It's interesting how our thoughts and ideas run from topic to topic. One idea puts us on to more ideas. It's how a conversation takes place. Ideas are linked.
My neighbor across the street rarely if ever wears a jacket in winter. It got me thinking that high school and college kids did not wear winter coats a few years ago . I guess they thought it was cool.
When it comes to winter clothing I'm a bit of a fussy pants. I've spent a lot of time outdoors hiking, skiing and snowshoeing in the Rocky mountains. I know how to keep warm and comfortable. If a kid was cold usually all you had to tell him is put your tuque on and in five minutes the kid was warm.
This got me thinking about a person in the 1960's who did not wear a winter jacket. But George did wear winter fleece lined under wear and a heavy shirt
Then it got me thinking about who George was. George was a rather well known Canadian. The first big Alberta oil strike was Leduc #1 in 1947 . You guessed it. George was the driller.
George's portrait is a well known Canadian photo. He's pictured with a drill bit on his shoulder. They're heavy. I couldn't even move one let alone pick it up. How many people remember seeing this portrait?
I met George and his family when I was teaching in a town where they lived. George was a drilling supervisor. They moved regularly. Most oil people did at that time. George and his family lived in a small house trailer. George's trailer was 8 ft. wide. Most trailers were ten or twelve feet wide. When George had to move , he just closed the trailer door and hooked it onto his truck and away he went.
George was a large man and so were his kids. We often wondered how they fit in such a small house trailer. When we asked his son, he would just laugh and say they were used to it.
George was a story teller. We heard the story of Leduc # 1 blowing in many times. They were taken by surprise. Most of the holes they were drilling were dry but this time they were lucky.
Now this could keep me going to other ideas but, I'll stop for tonight!
