Page 60 - Donald Ross - A Poet in Baddeck

ISSUE : Issue 66

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1994/6/1

Donald; And there was another dandy one that he's got there. He was out to Middle River around 1922 or '23. And there was an old fellow bought a Tin Lizzie. And the salesman came and sold him. So the sales? man took him out a couple of times, and finally he decided he could handle it him? self. And then he sent word around the community that he was going to take the car out the next morning. And they all gathered there. And if you'd give the de? scription! He put his foot on reverse and he backed out across the yard. He got her in forward gear. And I think he went through a pen with a bunch of calves. And he killed 3 or 4 chickens--the cloud of feathers. But he hit the clothesline in the middle. And it gave away on both posts. He went across a plowed field with the wash hanging out! He's got that one-- oh, that's a dandy one. (Donald, you never wrote one to George Bart- lett? George and Isabel Bartlett had a con? venience store in Baddeck.) Gosh, I started one about George when he had the long hair, and I never finished. He told me to write one about him. He was quite a character, George. I missed him, when he died. (But you know, you should still write your poem to George. People are liable to forget him. I was thinking of running some of his ads again in the magazine. He had that one: "Famous for nothing.") He had another famous saying: "All the women in Baddeck comes to George to get bread!" Laughter. Oh, he was just one of a kind. George Bartlett We swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We had a lot of fun, you know, when we'd gather for choir practices. There was one fellow complaining, you know, about the notes. He said, "I have trouble," he said, "getting up to that G." And another fellow said, "Yeah, well, I have trouble get? ting up to that D." George said, "I have trouble," he said, "getting up to pee!" Our Sen/ice Bay Diagnostic System always tells the truth. SBDS hooks right up to your vehicle so that you and your mechanic both know exactly what's wrong. Quickly and accurately. SBDS also provides a detailed print-out of the problem. So all you find on your bill is the truth. d Diasnos-ric: s>=(srrem* But the truth doesn't have to hurt. WE SERVICE ANY FORD OR MERCURY CAR OR TRUCK. AND WE DO IT FASTER THAN ANYONE! WE MADE THIS $40,000.00 INVESTMENT SO THAT WE CAN FIX IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. WE HAVE A FLEET OF 12 LOAN VEHICLES THAT YOU CAN RESERVE FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. PLAZA LINCOLN MERCURY SALES LTD. 33 TERMINAL ROAD SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA 567-1616 (Donald, how did you lose your hand?) Threshing ma? chine. (How old were you?) Twenty-four. I went over to help a neighbour. And I was never around a threshing machine. And there's a big drum with spikes on it, and you feed that in. And the fellow reached his hand in and pulled. And he told me, he said, "If it gets stuck like that," he said, "reach your hand in," he said, "and pull the stuff." And I had a big mitt on. (Other? wise) I suppose, probably, I could have felt it. But boy, it caught me there and it tore it right--they were dangling down--my fingers were dangling down. It was just ripped--from there, you know. (The wrist.) It was just hanging down. It wasn't torn off, it was shredded. It was just hanging--the fingers were down. (You knew it was pretty serious.) Oh, I knew it then. And I loved play? ing the guitar. And that's

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