As I Remember Them echo. When we were getting close to shore they went very slowly, and the first thing we saw was the killock that he tied his boat to. I have spent long hours studying Navigation and have a certificate from a London school, but with all my knowl¬ edge and all the DR compasses and other instruments, could I dare think of such a feat of navigational skill? Alex had a threshing mill and a saw for cutting wood. Many hours in my later years on the farm did I stand beside him cutting bands. I was supposed to cut the bands at the knot and hold onto the string. When we got a big bouquet of strings we would toss them aside. They would be used to tighten bags, etc. later on. Often, as I stand on the opposite side of the operating table cutting knots, my mind wanders back to standing beside Alex. At dinner we would all be as black as an African coloured person. In the spring we would cut wood into blocks. I often stood beside him grabbing the blocks as they were sawed off the log. Alex was always a very good friend of my father. He had a binder and usually cut our grain. My aim was to keep up with the binder. When the last sheaf came from the binder, I would have it stooked. I used to go with him when he cut his own grain. When Alex got married to Lilly Sencabaugh I lent him my race horse, Johnnie Walker , as Lilly lived about 20 miles away. That distance was nothing for Walkie. Alex was a most interesting man to talk to. He kept several cows, sheep and two horses. 35