I could hear my husband loud and clear telling everyone he met at the Fergus Lions Home and Leisure Show last week that my stories about him are all lies. But nobody believed him. How could they? Every word I write is true.
The show was his first public foray into promoting our farm tourism business. As you know, the Carpenter is, well, a retired construction worker, not a sales person. He’s a man of few words and quite happy to be an introvert. He’s managed to live in our community for over 20 years and still knows very few people. He’s okay with that.
Well, all that has changed. Standing next to me in our matching logo gear, under the banner of the seasonal business we’re running together, there was nowhere for him to hide. And I couldn’t be more proud to watch him promote this crazy dream we’re building together. He designed, built and set up our booth, and also picked out the candy he would stuff into his mouth at every opportunity over the three nights of the show. He did a great job. He enjoyed meeting people, old friends and new.
So to the readers of this column who popped by to say hello, I am grateful you took the time to talk to me, gave me some fun feedback, and gave me the opportunity to fill you in on what the Carpenter and I have been up to. The interest and encouragement was amazing.
But it sure was fun watching people meet the Carpenter for the first time. I think he enjoyed laughing with them as he insisted, “Everything she says about me is a lie. It’s all lies. A complete fabrication. Everything.” He’d follow that up with, “There is no way I would do all the dumb things she writes about. Well, maybe I do, but it’s just to get her going. I like to give her things to write about. It helps. But mostly, it’s lies.”
Uh-huh. Lies. Yep. Like how the Tootsie Rolls were for our booth visitors? The evidence of wrappers in his pockets on laundry day suggested otherwise, but tell yourself whatever you need to, Carpenter.
Together, we had a successful home show experience. That’s the truth. I have always enjoyed this event and I will happily declare my bias here: my father has been a Fergus Lion for over a decade, and while he’s winding down his involvement, he is still very much a part of the pride, and proudly so.
Like all service clubs in every corner of this county, these volunteer organizations are the heart of the communities we call home. They exist purely to serve the communities they represent, be it fundraising for youth clubs, sports teams, school bursaries, Walks for Guide Dogs, toy drives at Christmas, the all-important Christmas parades, or hosting special events to raise funds that support our food banks, or the specific fundraising needs for hospitals throughout our region. Our volunteer service clubs pour all the funds they generate back into the community, yours and mine.
So to all the vendors that supported the Fergus Lions’ biggest fundraiser of the year, to the Lions volunteers, and to the incredible community who showed up to the show, thank you. I love where I live. The Carpenter does too.
That’s the truth, because, as my husband knows, I only write the truth.
