Mamie's Letter - Page 4

(From last letter: "I think it was mean of you to take that cigarette I had Saturday night because I haven’t had a smoke since...")

because you can’t buy any smokes out here except tobacco which is strong enough to kill a horse, so I might as well tell you that I've quit smoking.

Say, do you like bees, well if you do there is loads of them up here. It was just today that my uncle was cutting weeds when he disturbed a nest of bumble bees and one stung him on the forehead.

Gee but this a great life if you don’t weaken I don’t think I've done anything yet but go fishing.

It’s going to eleven o'clock now and I intend to get up at five in the morning to go fishing so I think...

Some people may recall an older family member quipping "It's a great life if you don't weaken", or you may be familiar with the phrase from the Tragically Hip song "It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken". The phrase was initially coined by John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, 15th Governor General of Canada who was a politician and novelist of Scottish origin.