Jake the Peg

Another weekend has passed, and another storm has coated the province with snow, ice, rain, and slush. The temperature, however, is slowly rising and spring will come soon enough.


As an afternoon project over the weekend we decided to get rid of the tasteless and ripped up wallpaper border on the walls in Mark's office. His office, by the way, is pale pink and white. Every week or so I wander in and quietly ask if he knows what colour he might want it painted.

He doesn't know and doesn't care.

The border in that room is white and honestly looks exactly like some sort of wedding pattern, which doesn't make any sense at all. Also, when we bought this house that border was already ripped to shreds and looked run-down and awful.


So we got some rags and hot water and took the sucker down. His office is still pale pink and white, but at least the ripped up shreds of wedding-style border is gone now.


On the weekend our town held some sort of Winterfest again. We missed some of the fun stuff on Friday night because we were busy driving to the nearest big town to buy a new microwave (which works wonderfully and doesn't make the other appliances act up).

They had a bonfire Friday evening, but it was really kind of windy out. According to the neighbours, they lit their huge fire and then it blew smaller bits of fire and burning debris all over the park and people had to run around trying not to be lit on fire, and a good time was had by all.

They had a variety show on Saturday night and we did go to that. I could post pictures but... well they just didn't capture the magic. The Lions Club got up on stage to sing some songs, except they'd forgot to rehearse very much and had failed to learn the songs. So the Lions Club started singing and then the song kind of faded to a bunch of mumbling, and then the audience started laughing, and then all the people on stage started laughing. At one point they ended the 'song' early because it completely fell apart, and then they all suddenly went running away off the stage in shame while the audience continued to laugh.

The most important thing about the Variety Show was that they were selling home made fudge at the door. For cheeeeaaaap. We bought four bags. I would have bought more, but I was scared the lady would comment on how much I was buying and I couldn't think up an excuse to explain why I needed so much fudge. (Remember: half of these people probably know who I am and where I live because this town is so small. They know I don't have any kids or crap like that. If I lied they MIGHT KNOW.)

So we got four bags and it was good. Some of the acts in the variety show weren't bad at all, but some were bizarre. One guy got up on stage wearing a trenchcoat, nose glasses, a fedora, a fake third leg, and a fake Hasidic Jew's beard completely with long ringletted sideburns.


My jaw dropped. He bobbed around and sang a song about how he was "Jake the Peg" (deedle deedle deedle dee) "with an extra leg" (deedle deedle deedle dee) and how it was so hard to be disabled and stuff, because a large number of comical things happen to him all the time.

What?

With the who?

Was it racist? Was it discriminatory? I don't think so. But maybe? But probably not? Am I reading too much into things? I don't even know what was going on.

That fudge sure was good.