Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will Be No More Read Online Free Page B

up, and the little
     guy was soon to be no more. But it gave people like Mr. Lacey a reason to get up
     in the morning and a chance to chat, even to a boy like me. He was not well, and
     often when I would inquire about his health he would exclaim that he was
     “wonderful sick.” One got the pulse of this part of town, from Mr. Lacey, to
     young adults with a second-hand motorcycle under constant repair in the yard, to
     the elderly lady whose generous tip at Christmas was always exhilarating, to
     Vatcher’s auto mechanic shop, where there always seemed to be someone in the pit
     fixated on looking up at the underbelly of a decrepit Chevy, Ford, or
     Chrysler.
    There was a touch of the political at this stage of my life. I remember an
     incident involving the then-Premier, Mr. Smallwood, who on a visit to Lewisporte
     sought out my father, then a social worker for the area. Apparently there had
     been some representation made by a local citizen who had questioned through the
     premier a decision Father had made concerning the citizen’s eligibility for
     assistance. The premier took the opportunity of the visit to see my father about
     it. From overhearing a conversation with my mother later, Father wasobviously very upset by the public nature of the visit and the
     fact that he was bring pressured to provide assistance where the rules prevented
     it. Father told the premier that he would have to set up an appointment if he
     wished to pursue the matter. I also remember a political rally in the local
     theatre for a Conservative candidate in an upcoming federal election. The
     candidate was Ambrose Peddle, who went on to win the riding and later become the
     province’s ombudsman. And perhaps most importantly, I remember that at our high
     school a number of us got together and, in talks with the principal, set up the
     first student council for the school, of which I became the first president. It
     was also during this time that I began working during the summer holidays and at
     Christmastime. I remember working at a clothing store one Christmas.
    But my most interesting memories are of travelling to St. John’s to work with
     the provincial government. My first summer was working as a filing clerk at the
     Department of Health and Welfare in a wooden building situated near the old
     Newfoundland Hotel. This was a great experience that gave me exposure to the
     capital city. I stayed with my grandparents on Carpasian Road overlooking St.
     Patrick’s ballpark where regular baseball games were played. Given my interest
     in baseball, this was a dream come true, and I spent many an evening and weekend
     down at the ballpark learning the finer points of the game as I tried to get
     near the players and coaches.
    My grandfather would usually stay home and watch the games from his back
     garden, still using cricket terms to describe the game. I saw pictures of him in
     his youth as part of a cricket team in St. John’s. My grandparents Young were
     wonderful people. My grandmother was a Ross (originally from Margaree Valley,
     Cape Breton). These were the grandparents who owned a lot of land in what is now
     Pleasantville where, they operated a farm, supplied the hospitals with milk, and
     sold vegetables to customers door-to-door. My grandfather was originally from
     Greenspond, but his parents moved to St. John’s when he was a young lad. He
     worked for fifty years with the department store named the Royal Stores, rising
     to become the manager of the wallpaper department. He was a hard worker and had
     a great memory.I remember his many recitations of poetry,
     including “Horatius at the Gate” by Lord Macaulay.
    Then out spake brave Horatius,
    The Captain of the Gate:
    “To every man upon this earth,
    Death cometh soon or late;
    And how can man die better
    Than facing fearful odds,
    For the ashes of his fathers,
    And the temples of his Gods.
    I remember well his geography. The largest island in Newfoundland,