she got them. Out of old magazines, papers, you know. I don't know where they came from. Some of them I had never ever seen before. Sydney VI -y 562-0421 VINYL REPLACEMENT WINDOWS ... for renovation or new home construction WE OFFER... * Low prices * 10-year workmanship warranty * 20-year guarantee on windows * Retail sales and installation VISIT OUR NEW SHOWROOM at 93 JOHNSTONE ST. (off Pitt, by Master Meats) - HOURS - 9:00 - 5:00 Monday through Saturday 562-0421 after hours 562-7268 Our Specialty IS Windows! ' (We were talking about getting some warn? ing, or some message that things might happen, before they happen.) ... Like my grandfather's death, I know I wrote that down. (Before it happened.) Oh, I wrote that out months before, just to prove a point--even the date--that's the date it happened. They were sitting up one night waiting for him to die. I said, "He's not going to die yet"--I know it was sometime in April--"'cause I just wrote it down." And that's when he died. So I thought, well this can't be all crazy. That, to me, it was just like--a flash, you know. It's strange when it happens, though--it's just a flash. It's just a split second, you can see so much some? times. (And you trust it. That's the other thing. You trust it, you believe it's really a message to you.) Well, when you see it, and you know.... One time I used to tell it. Freddie (Ella's husband), one time, I told him about his father. Nobody knew he was sick--he wasn't sick. And he was going away to work. We were just playing cards. And we were play? ing for a couple of hours, and we had com? pany in. He was at one end of the table and I was at the other, and I said, "Look," I said, "I think you should quit playing cards." This was about 11 o'clock at night. I said, "Go up and see your father." I said, "This might be the last time you'll ever see him like he is." He said, "What do you mean?" "Your father's going to die." NO SQUAWK POLICY While others tend to squawk when you demand the best, we take pride in keeping you satisfied with FREE DELIVERY, GREAT SERVICE, and GUARAN? TEED LOWEST PRICES. FREE HOME DELIVERY PRICE PROTECTION POLICY FULL MANUFACTURERS* WARRANTIES 100% EXCHANGE POLICY IF YOU'RE NOT SATISFIED BEFORE YOU BUY ANYPLACE ELSE, BRING THAT GREAT PRICE TO KRAZY KRAZY WE'LL BEAT ITl > • r'! r?'' 480 Grand Lake Rd. SYDNEY 562-8887 25

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