The flooding in New Brunswick has led to many stories of damage, loss, and tragedy. But as Maritimers sort through the wreckage, some of them are still finding opportunities for a good laugh.
Shawn McNee recently posted a video to YouTube of his parents inspecting their flooded cottage. McNee’s 75-year-old father, Bob, is seen in gumboots, wading through knee-high water to the cottage’s front door as McNee’s mother, Darlene, films and offers commentary.
“This may prove interesting,” she says at the video’s opening.
She’s not wrong. Bob steps soon being to falter, and his attempts to enter—and then extricate himself—from the cottage are soundtracked by Darlene’s uproarious laughter.
“You don’t go swimming in August!” she says. “Why would you want to go in May?”
Her words prove to be fateful as Bob begins to wobble.
“He’s fallen off roofs. He’s fallen off ladders with one foot on the ground…” Darlene begins, and moments later, Bob adds “fallen into floodwaters” to his repertoire.
Soaking, he runs for the shore. “I think I’m wet,” he jokes.
The video has garnered over 120,000 views, and is a reminder of Maritimers’ resilience and good humour, even when times are tough.
Darlene later told the Province in an interview that the family’s cottage was essentially destroyed. Virtually nothing was salvageable, including family heirlooms, and the damages are worth about $100,000. Nevertheless, she maintains a sense of perspective.
“This is just stuff,” she said. “Too many people are heartbroken, but as long as everyone and their family are still kicking, that’s the main thing.”
And Darlene and Bob are certainly still kicking. The couple has been married for 46 years and clearly still know how to have fun.
Darlene noted that Bob’s dunking in the water was a rare occurrence. Even when he visited the family lake house in better times, he never swam. “Back in my day … everybody was in there swimming. Even my father went in…unlike my husband who doesn’t go in,” Darlene said. “I don’t think he’s put his big toe in the water.”
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