Thursday, March 21, 2024

The Thursday Ramble: Canada Geese


Sharon over at Phoenix Daily Photo posted the other day about Canada Geese nesting in her neighborhood, it reminded me of a story from back in my homebuilding days. 

I had built two homes side by side for the same family.  Dr. and Dr. lived in the larger one, Docs parents and two college age children/grandchildren lived in the other one.  Doc's parents were not from around here, didn't speak a word of English and still had a lot of "the old country" in them.  They had a spectacular garden and shared vegetables with the neighbors.  The houses backed up onto a 10 acre man made lake. 

I got a call in the office one day, Grandma had been duck hunting around the lake, with a 22 rifle.  She is a very good and careful shot. As Doc explained, ammunition was expensive and Mom didn't want to mess up the bird.  Doc explained to Mom, that she couldn't shoot guns in a built up area, I think she took the guns away and locked them in a closet in the big house.  

A week or so later, I get another phone call from the neighbors.  Grandma is duck hunting again, with a 9 iron, a golf club.  I talked with the police, and the game warden, it was in season, she had a permit, she was not breaking any laws.  Doc shrugged her shoulders and said, "you can take the person out of the old country, but you can't take the old country out of the person."  I was told that the duck dumplings were amazing. 

I remember when I met Dr. and Dr.  I made the mistake of referring to them as Dr. and Mrs., and was corrected that it was Dr. and Dr.. She paid cash for both houses.  I never made this mistake a second time.  

14 comments:

  1. Sounds like a character from the series Ozark.

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    1. Mom was from the South Pacific

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  2. Hunting with a 9 iron?!?!?!?! See....theres hope for trump yet to get hunted!!!!!!! I went there.

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    1. If I were the judge, the first thing I would seize and sell at auction, is his golf courses, hit him where it hurts.

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  3. Dear Jeebus. I'd be terrified of her with a gun hunting ducks, but with a golf club, I'd be even more worried.

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    1. Beware of bent over ladies with weapons of any kind.

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  4. Gotta love those feisty grandmas! My niece is a doctor, her husband is not. There is a protocol for addressing formal invitations when the woman holds a title other than Mrs. Sometimes that messes with the computer program if your'e having the envelopes printed as I found out when my first child got married but it wasn't a problem when the second and third were married.

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    1. And she did not like being addressed by her first name, it was Doctor.

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  5. Paid cash for both houses -- yowza!

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    1. The Drs actually lived 200 miles away, these were second homes so that their kids could attend the University of Central Florida that was just a mile or so down the street.

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  6. What a great story.

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    1. I met some real characters doing that work.

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  7. I doubt a very people does cash for a house now days.

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  8. Golf does not usually include ducks! I have heard of birdies, eagles and albatrosses - but never ducks.

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