Moose Psychic Mom
Now you have to meet my Mom…
Mom was born on St. Patrick’s Day in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and well…she sometimes had the luck of the Irish, so much so that we would just shake our heads at. We were very thankful for our lucky charm.
Patricia Maureen Crowell, our Momsie, was born in 1937, and thank God is still with us in 2015, as is my Pops. We also remember some of her early driving lessons, poor Pops. Lucky she had the luck, or I am not kidding you…our family would not be here. That is a whole other story.
Mom had these premonitions, some pretty odd, but after years of marriage, Pops learned to listen to them.
On this one particular weekend she said, “Barry, I had this vision!” Now Pops, who had been running a fruit truck back and forth from the interior of British Columbia, sat down and listened to her vision.
She said, “The moose season is on, right?
Pops kinda laughed and said “Yes”.
She said “I want you to go and get a moose bull and cow tag.”
Pops said, “Are you kidding me?”
Mom said, “No, I am not kidding! “Honestly, please go get the hunting tags and I want to come with you for the ride. I will ride shotgun.”
Now with the two tags in hand, Pops and Mom set out to pick up a load of fruit.
Everything went well, they arrived at the fruit location, but they did not see anything on the way there. Poor Wally, Dad’s partner had to sit this one out, not enough room for the three of them.
Wally said to Pops, “If you happen to come across the moose that Pat has been talking about seeing, there is an old 303 under the seat!”
Pops laughed and then Wally said “Not too sure where it is hitting, but it is there.” Pops did not own a big rifle at the time so he was very thankful.
Mom said, “Be ready Barry, we will soon be to where I saw the two moose in my vision!”
They were on their way back. He was, as he told us later, chuckling inside at this crazy notion.
They were on the road about an hour and a half and were just about to round this one corner.
“Barry slow down, as we come around the corner they will be there!” my mom said.
So Pops slowed down and pulled over.
He said, “Get the old 303 rifle Pat, if you are so convinced.”
So out came the rifle and Mom retrieved the shells from the glovebox, waiting, like a little girl ready to receive an ice cream cone.
Back on the road Pops went and rounded the corner and there in the meadow to the right of the road, was the pair… a big bull and cow moose!
“Told you!” Mom said. (Pops still talks about this to this day).
“Patty, hand me the gun slowly.” he said.
Pops loaded the gun and got out of the fruit truck.
This was like winning the lottery, Pops quietly stalked up into the meadow, the two were not even aware of his presence. He fired at the big bull and missed, the 303 was shooting high, no time to fool around. The second shot found it’s mark and down the big bull went , the cow panicked and turned and came right at him, she did not know where the shot had come from, BAM a third shot and down she went.
Then all of a sudden Pops, still in shock said, “Now what am I going to do? I have a whole fruit truck full of fruit!”
Mom was grinning from ear to ear. It was Pops that was going to do all of the work.
“Told you Barry, exactly what I saw in my vision!” she said.
Now Pops said, “Okay next step, let’s get these two animals cleaned out and then we will let them cool down.”
So we began to empty out the fruit truck, in that very meadow. Mom did help Pops slug the fruit out and then he quartered up the moose and loaded the two moose onto the fruit truck. Wally was waiting on the other end as they were late getting back.
When the two of them pulled in, Wally said “What the hell happened to you?”
Pops was covered in blood. “Wally, you are not going to believe this, Pat’s premonition happened, and well the load of fruit is back in a meadow!”
“You are kidding, right? Wally said.
Pops opened up the back door of the van and there was the evidence, Wally’s mouth dropped open.
Pops said, “I am so tired can you help us unload the two moose into the garage, and then we can go back and pick up the load?”
Wally said, “Sure if I can have a few steaks! Wally chuckled.
As Mom and Dad pulled into the driveway, followed by Wally, all of us were watching out the window and wondering, as Mom got out of the truck why she was doing an Irish jig.
Mom came running into the house, “Kids!! It happened! My premonition happened!”
She said, “We got two moose, boy are we going to eat well the next few months!”
We were all shocked and ran out to see right away. We helped Pops and Wally do the hang up and from that day on, whenever mom had a premonition we never ever questioned her again…and neither did Pops!
A true tail from the Squirrell’s Nest.