It is almost December and winter has arrived in a flurry of white. Its arrival seems to have surprised everyone even though it comes every year without fail. Oh sure, there was talk around the table of the tire changing from"All Season" to "Winter". (I think that the term "All Season" should be changed to "Three Season" to be fair with the advertising.) Some people started wearing their winter parkas and boots. My husband had already bought the bird seed and filled the feeders. The geese were flying overhead daily, looking uncertain about whether they should stay or go south. The human Snowbirds all left for their southern hot spots. We all knew it was coming; we just were not ready to welcome it.
As I sit and gaze onto the back yard and see the heaps of snow I realize that some things never change. Despite all the talk of global warming, winter comes in the same fashion every year. Every year we complain about it but manage to struggle through it. I do realize that life has gotten easier in this modern day as compared to when I was a child. Nowadays, most of our vehicles that we drive come equipped with heaters.
Winter travel was limited to us, but we did go places. Someone would go to the small store a few miles aways to buy the things that we did not grow on the farm. We would visit nearby neighbours. My brothers and my father would go to the bush camp to cut lumber. When the winter got especially nippy we would get a ride to school. What did we travel in? We used a variety of sleigh vehicles. Anyway, I digress. What I am saying is life was like this for all our northern Manitoba neighbours.
However, there was something I did not know about our area. I was very surprised when I was sent a news clip about an old neighbour who just came forward to report that he had an encounter with a Sasquatch in his late teens, circa 1960. When I listened to his interview on a radio station, it was like he was talking about my family. Except, of course, for the sighting of the Sasquatch.
He was visiting his family after being away from the farm for a year while attending school. They were low on firewood so his job was to go 3 or 4 miles into the bush to get some. He hitched up the team of horses and off he went. What I found amusing and interesting is that he says his mother insisted he take a rifle (303) and a bundle of hay for the horses. It was while he cutting up some downfall that he looked up to see a creature watching him. He says it was female Sasquatch. There was no animosity and the horses were okay with the visitor although they may not have noticed it. He continued to load up the firewood and upon returning home, drew a rough sketch of the creature. He shared this sighting with no one other than his mother. He says his mother was a well read woman who knew about these creatures.
So 50 years later he comes forward with his story and his drawing. Both the drawing and the story were a little sketchy. The radio guys interviewed him but I was sure I could detect a little humor in their tones. They gave the guy his 15 seconds of fame. Not bad for a small town boy from a small town in northern Manitoba.
His story seemed unbelievable and I don't know why he decided to share it in his golden years. What I found most interesting about his interview was not that he saw a Sasquatch, but that he had such admiration and respect for his mother. She seemed tohave been such an prominent person in his life. I hope she knew how much he respected her.
