Learning
Marci, Sarah and the twins were overjoyed when Susan called to tell them she, Jack and the children were coming back to see them before leaving for home. Jack had spoken to Susan their last night in Georgia. “I have been thinking I would like to take up the advice that fellow at John Deere gave me. How would you like a week in Canada?”
They said their farewells, bidding goodbye to the friends they had made at Fort Benning. Jack was a little down in the mouth because he would probably not see Juan Ruiz or Mo Moses again. But both Sergeants told Jack that his fortnight at Fire Base Romeo had been pivotal in cementing their army careers and had probably saved them from death or wounding in the bargain.
“Carry on with the good work, boys,” Jack said. “I know we converted a few doubters yesterday. Once a few more commanding officers hear about the results of our maneouvers yesterday, things will move along a bit better. I will continue to correspond with them and I will make sure my message is loud and clear. I hope you can get to Australia one day. You would be most welcome to visit. Until then, hasta la vistas, amigos.”
Susan and Jacqui had parted with Amanda Yorke. Jacqui shed a few tears. They presented her with flowers and chocolates and thanked her for the good time she’d shown them.
“Mommy, can Amanda come to see us in Australia?”
“I don’t see why not,” said Susan, “maybe we can find her a nice boy.”
“If you can promise me another one like the Colonel, I’ll be off tomorrow,” Amanda joked. “Never say never!”
That night Jack and Susan lay together, having loved each other half to death and glowing with satisfaction. “Despite living so close to Canada for so long, I have never been there,” Susan said, “Where exactly are we going?”
“Well, the people I want to see are at the Morris Implement Company in Saskatchewan. They are the leaders in manufacturing machinery for this new conservation farming system that interests me. We could fly back to Worcester and have a few days with your mother before heading north.”
“Oh Jack, that would be great. Jacqui would love to spend a bit more time with James and Anthony, me too for that matter.”
Next day, they prepared for their flight back to Washington. Colonel Evans flew with them, waving them off at National. “Maybe we can make this a regular thing,” Colonel Evans suggested. ”Exchanging officers for short periods would have many mutual benefits.”
Jack agreed.
In Worcester, he and Susan relaxed with her family. The older children were playing happily. Patrick was sleeping, and in the absence of Marci, Sarah started a conversation about the old days in Armidale. She sounded a little wistful, and Jack thought she missed that wonderful climate. Perhaps she might come back, but she did not want to leave her mother on her own.
They got out road maps and looked at the vast distances of the Canadian prairies. “It is just too far to drive all that way. I think we will have to fly to Saskatoon,” Susan said.
“Yorkton, where the company is located, is about a three-hour drive from Saskatoon,” Jack said, “so the return trip is possible in a day with plenty of time to visit Morris Implements.”
They decided to fly to Saskatoon and hire a car. Jacqui wanted to stay with her cousins, but it was impossible for they were to fly on to Calgary and Los Angles after the visit to Saskatchewan. Another tearful separation was the result. Sarah drove them to Boston to catch their flight to New York. Because of the airline hub system, they had to travel New York to Chicago to Saskatoon. They were exhausted when they tumbled into their beds that night.
* * * *
Jack had decided to treat his family to a special experience, the Bessborough Hotel. Sometimes called the castle, this hotel dates from 1932. It was the last in a series of luxury hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the heyday of train travel. There were similar hotels situated in Victoria, Lake Louise, and Banff. Today, they still operated as hotels, bringing to life another, opulent, and long gone lifestyle. A stay in one of these hotels was a once in a lifetime experience. Jacqui was fascinated by the dining room and its fittings, by the old brass grill elevators, marble stairs, and most particularly, by the mail chute. A glass chute ran down beside the elevators to the reception desk. When someone on a higher floor posted a letter, it fell down the chute. Jacqui thought it was wonderful to watch. Every time they went to the elevators, she made them wait for a minute or so in the hope that a letter would come sliding past.
The next day, they took their hired car across the province to Yorkton. Jack had phoned some days ago to make an appointment and a couple of men met them at the door and introduced themselves as Robert Taylor and Ross McGann, two engineers from the new product development office. Jack had not expected Susan to be interested, but she was. “If you want me to help you, I have to have access to the same information you have,” she said. Jack was pleased by her interest.
Morris had two products that interested Jack. One was a chisel plough that worked on 12” centres to make it easier to work through stubble. The other was a machine called a rod weeder. Jack saw these demonstrated, impressed by their performance. The biggest problem as Jack saw it was the negotiation of underground obstacles. The prairie soils were sandy loams that flowed easily through tillage machines. The prairies in their natural state were grasslands. There were few trees. The soils of Ballinrobe were not. Jack’s father had cleared the land of trees and shrubs. Many roots of those trees remained and provided obstacles for tillage implements.
Jack could not see how these machines could overcome the roots, even though they had a trip and reset mechanism. He thought the frames were too flimsy to stand up to the harsh Australian conditions.
Susan shared his view. They thanked their hosts and asked to be kept in the loop in regards to further development of their products. Then they drove back to Saskatoon.
That night, Jack and Susan, lying together, discussed their tour. Susan finally said, “Jack, we have been away for a long time. I miss Ballinrobe and I miss our friends. I will be happy to be home again.”