Of Mice and Men…and da Rabbits!
Pat Fule
Fule for Thought
One of my favourite novels to teach is Of Mice and Men. That book deals with the loneliness of two guys travelling and working together in Depression Era California. The big guy has the mind of a child, and only wants to “tend da rabbits.”
Now that I look back on my childhood, I have come to the realization that I too, was poor. Not really dirt poor, but 1960’s mining town kind of poor. In 1964 we moved from a mine “company house” to a small 1000 square foot. Nelson package my dad built. If you can remember being a kid in the 60’s, then you’ll maybe remember the “excitement” of Friday after schools when you got set fire to the week’s garbage in the old burning barrel. Safe emissions…burning plastic…papers…cardboard…we were gloriously oblivious to any of these environmental concerns! In fact, as far as burning things go, my earliest memory is being in the backyard of my crazy Hungarian uncle (moonshiner), as we were sent in to the house suddenly, because his family’s pig had to be shot and butchered! My job (at four) was to take one of the butane blowtorches and burn all the hair off dead “Porky.”
I had never smelled burning hair and flesh…it was not a good combination, so I know I bailed very quickly!
When we did move to “Townside” (other side of the river from Mineside…I know, pretty simple, eh?) we had a new and bigger house…and PIGEONS! Now my dad was not a “pet guy” when I was a kid. Animals had to have a purpose, and I vaguely recall having pigeons in the upper part of our detached garage. Why we had pigeons, I never really considered, until I looked at old photos lately. I have come to the belief that the pigeons may have been a food source! Now both my parents are deceased, so I can’t do any checking, but I’m afraid the “chicken” we had a lot…may have been a whole different kind of bird!
We also kept rabbits, and my job was to feed them in their pens. This was always a wee bit terrifying for me, because these rabbits were not all friendly. In fact, we had what I think was a “snowshoe hare.”
This rabbit was a light brown in the summer, and then he “whitened” by winter. In the dark of early winter evenings, I dreaded going to feed him. With all the white snow around, the dark cage, his red eyes glaring…I hated feeding him. He would lie and wait…deep in the dark corner of his pen, and he would thump his back foot. All I could ever see were those creepy, red eyes! My normal strategy was: open the door a crack, whip in a big chunk of lettuce and carrots … slam the door as he scurried toward me, and then lock him in. I, like Lennie in Of Mice and Men, got to “tend da rabbits” and it scared the crap out of me! Now, remember what I said about my dad and his idea of pets. I’ve always wondered about those rabbits, and my biggest worry, is that they too, were not necessarily pets, but possibly dinner items! You don’t think the pig, the pigeons, and the rabbits could all be linked by a common thing, do you? It’s no wonder that I’m one of the world’s worst pet owners…I mean Deb and I lost so many fish from our aquarium, that at pet shops, if fish saw the Fules coming, they’d also hide in the corners, not wanting to be bought!
As part of a “simpler time,” my dad always took me with him when he’d visit his mine pals. That’s when I saw what I still think is the world’s worst drink concoction. My dad’s mine partner was an old guy named Archie, and we went to visit him one Saturday. I guess Archie had a cold (or that’s what they told kids when they drank!) so he got out some rye whisky. He poured himself what I thought was a lot of alcohol. Then he took a big scoop of Vicks Vapor Rub with his hand and splatted it into the glass, too! I’ve never seen anyone since then do that, and the image and smell of the rye and vapour rub mixed and drank is still something I distinctly remember. It may also be why Archie didn’t live as long as he wanted!
Growing up in Canmore in the 60’s and 70’s was (like other Alberta towns) much simpler than today. You found basic ways to entertain you and things like pets often had to have a purpose. I never did find out about the pigeons, rabbits, or pig, but I have a sinking feeling these animals weren’t just pets…they were on the Fules’ menu!
(“Fule for Thought” is a slice of life humourous column that appears in the Strathmore Times, written by long-time resident, town councillor, high school teacher, coach, husband and father of two – Pat Fule. If you would like to get in touch with Pat, you can send him an e-mail at Pat.fule@shaw.ca)