My brother finished highschool two years after I did in the late 1960s and worked on a custom harvestingcrew for the next two summers. They would start in Oklahoma and Texas, then work their way north finishing the fall in the Swift Current area.
The Vietnam war was in full swing and young men were scarce on the ground. His boss said that if he could have put my brother in a cage and charged admission he'd have made more money than combining.
Being a gregarious sort, when it would rain and therefore was too wet to combine, my brother would find a place where young people congregated and hang out. Being a Canadian he was the object of some curiosity as I guess most had never seen a live one before. They would ask him questions about Canada. Now my brother was a bit naive and though they were just pulling his leg with the questions as he didn't think anyone could be that stupid. So not lacking imagination he answered in kind.
It was some years later it dawned on him that not only were the questions serious, they took his answers as the gospel truth. God help us all. I can only remember some of them.
Do you grow corn in Canada?
Yes, as much as you do here (Nebraska) but our season is so short we have to start it in green houses and then transplant it by hand.
Do you make silage?
Yes, we make it in pits and bunkers like you but also in tower silos. We take an old horse into the bottom of the silo and as it is filled, the horse walks round and round packing the silage. then when they get to the top, they shoot the horse and push it over the edge.
Do you have electricity in Canada?
In summer we don't need it because the days are long since we are so far north. We live out on our farms then. In winter we build our igloos around a power pole and run extension cords so we have light.
The Vietnam war was in full swing and young men were scarce on the ground. His boss said that if he could have put my brother in a cage and charged admission he'd have made more money than combining.
Being a gregarious sort, when it would rain and therefore was too wet to combine, my brother would find a place where young people congregated and hang out. Being a Canadian he was the object of some curiosity as I guess most had never seen a live one before. They would ask him questions about Canada. Now my brother was a bit naive and though they were just pulling his leg with the questions as he didn't think anyone could be that stupid. So not lacking imagination he answered in kind.
It was some years later it dawned on him that not only were the questions serious, they took his answers as the gospel truth. God help us all. I can only remember some of them.
Do you grow corn in Canada?
Yes, as much as you do here (Nebraska) but our season is so short we have to start it in green houses and then transplant it by hand.
Do you make silage?
Yes, we make it in pits and bunkers like you but also in tower silos. We take an old horse into the bottom of the silo and as it is filled, the horse walks round and round packing the silage. then when they get to the top, they shoot the horse and push it over the edge.
In summer we don't need it because the days are long since we are so far north. We live out on our farms then. In winter we build our igloos around a power pole and run extension cords so we have light.
Y'know, that explains a lot... ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt does but why?
DeleteLove those smart answers to some pretty dumb questions!
ReplyDeleteI guess we all took advantage of them. Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans was a classic example. Apparently Americans tried to do a reverse but it didn't work because we are not that uneducated. I cannot understand the American education system at all.
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