The Blind Mechanic by Marilyn Davidson Elliott

Author:Marilyn Davidson Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nimbus
Published: 2018-11-09T18:05:08+00:00

Family Life

Dad was an excellent skater and skating was a sport that he thoroughly enjoyed from the time he was a youngster. So in the winter, he often took us skating on Chocolate Lake, which is near the Armdale Rotary in Halifax, or to Papermill Lake, which is off the Hammonds Plains Road in Bedford. We only went skating when Dad knew for sure that the ice was frozen thick and solid. He found out ice conditions by asking his friends who were familiar with the lakes or by listening to ice-condition reports on the radio.

We skated at Papermill Lake more often than anywhere else. We travelled by the Acadia Lines bus to Bedford and walked up the Hammonds Plains Road to the lake. It was just a short walk. Dad laced up and tied my skates for me. When he had his skates on, he took my hand and we skated together around the lake. There was rarely anyone else skating when we were there so Dad would open up and skate freely without fear of bumping into anyone. He often took us to Papermill Lake in the summer to swim too.

Whether it was winter skating or summer swimming at Papermill, no trip with Dad would be complete without a treat. Conveniently, there was a corner store on the Bedford Highway at the bottom of the Plains Road where we waited for the bus back to Halifax, and Dad always bought us a treat for the bus ride home.

The Bill Lynch fairs on the Halifax Commons were always fun for me and my brothers. How excited we got when the fair came to town. Dad took us to the fair each summer when we were little ones and our favourite ride was the ferris wheel. Dad didn’t care for amusement park rides so we rode alone. As we neared the bottom on each revolution of the ferris wheel, we would holler out, “Hi, Daddy,” and when he heard us, he shouted back or waved his hand. He let us play the midway games as well and I still remember winning a kewpie doll there. The carnies chatted away to Dad and I used to think that they knew him from his work but really they were just being sociable. They were charitable to us too, and we often got a few free rides or a few free games. When I think about the noise of the rides—the loud amusement-park music, people screaming, and the general commotion of the fair—it must have been unnerving for Dad. Especially as he stood by rides, listening for our voices when the ride finished. But he took us to the fair each year because he wanted us to be happy and he wanted to do things with us like other fathers did with their children. If there was a way, he had the will.

My father took me to my first movie at the theatre to see Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmations. It was at the old Paramount Theatre on Barrington Street and it was just the two of us.

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