GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Local
THE FARMERS WILL BE HAPPY
65 year old Dave McDonald has forced his adult children to bring their comments about the current wet weather to an abrupt halt, pulling out a classic line that he’s had in the back pocket for over 40 years.
“The rain’ll be good for the tanks though”, said the Manawatu father of three in his monotone from the corner of the kitchen table, not bothering to look up from the orange he was peeling.
The incident occured during a relaxed family weekend. McDonald’s son Rhys and his young family were staying a couple of days and hoping to get out for a walk down the Manawatu River later. It was an idea that was fraught with the challenge of picking a time where they wouldn’t get soaked with rain.
As Rhys and his wife Katie talked about when the best time to go would be, checking the hourly rainfall predictor on the Metservice website, Katie carelessly made a point that the wet weather was becoming a nuisance.
“This weather has been disgusting hasn’t it, wish the rain would go away,” Katie uttered without any fear of repercussion.
Without a second thought Mr McDonald’s pre-loaded response began emitting from his mouth as if it were a pre-recorded message.
“The rain’s good for the tanks though, I recorded 10 millimetres this morning. I tell you what, the farmers won’t be complaining,” he recited as if it were his civic duty to drag his son’s family abruptly back to reality, where they can be thankful for what they get.
“The garden’s enjoying a good drink too”.
The Whakataki Times can confirm from the looks on the faces of Rhys and Katie that they have learned not to use rain or weather as a topic of small talk around dad Dave in the future.
More to come.
Want to keep up with more of the news that’s important? Instagram works well for that! Check out the Whakataki Times on Insta.
