The Clutch

For some reason, driving my car this afternoon and engaging the clutch, I was reminded of my Uncle Elgin.  A deputy minister of National Defence in the sixties, he always drove my cousins and me to Lisgar Collegiate every day when we were in high school.  No, deputies didn't have drivers back then.  And they didn't have EAs or assistants or chiefs of staff....no, Elgin had one secretary, Miss Mitchell.  And his office was tiny, just his desk with an extended table attached for meetings which accommodated no more that six people.  My cousins and I used to barge in after school all the time to wait for our drive home.  Standing on ceremony?  Didn't happen in Uncle Elgin's office.   

Those were the days when the public service actually functioned.  Sadly, Uncle Elgin was the first deputy to have been skewered by a Minister, Douglas Harkness, over the Bonaventure mess.  No ministerial accountability or responsibility there.  No, Harkness dumped all the blame on my dear uncle.  Looking back, I can remember Uncle Elgin smoking a little more and having one-too-many now and then.  The stress was killing him.  But did he ever talk about it?  Never.  A completely class act.  I absolutely adored the man.

But back to the clutch.  In the sixties, the clutch was a long, rounded affair, with a stubby pedal.  The gears were not in between the seats, they were attached to the steering wheel.  It was neutral, then down to first, up to second and back down to third.  There was no fourth gear, just reverse.  I can still hear the sound they made as he changed them.  And I can still see the fedora he always wore to work.  He was the reason I learned to drive a five-speed and the reason I taught three of my four children to drive a five-speed.  I mean, if you're going to drive a car, you need to know how to drive a five-speed.

Elgin was transferred to National Revenue before he retired.  I remember waiting to make a presentation in the deputy's boardroom when I worked there.  Looking around, I saw photos of all the DMs from....forever.  Spotting Uncle Elgin, I immediately found a chair right under his photo and immediately felt calm, cool and collected.  He -- along with my father and my Uncle Rollie -- was one of the greatest guys you could ever meet.