Fort St. James, where even the practical jokers have a conscience perhaps.
It was three years since a cement figurine disappeared from Terri-lee and Rob MacDougall’s front steps.
The small but heavy figure was a fixture on the couple’s front steps from back in 1991, when the couple had travelled to New Brunswick and Terri-lee had fallen in love with the concrete lawn figures she saw so many of in the province, and so chose two little boy figures for her own home. The couple had brought them back, each taking one in their suitcase, in the days before the hefty fines for overweight luggage.
One figure was a young white boy, the other a small black boy, his hands folded neatly on his lap, holding a fishing pole, which was lost or broken over the years of his presence on the front step.
In the spring, the figures were set out on the front steps for the summer, in the winter, put away for the season to make way for the snow shovel.
One spring, they were once again set out, and soon after, the couple realized the little black boy had disappeared.
The couple guessed someone had taken the heavy concrete figure as a prank or something along those lines, and only the little white boy remained.
Recently, as Terri-lee walked around to use the front door to bring her husband the paper one morning before she went on her run, she saw a surprising sight.
After three years away, the little black boy was once again perched on her front steps.
Under his bottom was a note which read: “Sorry I’ve been gone so long. I got lost and this spring was found again. Hope you missed me. Glad to be home again!
Will try to stay home from now on.”
Terri-lee and Rob were very happy to have their little figure home again, and he is once again watching the passers-by from their front steps on Simon Fraser.