Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Speaking Canadian

Buddies. Eh?
I knew what he was saying.
He knew what he was saying.
Too bad they weren’t the same thing . . .
When I was little, I hung around with my dad.
A lot.
Well, at least as often as time – and his busy schedule – would allow.
He was a rancher, veterinarian, Hereford Club director, 4-H Club director, Church leader, husband and father.
In no particular order.
Yep. When time would allow.
I made the most of every moment I had with him.
I chattered.
Constantly.
And every sentence ended with, “Eh, Dad?”
Okay, yes, I’m Canadian. It goes with the territory.
Moving on . . .
It must have been a bit annoying.
But he never showed it.
Patiently he answered me.
Every ‘eh, Dad’ was responded to with “B, Diane.”
I was happy. I thought ‘B’ meant ‘Yes’.
Our conversations must have been interesting . . .
“Horses! We love horses, eh, Dad?”
“B, Diane.”
“Look at those birds! They’re pretty, eh, Dad?”
“B, Diane.”
“Ooh! Look at the little calvies! They’re playing, eh, Dad?”
“B, Diane.”
“Mmmm! Dinner! We love dinner, eh, Dad?”
“B, Diane.”
You get the idea.
It was years before I realized that he was merely putting a non-committal ‘B’ with my ‘A’.
Just to keep the conversation flowing with a chattering little girl.
It worked.
And that’s what it’s all about, eh?
B.



18 comments:

  1. That's such a fantastic memory of your Dad, Diane, and the patience he showed when you were a little girl. The picture is beautiful. He's very handsome and you are so cute. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jennifer! I do think he's handsome! And a great dad!

      Delete
  2. Hey! I loved this, eh?

    From your non-American friend...

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's horrifying how many times I hear EH? from my own mouth lol. What a lovely memory of your Dad. How is he doing by the way?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm totally the same. I have to watch myself, or it would be every second word I say!
      He's doing well, thanks so much for asking. Gets a little down now and then when his vertigo gets bad. Found out 11 months after the fact that he had had a stroke. That's when his troubles started. Sigh. But at least he knows now!

      Delete
  4. So sweet. My older son chattered a lot when he was young, now it's hard to get him to talk to me. I wish I had a cute phrase I had used to answer him that he'd remember fondly when he got older. So cool that your dad did that for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These boys! My youngest was the same. I finally started asking him about his day, moment by moment. Then he got so he'd come in the door from school and 'report' moment by moment. At first that's all it was. Then he finally started talking! Took a very long time! :)
      Every time I hear someone say 'eh' I am tempted to reply 'B'. Daddy's legacy!

      Delete
  5. Ahhh, that is wonderful!

    When I was little, "eh" had not yet made its way to the east coast. But it's here now! Like Delores, it comes from my mouth far too often - and sometimes from my keyboard!

    ReplyDelete
  6. My father referred to my mother during my childhood as "Midge-bee", and so it became a nickname around the house, adding "b"s to everything: Pearlbee, Karebin (Karen)...

    It wasn't until much later that he was calling her Midge B -- because her maiden name had started with a "b"...

    Pearl, aka Pearlby

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I love this! Yep. Your dad is definitely our kind of folks!

      Delete
  7. Downunder the "eh" brigade are Queenslanders. Every sentence is ended with "eh".
    Well, it was when I lived there in the early-mid 70s. Coming from another state I was somewhat confused at first.
    I love how your dad indulged your chatter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Grinning ear to ear. I love this, Diane. We jokingly say, "Eh?" to each other but now I'm going to start responding with "B."

    ReplyDelete

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