Page 20 - A Talk with Donald Johnny Murdock: The Blind Man's Seventh Son

ISSUE : Issue 68

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1995/6/1

there?!!" Nobody answered. My father turned around, ran down the road as hard as he could, in the gate, up to the house, and in the door! Laughter. And do you know why? He thought it was a bull. Sandy Mur? dock must have had bulls around. Well, that was my father. My father got sick. Times were tough, times were hard. My father took a stroke, and he was in a wheelchair for four years. It was at this time that we were growing Left: Working at the lumber camp at Mount Young, halfway between Mabou and Brook Village. Marked with X's, left to right: Bob Charlie MacDonald, Donald Johnny Murdock MacDonald, Johnny O'Brien, & Johnny Basker. Below: Blocking firewood at Sandy Mur- dock's, Rocky Ridge Road. Left to right: Donald Johnny Murdock, Rory R. (Rory An? gus) MacDonald, and Bennie Truman. up, we were about three or ' four years old, some of us ' were older. We used to make a lot of noise in the house, running. He couldn't see us, he couldn't catch us, and we knew this of course, or at least we thought we knew. So one day we were making a racket, and he was sitting by the door, and we were running from the living room to the kitchen--oh, going by him as hard as we could go. He couldn't see us, and he couldn't catch us, but this time he must have been thinking, "I'm go? ing to get 'em." He was ready when he heard us coming, and he swung his arm, and got me right in the side of the head! Laughter. I almost got knocked out, and that stopped that noise. He was sick for four years. Before he died, Fr. MacPherson came out to see him. Fr. Mac? Pherson asked him. "Do you want to see your family before you die?" He said yes. Fr. MacPherson told everybody to gather around. Angus Rankin (a neighbour) was wanted in the room at the time, Angus Rankin from the Rocky Ridge (Road). When everyone gathered in, I guess, a strange feeling came over them all, and my father looked at us, looked at my mother, he had never seen any of us before, because he was blind when he got married. He saw his wife, my mother, and all the kids. As he looked down the line, he stopped at Angus, and he said, "Doesn't he look like a girl?" He kept on, and after that he died. I've always known that he had THURSDAY 7:00 PM Simulcast from Truro Raceway SATURDAY 8:30 PM Simulcast from Mohawk Raceway SUNDAY 1:30 PM Simulcast from Truro Raceway 7:30 PM Simulcast from Mohawk Raceway LIVE RACING EVERY SATURDAY at 1:30 PM PHONE FOR RACING TIMES 564-8465 l!M;HIJ.'{J; • ?IHM be a part of the _.''__ Feel the Excitement... ACTION ' df antral 3'cimt 84 Main St. • Sydney Mines 736-8701 pGeorge Francis • 736-6382 Bob Francis • 736-3419 "Four Generations of Service " ji N0.1 IN HOME HEATING • State of tlie art tieating equipment • Trained heating tectinicians • Largest Fleet of Home Heating delivery • Ways to save you money • Budget Payment Plan • FREE Furnace Efficiency Tests IN SYDNEY CALL: STEVE BLUNDON | IRVING 567-3000

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