‘word,

By Joan Murphy -

The car hit black ice and
began to fishtail.

The road: was | narrow.

Mountain on one side, deep .

gorge on the other. The car
began to spin: and then
slowly skidded over the
edge.

I was thrown out and rolled
over and over down the
slope. Ice cold snow packed
into my head and fingers.
The world revolved in a grey
blurr. Hitting a- rock
stopped with a jerk. A large
figure slid by me. My father,
but where was Mum?

Suddenly ‘She
before my eyes. Her: arms

stretched out to me, her face’.

in agony. Her scream echoed
and rebounded off . the
mountains. Then—silence.

‘1 looked ‘down to the
bottom of the gorge. Like a
tiny doll my mother lay

spread-eagled on. the snow .

below. My mouth opened,

straining to scream, but
nothing came out. -I was
smothering.

My hands clawed at my
face and pushed . off...bed
covers. Sitting up quickly |
breathed a sigh. of relief.
Thank God, it. was only a
nightmare, but the scream
‘had been so real. 1 jumped

up and ran to my parents’
bedroom. Lo

“They were’ both asleep.
Shaking, ! moved -through
the darkened house. In ‘the
living room the silver Christ-
:mas tree was ‘lit by moon-
light. The ornaments, spark-
led and glittered like a fairy
tree, an icicle tree. Shiver-
ing. I crept back to bed.

Tomorrow we were to
travel from Penticton, our
home, to Vancouver where
we would join with our large
family clan
Christmas.

The kids’ would suck candy .

canes and whisper secret
_ plans. The women. would
compliment | .cach — others’
baked . goodies, and talk of ,

past’ holidays, while cigar
smoke curled up from the rec

room where , the | men played ~
table hockey.

1

~ After . “supper the” party
‘would begin, First.came the |
USS

-games—charades,
magic tricks. Then
‘those who could, play. would
pick up- their insturments—
guitars, hanjos,

dropped

to celebrate

_{rumpets. .

_and the dancing and singing
would start.

What a variety! Christmas
carols, folk songs, O Canada,
San Antonio. Rose, and old
Welsh hymns.Near midnight
the lights would be turned
low, and. by: the flickering
firelight we would tell ghost
Stories, and tales of Santa
Claus and his elves.

Then when the talk switch-
ed to politics and religion,
the kids would go to bed.
Dozing off. to the sound of
music and laughter,
smell of. oranges and wood
smoke drifting up their nose.

Sleep evaded me as past’

memories and ‘the vivid —
dream. clashed together cre- |”
ating a “kaleidoscope of.

images. |

The miorning’ came cold

and dreary. Our usual air of
excitment and anticipation
was missing as we packed up
the car. I crouched down in-
the back seat as my father
started the engine . and
backed down the driveway.
With a sudden shudder the
car stopped.

_ ‘What's the matter?’’ I
asked. ‘‘Flat tire,”’ said Dad.
Mum and I went back-into
the house while he changed
to the spare.

_ TJhe dream kept going
through my head. Trying to
speak jokingly. I said,
**Guess what a stupid, night-
mare I had last night."” My
mother's face went white as
she listened to my Story. —

“] had the same dream"
she said slowly. **Only it was

you who fell screaming down -

the cliff."’ When my father
came in he laughed and ‘said
there-was no reason to be

upset. Nothing would hap- ©

pen to us. ©

“Very reluctantly
mother and I got back into
vur old’ Ford. My stomach
churned as the snow crun-
ched under the tires. Slowly
the car inched down the

driveway. Then suddenly the -
lurched

back — left

corner
downwards.

~

father opened the door and
looked — back

spare had also gone: flat.

. So that Christmas. of 1965. ws
we ‘ended up by fying to 7

Mancouver..

the

my.

No word was spoken a as ; my a

towards the |
trunk. He ‘turned to: us and. °
with a quiet voice ‘said the. -{

Was it a warning? Would

we have had an accident if

- we had driven? The car and ©

spare tire had been checked
a few days previously and
there was nothing on the
driveway that would have
pierced the tires. Was ‘it a
premonition or —
dence? 2

- Now we, too, live in North

Vancouver and as -I stuff

myself with mince pies and
kiss under the mistletoe I say
a Christmas prayer for those
who must travel on icy

‘mountain roads.

DRINKING & DRIVING
DON'T MIX

a’ coinci- |

_ not just .

Fire Chief Bob McDonald
-of the District of | North
Vancouver Fire Department,
wishes one and all a Merry
Christmas anda Happy New
Year, with a plea to all

residents to take special care —

over the holiday season.

So often families have
their holiday festivities and
gaily decorated homes trans-
formed to a° charred and
blackened pile of debris as a
result of unintentional care-
lessness. This saddens all of
us, said the Chief, who offers
these suggestions for a fire
safe holiday ‘season.

1. After purchasing your
living tree, re-cut the butt
diagonally and stand it in
water until the time of
disposal. Check the water
level daily as the tree will

Bird watching.

cont. from p. 10.

This is the time when birds
need you the most. Wild bird
seed mixtures sold in pet
shops are generally quite
good. Put out suet | for

insect-eating birds such as
chickadees and woodpeck-

ers. Suet holders should be

made of plastic or some other

nonmetallic material. Birds.

have been known to stick to
cold metal suet. holders _by

their feet and die.

Studying and enjoying
_birds’ can be the most

fascinating activity of a.

lifetime, but remember that
birds: are ‘a part of our
- wildlife ‘heritage; all - birds,

naturalist, sportsman,
mer, ana poet alike.
As a. birder,

blems in wildlife conserva-

tion and. protection. Bird-

‘watchers have been accused
by some of apathy in ‘this

: regard. s so don’t fall into this

witha Nordic

Down Comforter |

GOOSEDOWN.

‘Nordic Down comforters are made on our own PREMISES.

We use only the FINEST FABRICS and the best PRIME
EXCELLENCE in. WORKMANSHIP and
DESIGN Is our pride. Low overhead coste enable us to offer .

. you ‘aur comforters at the BEST PRICES IN VANCOUVER

CALL FOR A.

_Mordic

“ FREE BROCHURE

ravens

THE TAIGA. WORKS.
3186 Granville/18ih
Closed Doc. 26 - Jan. 2

_kets:
equipment bearing approval ©

absorb large quantities while -

so-called. game. -
species. Birds are valuable to ©
far-

you will .
become conversant with pro-

firmly and keep it well away
from sources of heat. Never
place your tree in a position
that may block escape in case
of fire.

2. Every year Christmas

lighting should be checked
loose |

for frayed wires,
connections and broken soc-
‘Use only - lighting

labels of testing: authorities.

' Turn off all tree and other

indoor holiday lighting be-

fore retiring or leaving the
house.

3. Compressed sawdust
yule logs impregnated with
chemicals to provide multi-
colour flame are available on
the market. The manufac-
turers instructions on the
labels of these products

‘should be followed | _to the

category. Knowledge gained
in the field can help in the
protection of birds and their
habitats, but knowledge

must be applied to real
situations.

| Your

LOU CROSSIE |

980-6561 |

it is indoors. Support the tree

letter. Failure to follow these
instructions, may result in a
fire of much larger propor-
tions than the fireplace is
designed to accommodate.

4. Watch out for the

careless smoker, especially

_when alcohol is involved. Use .

large; deep ashtrays. |

5. Dispose of gift wrap-
pings properly and safely...
the fireplace is not a safe
place | to burn them.

6... Christmas
should be installed only in
non-combustible candle
holders.

“Know and value these
fire safety rules,”’

McDonald.. ‘‘Christmas is a.

time for happiness and no |

time to be heedless of fire
dangers.” *-

Once someone asked a -

well-known _paeleontologist

why he had -chosen his
particular profession. He

answered, ‘‘Because - it’s
fun.” That is bird-watching.

LOU cROssiE~-~---

holidays “personally

: arranged—especially for
‘Hawaii, Cruises & Charters.

‘130 WEST 15TH STREET
“NORTH VANCOUVER ..

ski

x-country

y ski holiday

.  tneludess

accommodation

all meals

cross country ski lessons
races & aki games

outdoor ‘skating
snowmobile tours
Gluehwine parly .
evening entertainment

total cost $1 08. 00 double
single occupancy $1 23. 00

“BENNO JAEGER’ S-
“X-Country Ski School

for information, phone»

"iL 1941 W. 4th Ave., Van |

t

Re tt ere ee Ens

738- 5911

'

1976 - North Shore News

candies"

Says |

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