Humour

This was a charming book and very true to W.O. Mitchell's style. A journalist who grew up in Alberta but has lived in Eastern Canada for his adult life is hired to go back to Alberta and do a magazine article on the oldest living person in Canada, possibly in the whole world. David Lang immediately felt better when he stepped off the plane in Calgary. As he was driving south to the small town of Shelby he sees a number of kites flying and this reminds him of a defining moment in his childhood. In Shelby he finds the house of his interviewee, Daddy Sherry, who is soon to turn 111 years old. His first encounter is not promising as Daddy seems to be much less coherent that he was told. David is about to turn around and head back to Calgary when he meets a young boy who tells him a story about Daddy Sherry that convinces him to stay. The longer he stays and the more townspeople he talks to the more interested he becomes in Daddy Sherry's life. There are some great stories and also some great lessons in this little book. ( )