Cornwall Ontario – Homemade popcorn, candies, cookies sometimes in little paper bags or wrapped in paper napkins tied at the top were big treats for us as kids on Halloween. We got little bags of potato chips and even the odd nickel.
Many moons ago now we carried pillowcases or shopping bags to hold all our goodies. Sometimes we got apples, some Kiss Candies and shelled peanuts. …. Couldn’t give these things out today though.
My Mom always made fudge and the kids loved it. Her chocolate fudge was “to die for”. I lived on Fourth Street between Augustus and York and you would see two streams of kids on both sides of the street. Everyone knew each other and who the little ghosts and goblins were. It was like that on many streets in Cornwall.
One of my older brothers was always with my younger siblings and me. Smaller kids were often with a parent. Some of the kids dressed up in a big white sheet to be a spooky little ghost, some like a cowboy, and any other costume we could put together. We had the black Lone Ranger masks mostly.
One year I was a gypsy. One of my Mom’s friends loaned us a pair of big dangling earrings for me to wear which I didn’t like one bit. Too gaudy for me as a kid but I wore them anyway. A costume was a costume.
Lots of fun in those days trick or treating although no one thought much about the tricking. One time a little boy and his sister were asked what was the name of Roy Roger’s horse and they didn’t know it. The little boy apparently started to cry because he thought he wouldn’t get any candy. Poor kid. The adult giving out the candy felt terrible and made sure the little guy got a lot of goodies.
Those were the days!!
When you go into the Family Corner Restaurant at 9th. and Pitt Streets don’t go alone if you are the least bit skittish. There is a sinister big ugly ghoul and lots of creepy crawlers in the entrance way. And there is also an eerie looking hillbilly skeleton playing the banjo among cob webs and spiders. It gets spookier when you go in. You are greeted by a big hag of a witch, dressed in black like the Wicked Witch of the West out of the Wizard of Oz movie. But she appears friendly offering you some candy. Around the room are many strange witches, cobwebs, spiders, ghosts, bats and other weird little creatures. The tablecloths have designs of cobwebs and spiders and even some red gooey looking stuff. It is creepy!! I could hardly eat my lunch.
This time last year, these two charming waitresses at the restaurant were trying to” chat up” an awful looking creepy ghoul for dates. I tried to tell them that they could get dates nicer looking than him. They were so happy to get my advice and did move on. Thank heavens!!
In this photo from left to right this year Mary Lafave and Tammy DeMontigny are befriending the ugly old witch. I don’t blame them – she has the candy. They are taking a much deserved break and getting a treat of her goodies. Both waitresses are very helpful, pleasant and a big asset to the restaurant.
Henry and his staff did a great job of decorating for Halloween and giving us all a lot of fun. Kudos.
The 71st. Annual AA conference with Al-Anon participation will take place Friday and Saturday Nov. 9th and 10th. 2018 at the Ramada Inn Conference Centre. Registration is opened at 5pm. Friday.
For AA information please call Claude P. at 613-362-7513 or email at cornwallaaconference@yahoo.com. Ottawa contact is John W. at 613-746-7156. For Al-Anon information call 613-937-4880.
What if OHIP paid for life lines for low income seniors and the monthly fee was lowered?? A lot more seniors could have them and lives could be saved. It would be a win- win situation with less health care dollars going to treatment which was delayed because of no life line and less hardship for the patient when getting help quickly is really important.
I always remember a lady I knew who was on the floor for four days laying on one of her arms. Friends had called but just thought that she was out. On the 4th day help finally arrived but she died. Only one of many stories of someone lying on the floor or in other terrible circumstances waiting for help for days sometimes. Some of the new lifelines have fall detection and tracers which tells the responders where the patient is as well as having two way voice systems.
A friend has one. She ordered it over the phone and it was delivered to her house. She paid for the device and now pays a monthly fee. All she had to do was activate it. She says that it has no wires but responders can detect where she is and if she falls and she can talk to them. She wears the life line pendant around her neck and is so relieved to have it wherever she is, out shopping, driving on the highway or in her back yard because she knows that if she needs help, it will be there for her.
In a previous column I had written about having seniors apartment buildings wired for life lines, thinking that if we can send people to the moon and space lab, it could be done. It could be another win-win situation for the seniors and the Security Company doing it and life line companies. The monthly charge could be less individually and that is money the security systems and or life line companies are not getting now from people who don’t have lifelines. Any other suggestions out there to help our low income seniors get lifelines??
Talking the other day about some of the stories in the books, “Chicken Soup for the Soul” with some friends, I told them about an incident that happened to me one day driving on a two lane road in the country. I was in the eastbound lane and on my right was a farm with cows in the field. I was nearing an upcoming curve and started to slow down. I could see in the distance in the west bound lane, also approaching the curve, a man driving a tractor with a load of hay in a trailer at the back, two cars slowly driving behind him and that a large black truck had just arrived behind the other three vehicles. Suddenly the black truck pulled out to pass the three vehicles. I knew instantly somehow that there wasn’t enough time for him to do that and that he would hit my car, causing a four vehicle pileup. Maybe he didn’t see me approaching before he pulled out. Luckily there wasn’t any car behind me. An odd wave of calm came over me as I moved my car to the shoulder, suddenly feeling as if I wasn’t driving the car, as if I was just there, somehow.I don’t think it was shock because I was not numb and was fully aware of what I was doing, just calm and almost peaceful. I just missed a mailbox on a big wooden post, drove all along the curve on the shoulder passing the cows in the field as the black truck whizzed by me, most of his car in my lane. It was over. The very odd overwhelming feeling that I hadn’t driven the car remained with me. I manoeuvred my car slowly back onto my lane, wondering how the people in the other three vehicles were feeling watching this incident play out. Gradually I was feeling back to normal. I had just somehow managed to survive a near very bad accident. But I had this odd realization that came to me again, that I hadn’t been driving the car. I believe to this day, every time I think about it, that it was an Angel who took over the wheel that day, saving all of us from a disaster. I am very grateful.
In this photo of the chipmunk on a lady’s lap (Pat Marchand), he is eating a shelled peanut out of her hand. His nick name is “Peewee” and he is loved by everybody who sees him. He puts a peanut in one cheek securely, then another nut in the other cheek and then one in the front of his mouth and takes off with the 3 peanuts going 90 miles an hour. He is gone!! When he stands up on his back legs his tummy and front legs are all white and he looks like he is wearing a pair of white overalls. He is so adorable. Cute as a button.
Photo courtesy of Bob Katz
Tiger loves his old brown cushion. It came with a little pet house I bought for him some years ago. It may be a little hard to see clearly because Tiger has brown streaks and the pillow is brown. When he is not cuddling up to my arm or on his cushiony little white bed, he takes half of my bed stretched out with his little pussy cat head on the brown pillow and sleeps on it for hours.
If I get into bed and he stays on his brown pillow, he will stretch out full length so that one of his back paws is lying on my arm. Content as only a pussy cat can be. What a little sweetie. When I call him my ‘sweet sweet love’, he purrs away. Big Baby, eh? Just a little old darling. So grateful to have him.
Here is a cute old joke from The Funny Farm:
Two farmers were in a barn sampling the local moonshine.
After awhile, one farmer said to the other, “You better not drink anymore.”
The other farmer asked why not.
The first farmer replied,” I can hardly see you. You’re getting so fuzzy.”
Have a good week and Happy Halloween, Dawn
Tiger is very cute. Tiger reminds me a little of myself knowing where it is comfortable to go and lay down. If only I can sleep most of the day. I am so busy around here and tomorrow back to the dentist for hubby and myself. I should see how the dentist is knitting up little dog sweaters for his small pouddle. I teased him about him cutting the dog’s fur at winter time instead of the summer.