This arrived by mail the other day which immediately caught my attention because very, very few people actually send mail anymore. It was addressed:
Ol’-what’s-his-name
c/o Campbell River Mirror
Campbell River (where else would the Mirror be???), B.C.
The name on the back read:
B.L. Mike
Spar Pole, Downtown,
Campbell River, B.C.
Inside was a letter for fans of Big Logger Mike:
I face the sea for a reason, you know, cause that’s where the big winds come from. This way I can see what’s comin’ at me!
For instance, just the other day during that lil’ blow, I ducked two flying fir trees, four old election signs and a flock of wind-blown Canada geese. Heck, if was lookin’ the other way, I’d be getting beaned constantly in the back of the melon!
Don’t think this ol’ helmet could stand up to such a beatin’ and it’s not like the city is going to buy me a new one either. Nope.
My point is, when the wind blows you have to face that storm head-on. And I’m not just speakin’ about wind storms, you hear me? The way I see it though, it doesn’t seem many folks do know that anymore. And so, this ol’ feller is going to tell ya.
You see, when I was just a wee feller my Ma and Pa didn’t have much back in that ol’ logging camp. Oh, they had the things that were important: a solid roof over our heads, food on the table, a yard to play in, and a lot of good books which Ma read to us every night before bed.
We didn’t have TVs or cable, no video games, no computers or idiotic handheld devices, heck, we didn’t even have a phone. But you know what, we were never bored. We made our own fun and there was always somethin’ to do. And if you stood around trying to do nothin’, Ma and Pa always found somethin’, usually work, for you to do.
And it wasn’t like we were broke or didn’t have any money. Times were pretty good compared to when Ma and Pa were kids. You see, they lived through the Great Depression when folks really had nothin’.
They learned to use every little thing they had and never wasted a dime, not even a nickel, on frivolous junk. When they raised me, they taught me to work for my money, save it and then buy what I needed…in cash cause there were no stupid credit cards. That’s what got me my first jalopy, which got me my first gal and she became my wife. Not bad, eh. But I’m getting side-tracked. The point is, when you don’t have a pot to do your business in, you don’t go out buying fancy clothes when your kids are starving.
You also don’t go raiding city hall’s piggy banks – which are there to save for stuff you’re really going to need in a few years – in order to make up for a short-term shortfall. And when you’re working for someone, and you know they don’t have any more money, you don’t ask for some fool raise! So, what I’m really trying tell all you good folks is, if you need to spend, spend more time with your kids, rather than spending money that you don’t have on everything else.
Your’s truly,
Big Logger Mike,
the yeller fella on the pole
