SOCIAL STUDIES, BOOK THREE
WEAVING ALICE,plus Eleven - an excerpt
FREDDIE'S ATHABASCA - Pages 106 - 112
Frederick enrolled his daughter in the local elementary school and set off to work where he helped to extract the oil from the sand. He explained to Georgina the amazing modern technology that made it possible for men to extract oil from beneath the sand.
"Do you see, daughter?" he would ask. "Do you see what I mean when I say it is essential that we look beneath that which appears to be reality? Why, to look at the sand one would never dream there would be precious oil underneath. And you must always remember that when we looked beneath our dreary existence in the refugee camp we found the beauty of my Athabasca."
Georgina dreaded having to go to school. It was bad enough that the other children made fun of her poor language skills but that was made worse by their taunts of Brainless Birthhammer! It took several months but Georgina did find herself surprised by her own ability to learn a new language. But she found English very difficult to learn.
"How can one word be spelled in so many different ways and mean different things?" she asked her father. "How can one know whether to write the word to, too, or two in a sentence?"
Freddie, though he spoke English reasonably well, was not well-versed in its spelling or grammatical aspects. Not liking to admit his ignorance he would encourage his daughter to make good use of the dictionary he had bought for her. Look the words up, Georgina; learn their meanings.
And so she did. By Georgina's fourteenth birthday she was, like her father, reasonably fluent in English. And by the time she was fourteen she was ready to enroll in the local high school. Freddie did his best to give guidance and advice to his daughter but there were things in a girl's life that only a mother could provide. And these were the things Georgina missed.
When she remembered Gisella she remembered her beauty, her faith, and her loyalty. This was the example set by her mother that Georgina did her best to follow.
A naturally pretty girl, she decided to look beneath those things that were lacking in her life and in doing so she discovered strengths and abilities within herself that she didn't know existed. She worked hard. Through study and determination she learned to love the English language. She surprised herself by winning a provincial writing competition. Of all the high school entries in Alberta, Georgina's story took the prize. She was beginning to believe that in Freddie's Athabasca anything was possible.
"I'm very proud of you, daughter, very proud," Freddie told her. "One day you will write books and you will be famous and people all over the world will know your name."
"Oh, papa, that would be wonderful but I would be happy if just the kids in this neighbourhood would get my name straight. Still they call me Berthhammer. Will they never stop?"
"It doesn't matter, Georgina. Maybe they will never stop but do you need to care? You know who you are. You are the lovely, creative daughter of the beautiful Gisella."
And time passed as it has a way of doing even in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Life for Georgina was good in her Freddie's Athabasca. She graduated high school and went on to gain her higher education at the University of Alberta. She became a scientist and held an important position in the modern technological world in Fort McMurray.
It was a sad day when her father passed away. By then Georgina was happily married and mother to a smart little Canadian boy who would sometimes complain to his mother when things didn't go his way.
"Look beneath, my son," she would encourage. "Go beneath what you think is the reality. You will be surprised what you can discover about yourself."
And one day Georgina retired. She became a grandmother. Her world in Freddie's Athabasca was filled with a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Yet something was missing. No matter her age she still sometimes felt the pangs of loneliness that she had experienced as an immigrant child. She still remembered the cruel taunts of the children, "Brainless Birthhammer!"
She thought of her father. Look beneath, she knew he would advise. And so she did. She decided she would write her memoirs. I will call it Freddie's Athabasca, she decided.
Picking up a pen she opened her journal and wrote. I have been called Brainless Berthhammer. I have been called many things I would rather not remember. But today I make my stand and I say to all who will listen, my name is Georgina Berethhamner. I am the daughter of Gisella and Frederick. My mother had faith and my father had determination. These are the things that brought me to Freddie's Athabasca. Look beneath the surface and you will discover I am more than I ever dreamed I could be.
SOCIAL STUDIES, Book Three - Weaving Alice plus eleven is the third book in a trilogy of short story anthologies that keep the focus on contemporary social issues.
You will find this book exclusively on all Amazon sites. Visit my Amazon author's page at https://amazon.com/author/audreyaustin
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