Old McDonald Had A Farm

         When I was a kid there was this wondrous place near our house- the Okanagan version of amusement park I guess. It was called Old McDonald's Farm and every time we drove into town my sister and I would start in hope out the window that one day we would stop in. There is only one time I can actually remember going- our Grandma took us- I'm sure our Mom was there as well but I only remember my Grandma- I remember she paid extra so we could fish for carp in the "old fishin' hole"- a nub of bread on the end of a line- I didn't catch anything.

        I remember getting to pet a baby cow for the first time ever- up until this point cows were large, menacing beings that occasionally escaped their fields and invaded our neighbourhood- I was terrified of them- until I met that calf. The fishing, the calf and being with my Grandma are pretty much all I remember from that day- oh and of course my sister. So obviously Old McDonald's Farm really wasn't all we had thought it would be. Yet it persists as a constant childhood memory because it was just always there hugging the side of the highway- just beyond the empty field with scraggly ponies- the last outpost of town.

       When we went home this past Thanksgiving my Mr. noticed they were changing out one of the billboards on the West side of the bridge- something so familiar caught his eye- causing him to pull over to the shoulder of the road at an alarming rate- I thought something else was wrong with the truck. Then he pointed it out- not much left but just enough to instantly be transported back to childhood- the familiar farmer- assumed to be Old McDonald- and his crazy eyed pig!

         It's hard to believe that this even still exists- though who knows for how much longer- preserved beneath layers of adds for Okanagan ATV Tours- which is ironically run by a friend of mine. So for whatever reason we just happened to be at the right spot at the right time and we were reminded- if only for a moment- that somethings don't change- they just get buried beneath new layers.