SOME COUSIN S CAME TO VISIT

One summer, Aunt Eva brought her daughter, Dotty McMasters down to Prince Edward Island with her for a visit. This young girl was very attractive and well dressed. She had a very distinct American accent and became the attention of all the boys and girls in the neighborhood around the Mooney residence.

A few days after her arrival, she was addressing herself as the great actress, Dotty La Moore. The teens in the Souris area challenged her to put on a concert for them. She was flattered and agreed to the offer. She was concerned that Souris did not have a facility where such a performance could take place. The boys suggested that they would take the responsibility

of finding a place, and Dotty agreed. At that time our next door neighbors had a small barn adjacent to our

yard. It was divided into two apartments. One side was used for storage, and the other side housed a huge sow, that would soon have a litter of pigs. The manure had never been removed from the pen all summer, and the stench was unbearable. The boys asked the owner for permission to use the facility. When they received his permission, they though they were in Broadway. Everyone was delighted to have a spot for the concert, they forgot about the odor that this could create.

The afternoon of the performance was extremely hot and humid. When we introduced Dotty to her new concert hall, she was disgusted to say the least. We brought her attention to the sow, and worst of all, the smell. She immediately ran out the door, and returned a few minutes later with a can of Talc powder in her hand. She started to sprinkle it around the pen trying to cover the manure, and purify the air.

The huge sow made her feet and startled by all the excitement, made some terrible noises that Dotty had never heard before. Dotty was terrified and ran into the house and did not reappear until the next day. She was upset with everyone, and did not want to be known as Dotty La Moore from that timeon. The teenagers were disappointed about the show’s cancellation, but they did have a great laugh.

Some years later, Dotty’s son, Gregory, wanted to visit Prince Edward Island, so his grandmother, Aunt Eva, took him down to Souris with her.

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