by Randi Laur from Desbarats, ON
Nov 1, 14
A week after our marriage my husband and I moved into our first home in the small community of Desbarats, 45 minutes east of Sault Ste Marie.
Between unpacking, work, and putting a new roof on our house, that first week passed in a blur. But somehow, during the bustle, my husband decided he should landscape.
Our property was wall to wall thick with trees. He thought it would be a good idea to cut a few down.
Despite this flurry of activity we were surprised that we didn’t see any of our neighbours.
I wondered if perhaps they were intimidated by the sight of my husband - his plaid jacket, and orange chainsaw.
One afternoon, after felling a very large tree he decided to remove the stump.
My husband is a truck driver. Sitting in the driveway, gleaming brightly in the sun, was a brand new Peterbuilt transport.
He fired up the engine, threw it into drive,
and carefully backed onto our spongy side lawn. He hooked a chain around the stump and attached it to the back of his cab.
He revved the engine and signaled for me to stand back.
The truck lurched forward, the chain tightened and the tires dug in … but the stump didn’t move.
My husband switched gears. The engine roared. The truck rocked violently from side to side. The tires dug in deeper and deeper.
And that’s when the chain broke.
My husband rocketed forward like a freight train.
The chain ricocheted off the back of his cab and came to rest in the driveway.
My husband got out and went to inspect the damage to his company’s truck. I went with him. We expected to find a large hole. We found a slightly disfigured license plate and a golf ball sized ding.
Then we went to insect the stump. The stump hadn’t moved an inch!
As we stood and stared at the chewed up lawn, I suddenly got the feeling we weren’t alone. I turned around. Standing across the street, watching the entire adventure, were our new neighbours. All of them.
When we spotted them, they broke into applause! They clapped and laughed and pointed at our mess, and then one by one they came across the street. The first one there stuck out his hand and said: “Welcome to the neighbourhood. You’ll fit right in.”