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Matching thumbnails Did you ever do something that reminded you of something else? Monday morning was one of those rare moments for me. There's a wall clock in the kitchen at home. It chimes on the hour and half hour, and has been there for some time now. It's a `30 day clock', meaning it must be wound once a month-- and Monday morning was winding day, 'cuz it had stopped. As I stood with the glass door open, winding the timepiece and the chime mechanism, I experienced that moment I spoke of. I thought of my long departed grandfather. You see, the location of the present wall clock is the exact same place a much older clock once hung. For all I know, it might very well be hanging from the same nail. The original clock pre-dates me, but I recall my dad explaining how it was somewhat decorative and was green in colour. (That's a family joke-- apparently my grandmother was quite fond of the colour green, and at some point in time, she painted pretty much everything in the house some shade of green.) Dad maintained that had my grandfather stood in one place too long he probably would have ended up being green in colour too. So the green clock hung in the kitchen. And it was an ornery old clock. You see, the winding mechanism was quite worn from years of use. Apparently, when winding it, especially at that point where the spring was wound up really tight-- well, it would let go. And when it let go, it spun the key around and generally clipped the thumbnail of whoever was winding it. My grandfather, being the inquisitive sort, took the clock apart on several occasions, to see if he could file the little sprockets to make it stop `letting go.' In spite of several tries, it never helped. There was one particular time that Store Hours Mon - Wed 10-6 Thurs - Fri 10 -8 Sat 10 - 5 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, August 19, 2010 presents TRANSATLANTIC SPECIAL! Ted Brown my dad used to laugh about, when my grandfather wound the clock. It let go, and spun the key around, nailing his thumbnail-- bigtime. His thumbnail was almost knocked off, and he had to wrap his bleeding thumb in cloth. He then took a precaution, donning a heavy leather glove, to protect his `wounded' thumb against the clock letting go again. Feeling quite confident, he resumed winding the clock with his right hand, safely protected by the heavy leather. Only one problem-- winding a clock with one's arm up in the air can be tiring. Halfway through, he changed hands. Yup, you guessed it. The clock let go-- and he instantly had matching thumbnails. Apparently, the resulting cloud of profanity he wove that day hung over the northern parts of Esquesing Township for quite some time. It was only topped by the one he created when he slammed the car door on his fingers while on Main St., Georgetown. (Apparently, the Main St. episode was so intense it caused my grandmother to act like she didn't know him for a several minutes.) As I wound the clock Monday morning, I found my hand got tired after winding the timepiece side. I then changed hands. And as I started winding the clock with my left hand, I was certain I heard a voice, somewhere, waaaay off in the distance. I swear I heard the words, "watch your $%^%$# thumb..." --Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@independentfreepress.com INAUGURAL SEASON FAREWELL Featuring: Monte Carlo, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Valencia, Cartagena, Almeria, Cadiz, Portimao, Lisbon & Half Moon Cay 20 Days aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam NEW SHIP! October 18, 2010 from Barcelona to Ft. 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Aug. 28 Starts at 9 am until full For more information contact: Jim James 905-877-8339 Mark Duval 519-855-6572 "...perfectly captures the spirit of the war years." The Toronto Star summertheatre ROSE T HEATRE PRESENTS ONLY ONE WEEK LE ;8GDC2010 FT! The War Show A Musical by Peter Colley August 6 - 28 · Studio Theatre · $25 Photo Credit Nancy Silverman and Scott Carmichael By C.J. LaFrance You'll Get Used to It! 905.874.2800 rosetheatre.ca Trafalgar Rd., Hillsburgh LEARN TO RUN & 10 KM CLINICS 2010 Summer Festival 2010 Neville Worsnop www.centurychurchtheatre.com Elizabeth Glenday in 2 Levels > Beginner and 10KM Clinics run for 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings beginning at 6:30 pm and include: Guest Speakers > Detailed Schedule > Technical Running Shirt > Store Discount Jill Peterson the decorator An madcap comedy by Directed by Donald Churchill Jo Phenix Date > Fall Clinic: Sept. 7th Stop in or call to register today! August 18 - 28, 2010 Wed, Thurs, Sat at 2:30 pm ~ $22 Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8 pm ~ $27 First Friday ~ dinner at the theatre - $14.95. Must be pre-booked Box Office 519.855.4586 Benefactor Season Sponsors The Erin Arts Foundation Erin Optimist Club Centennial & Riddell Road, Orangeville Media Partners The