Friday, February 24, 2023
When I left Deer Lake as a young woman, Bud was 16 and he always had a story even way back then. When I began to visit Deer Lake with Lloyd and Cynthia, Bud had joined the Army. When he was home on leave, I remember he was always good to the kids, taking them to the corner store for treats. He was always drawn to children before he even had his own family.
I will miss him, as I have Ralph, Dempsey, and Mona. My condolences to all his family, too many to name here, but may he rest in peace.
Lloyd, Cynthia, and Daniel fondly remember him, and they always had a great laugh listening to Bud and his tall tales. They have a few favorites.
A Man’s Best Friend
Joanne calls Bud and said, “Mom needs $300”. Bud was having none of that, but Joanne tells him, “Come with $300 now!”. He gets the money and meets up with Rowena and asks, “What do you need $300 for??”. Turns out it was for a German Shepard. Bud turns around and says, “Where’s the dog?”; the dog just growls at Bud….
Some days later Rowena was working, and Bud is home watching the dog. He decides he wants to visit a friend for an hour or two, but he needs a leather leash for the dog. He buys a leash, gets the dog in the car, and drives to his friend’s place and locks the dog in the car. After an hour or so, Bud mentions he’s brought the new pet. His friend suggests they go see the dog. They get to the car, the dog is in the back seat, just finishing off the leash, after chewing through the front seatbelts. Bud is not impressed.
Years go by, the dog is ill, and Rowena needs another $300 for the Vet to do an operation. Bud arrives at the Vet’s office with the $300. He walks in, stops at the front desk and asks, “What do you charge for putting down a dog”? The receptionist answers, “Oh that would be $30, and we cremate the dog afterwards”. “SOLD!” was Bud’s happy reply.
Name that Man!
Bud had a job working for a forestry company. He gets a new uniform and proudly puts it on. He starts to visit some lumber camps as part of his responsibilities. He walks into one of the dorms, and the first guy he meets says “Hey, its Smokey!”. Everyone for the rest of the day greets a perplexed Bud as “Smokey”. Turned out on his uniform over his breast pocket was a patch depicting a bear, very similar to the famous one we all know. A legend is born!
For you see Smokey was a true storyteller…
"All too wise but oh so free
He'll talk of life out on the street
He'll play it sad and say it sweet
Look into his shining face
Of loneliness you'll always find a trace
Just like me and you
He's tryin' to get into things
More happy than blue"
Godspeed Bud, your loving sister Dulcie Parsons.