Shadow Country - Lost Man's River (Hollis)

Book Two : Lost Man's River
Narrator Lucius Watson, E. J. Watson's son - in this book Lucius seeks information on his father's life and death - the list - Belle Starr - sugarcane - alligators - islands and streams - murdered field hands - crafty lawyer - Fort Myers - Thomas Edison - Henry Ford - cattle - family doubt - brother Robert found - burned manuscript

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Shadow Country (Hollis)

Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen

Note: Shadow Country is a distillation of three novels, Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone.

Book 1

October 24, 1910 - several different narrators each giving their impression of E. J. Watson and his death .

Note 2: Shadow Country if a remarkable book but is extremely difficult to read, particularly for a close reader. There are numerable characters and if the reader wants to keep up with each person and their role in the story. While I am glad to have read it, I am not sure I would do it again.

Tomorrow: Book 2

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Nausea

I'm kinda the opposite of Elwood Driftwood, a fellow who lived down the hill from us. He was always complaining about being real sick. I reckon he was since he was only eighty-six when he died last year. I don't like to complain about illness but in the way of an excuse for not coming up with something to write today, I decided to fill y'all in on my little illness (24 hour flu.) I think I caught it from Dorothy who caught it from one of her niece's kids we kept while her parents went to the New Orleans Saints football game Sunday. Little Amanda had the throw-ups. She didn't start feeling bad until her parents were settled in their seats at the game so I can't blame them. Anyway for the last 28 hours I have felt pretty bad and I am just now getting back to my old self. I reckon what I got was the 29 hour flu. Anyway I'm heading back to my chair to stare at the ceiling a few more hours.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Making Our Grass Greener

When I was a boy I wished every winter for snow. And about every seven years my wish was fulfilled.  I wished the clouds on the horizon were mountains like they had in cowboy movies and far off lightening was canon fire. Boy stuff. Most things were impossible to change but kids in our town overcame the lack of snow with sleds with wheels. There was a hill on the street that ran in front of my grandmother's house. It was our answer to a snow covered landscape and it was there for us all year round in all kinds of weather. To keep us from "sledding" in the street my daddy got the mayor of Harper to send a crew out to patch up the sidewalk that ran down the hill. They made it smooth as could be and I don't remember every flipping because of a crack or pothole. I wonder if kids who lived in colder climates wished they could live where they didn't have to shovel snow or dress like Eskimos to walk to school. I reckon some did and some never considered it. I never came across a kid here who didn't want it to snow more often. Since I have grown up I can't recall any adult here in Harper that had such a wish.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Ole Miss vs Idaho

Last night Ole Miss played Idaho in Oxford. I found myself wishing my daddy was alive to see it. Not because Ole Miss won so handily, but because one of his lifelong dreams was to visit Idaho. He saw this movie titled Idaho starring Roy Rogers back in the 40's. He may have seen it while he was in the army, but whenever, he talked about it all the time. In fact, when I was called in to his hospital bed for a final visit, he expressed as one of his regrets in life that he had not been able to visit that state. When I say Idaho on the Ole Miss schedule I actually ordered a copy of the movie. Dorothy and I sat down with our popcorn and soda to watch and I was surprised that the movie was in black and white. My daddy had been so impressed with a Roy Rogers, non-color movie that he held as one of his goals in life a visit to that state until his dying day. I have added a trip to Idaho to my bucket list. I feel I owe that much to daddy.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Excuses

We all make 'em, excuses that is. Just turn on the TV and you see people blaming everyone but themselves for dropped balls or failed policy. I once heard a guy say I would have made a great quarterback if there were taller ends on the team. And a woman who said I would have won the Miss Harper contest if I had not sat on that wicker chair right before the swimsuit competition. I reckon it would be all right if excuses actually helped the person to feel better about their deficit, but I don't reckon they do.

Mark Twain, a guy whose works I like to read, said, "There isn't a Parallel of Latitude but thinks it would have been the Equator if it had had its rights." 
Read more at http://quotes.dictionary.com/there_isnt_a_parallel_of_latitude_but_thinks#5gZgOTKcGFbFF7xe.99

I left the reference in for those who would like to read more Mark Twain quotes.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Another Restaurant Folds

I have often thought trying to run a restaurant must be the hardest thing going. Dorothy has been real successful in her little cafe. Mainly because her mother was such a good cook and Dorothy learned from her how to prepare food that people would pay for. A lot of other people haven't done that well. Yesterday was the last day for Wok and Rolls, a restaurant set up and run by this guy who moved up from New Orleans after that big hurricane called Katrina. He started out with Asian fare and when that didn't seem to be working tried to modify it to Asian cooking with a southern twist. Catfish in a wok don't satisfy people around her like deep fried or even baked. Anyway for whatever reason he shut down his little operation. I never ate there buy several who had were talking about it at the barbershop this morning. One fellow summed it up saying, "Should have named it Wok and Rolaids."

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle 

Hartlow Twins

Like most places we got a few twins living here. The pair people probably know best is Ricky Ronald and Dicky Donald Hartlow. They are farmers and come to town every Saturday to shop and just to hang around and get away from work. RR and DD live in the house they were born in some sixty years ago. Their mother is still alive and lives with them. Neither boy ever married. It is hard to tell them apart; they dress alike, part their hair (what's left of it) on the same side, and have a similar walk and body movements. They are alike in so many ways. Except, Ricky Ronald is an Ole Miss fan and Dicky Donald pulls for LSU. I reckon these boys get along as good as any other brothers in Harper. But not during the week before or the week after Old Miss and LSU clash. This year was particularly bad and their little melee toward the end of the game sent both boys to jail for one night. Somebody asked Ricky Ronald how they fared in the Harper County jail and he said, "It warn't too bad. At home we sleep in the same bunk beds my daddy built when we was boys and the jail cell had bunk beds so we slept pretty good." Dicky Donald said it was awful. "They served us hamburgers from the Ole Miss Drive-In and I think they was punishing me more that my brother. Kinda making fun of me, doncha know?"

 In case y'all don't know, Ole Miss won this year.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Fixed at Last

Sorry to be so late with today's post. My cable went out yesterday right after I pushed the publish button. I hope it wasn't something I said. Anyway, we have had five different people from the cable company out and just a few minutes ago the last guy hit the right combination and got things working again. He was telling me that the more advanced the system is the harder it is to keep things going. Those old telephone lines running under ground and overhead work under all kinds of conditions. The new fiber optic cable can crash and when it does it is harder to repair. The price we pay for progress. Now my TV, internet, and home phone are all working. The TV came on with a commercial on the screen, my first email was promoting a drug for men only, and the initial phone call was from a group soliciting money for what they termed a real good cause. We are back in business.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Not Another Pet

I reckon we have run out of things to talk about down at the barbershop. This morning the big subject was ringworms. Cletus McBird came in sporting a big red circle on his left cheek, the one on his face. We hadn't seen him in months and that thing had sprung up since then. Suggestions pored out from the crowd there. Somebody suggested he find a good germologist. One fellow warned him that if his foot was itching at the same time his face was itching he should scratch his face first and then take care of his foot. Several recommended the same cream that is used on jockey itch. I checked in the library and that seems to be right. The thing may have been caused by one of the cats they have around the McBird house. Cletus' wife is real big on taking in any stray; cat or dog, it don't matter. Cletus said he was funning around with his wife when she got onto him about getting rid of that thing. He told her she should just consider it another pet, one that didn't need feeding or letting out in the middle of the night. He said she didn't buy that, she told him he should consider the guest bedroom his home until he figured out a way to clear up his face.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

The Best Cure Ever

Wadson Wilkerson came in the barbershop this morning raving about this new tonic he's been taking. He claims he feels like he did when he was forty years old. One fellow spoke up and said he remembered Wadson at forty always complaining about how bad he felt. Wadson said, "Yeah but I kept feeling worser and worser as time went on." Seems like Wadson is always coming up with a new cure. Most are from companies where you sign up and get other people to sign up under you. Then you get a percentage of whatever they buy or sell. Not only are you supposed to get well, you are also supposed to get rich. Someone asked, "Is it good for arthritis?" Wadson told about a woman in Seattle who had put a picture on the internet of her gnarled hands before taking the tonic and next to it a picture of hands that looked like they belonged to a teenager. Wadson kept talking about all the things this thing called Pluffamine Plus would cure. Seems it will take care of any malady known to man. Emerson Blunt asked, "Will it cure gullibility?" Wadson said he didn't know about gulls directly but was sure it would since a man in Kansas had given it to his sick parkeet and got it well. What can I say?

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

When To Laugh

I don't know who said it but I believe it: "A lot of comedy is bad things happening to somebody else." I reckon if you put yourself into the shoes of all those people in movies that we laugh at, you would not find the situation quite as funny. Last week during the church service at the Harper Lake Baptist Church they had a funny thing to happen. Mr. Ludlowe Spenceharber had a suspender malfunction. It was during the closing hymn and everyone was standing. The deacons had slipped back and opened the doors at the back of the church to prepare for the exit of the congregation. A little breeze trickled down the aisles and over the singing church members. I reckon it was the change of temperature that made Ludlowe sneeze. Whatever it was that caused it, the sneezed jolted the two front clips that held his suspenders to his pants and Ludlowe, who was off to the side on the front row of an area they call the amen section, stood before the choir members with britches around his ankles. By the time the sneezer realized his situation almost everyone in the choir was laughing and a number of the others in attendance that day had turned toward their stares to see what they were laughing about. I don't think Ludlowe has been scarred by this incident. But I do think he learned from it. Yesterday when he came into the barbershop he was wearing his suspenders just like he has for the last thirty years. But now he has an additional fastener in the form of two giant safety pins attaching the front straps to his shirt. Maybe all the people who laughed would have felt differently if this had happened to them. But when you get right down to facts, it didn't.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Distant Lightning

There is something about distant lightning that gives a feeling of security to the one who's watching its glow on the horizon. I reckon it's a distance thing.

When I was a boy people would sit on the porch after sundown. There was no air conditioning and I reckon they were waiting for the house to cool down before they went to bed. Also, there was no TV to draw them inside and the radio could be heard just as well from the porch as in the hotter living room. But most times the radio was silent, they wanted to talk. I learned a lot about what was going on in the town and the world from their conversation; from their perspective, of course.

As a young boy, not yet in my teens, I needed more than their talk to hold my attention. The squeak of the springs holding the weight of the porch swing and swingers and the soft voices if the old folks gave almost perfect conditions for a boy's imagination to come forth. Often, there was distant lightning, so far that the sound of thunder was diminished and inaudible to my young ears. I pretended the glow was from cannon shot and bombs bursting in air (excuse my plagiarism). I was transported to Iwo Jima, Wake Island, or some other battle scene I learned of from the radio or in the movies. Maybe it was boredom or maybe a yearning for adventure. More likely it was the secure feeling I got from knowing I could pursue my fantasy with no chance of losing a limb or being blown to smithereens.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Blank Slate

Dorothy, if I do say so myself, is real good at asking questions. I mean she can find out details without insulting the questionee (if that's a word.) Anyway she asked Ethyl what she saw in Uncle Eli when he was salesman for the meat packing plant where she was secretary to the owner. Aunt Ethyl said what she saw was a blank slate. And over the years she chalked in on that slate a life of safety and success for the man she chose to be her mate. One of the things I have noticed about the couple is the formality of their arrangement. You never see them holding hands or touching each other. Right from the start they had their own bedrooms. I have always felt their marriage is more of a business thing than a loving relationship.

When calls started coming in about Uncle Eli and his misguided approach to dealing with his accounts, it was Ethyl that patched things up. She persuaded her boss to let her stand behind Eli and deal with his accounts. He agreed. Most customers accepted her apology on behalf of the company and believed her when she said she would make sure they were well-served by the awkward Eli. The few that wouldn't buy it were offered a 10% discount on their next order. Those given that opportunity bought heavy and Eli's sales soared. Ethyl's next step was tutoring Eli on how to keep his customers happy. First, he needed to keep his mouth shut so Ethyl prepared leaflets that Eli could use. All he had to do was point to the specials and write down orders. Slowly he was taught what to say and when to say it.

When the owner died and left Ethyl the business, she decided the best thing for her was marriage. That way she could control every aspect of Eli's behavior. People were amazed at her success. Her husband looked and more importantly acted like a different person. He was immediately promoted to vice president, a position that suited his abilities and allowed even closer supervision.

And that's how they lived their lives. Ethyl drove and Eli enjoyed the view. We knew of no deviation from the script until Eli decided to slide down that laundry chute. And, of course, we know the price he paid for that.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Ethyl and Santa

When everything came to light Ethyl was old and retired. She was secretary to the owner of the meatpacking plant in Beaver Gorge, but she was more than that. The owner, Jacob Steever, was a widower and from all accounts had spent a lonely ten years since his wife died. Ethyl came to work when she was in her twenties and a good looking woman. It all started with little things like making sure his coffee was hot and fixed just the way he liked it. At the end she was often caught sitting on his knee and running her hand through what hair he had left. When he died he left a big part of the company, controlling interest, to Ethyl and left his three children a little money. Of course, this led to a lot of friction but our Ethyl was up to the task. Dorothy talked to Ethyl at the reunion about all this. Ethyl said, "It wasn't too bad sitting on that old fellow's knee. I just pretended he was Santa Claus and I was telling him what I wanted for Christmas." But I digress. My main purpose was to tell how Ethyl saved Uncle from getting fired from his job as salesman. Tomorrow I'll do just that.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

A Salesman Who Could Not Sell

After his divorce from his mail order bride Uncle Eli took a job as a salesman for a meat packing plant in Beaver Gorge. He was ill-qualified for this position. He was never prepared for the day, his wardrobe was about twenty years behind the times, and most importantly he couldn't sell water to a thirsty rich man in the desert. But he did all right for a while mainly because the last salesman, recently retired, had done a such good job with the accounts, all they needed was careful, tactful maintenance. Unfortunately, Uncle Eli wanted more. He observed that Slick Willingham, the guy who took Eli with him on his route to show him the ropes, had great success in increasing his sales and was always top salesman. Slick was a backslapping, joke telling, good old boy. His demeanor was such that he could insult a man and have that guy laughing and willing to buy whatever Slick was selling. Eli had no such demeanor. If he had left well enough alone he would have had no problems, but after a month or so of steady sales Eli adopted Slick's approach. The calls came rushing into the plant. Customers were threatening to move to a competitor. Ethyl Borquester was secretary to the owner and took the angry calls. She was a rescuer by nature and had her eye set on Eli as one who definitely needed rescuing. Tomorrow I'll tell you how Ethyl took over and saved Uncle Eli.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Look Before You Leap

Uncle Eli will have to stay in the hospital another week or so. He is the one who slid down the laundry chute and was mangled by junk lying at the end of his ride. Uncle Eli has a long history of bad decision making. There are too many stories to try to tell them all but one thing that always comes up when talking about Eli's goofs is the tale of how he got his first wife. She was a mail order bride. Eli had seen the movie Sayonara where Red Buttons married a sweet, pretty Japanese lady. Eli figured if it was good enough for Red it was good enough for him. He got right to work on it and within a year he had "bought" a bride from somewhere in Asia. In the movie we never found out how Red's marriage turned out because they did themselves in due to military policy against marrying someone from an occupied country. Eli's bride arrived and she was pretty all right, pretty old. They had lied about her age and put an old picture in their ad sheet. The bride was domineering and could not cook or keep their house clean. That marriage lasted a year. It was only with the help of Quince Applebutter, a real smart local lawyer, that he got out of that jam. He had to take a second mortgage on his farm to pay off the woman of his dreams. If it were not for Aunt Ethyl I am sure Uncle Eli would not have survived all his goofs. Tomorrow I'll tell how Ethyl came into the picture.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

A Quick Report on Uncle Eli Waterpipe

First let me say this ain't supposed to be funny. Dorothy has discouraged me from writing about it because she says there is no way people will not think I am making fun of her old uncle. But I only do most of what she wants, not everything.

Dorothy's Uncle Eli was not at the wedding. He was in Beaver Gorge Memorial Hospital with several broken bones, multiple cuts and contusions, and a concussion of the brain.

Last week Uncle Eli and his wife, Aunt Ethyl, visited his old family home in Beaver Grove. It was the first time Eli had been there in fifty years. As you might imagine it brought back many memories. One memory we wish it had not brought back was how when Eli was a boy he "rode" the laundry chute from the first floor to the basement. You guessed it, he had to take that trip one more time even at his advanced age. He fit pretty good and the ride down was smooth enough, but the final destination of the ride had changed. Considerably. Seems the last people who owned the property had installed washer and dryer on the first floor and had no need for the chute. They had stored old garden tools (rakes, shovels, a hand plow, etc.) at the place where the basket for dirty clothes used to sit. Poor Eli hit bottom real hard and was knocked out. Aunt Ethyl got excited when he didn't respond to her calls and found him bleeding and unconscious on the basement floor. She was so agitated she could not remember the number for 911 so she solicited the help of a neighbor and finally got an ambulance to pick up her husband and take him to the hospital.

If you are laughing or even smiling at this it's okay, Eli is going to be all right. In a year or so.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

One Car, Two Drivers

We are home. I drove over half the distance home and Dorothy drove all the way. The time I was behind the wheel she was sitting beside me but she might as well be the on doing the driving.
"Aren't you too close to that truck?" "You are driving over the speed limit." "Are you weaving?" "You seem to be sleepy." "Do you want me to drive some more?" "Remember people your age have slower reflexes." "Don't miss your turn, it's coming up in twenty miles."

When Dorothy was behind the wheel I came real close to giving her a dose of her own medicine. But I realized it wouldn't be a good thing to do. She would learn nothing from it and I would be in the doghouse for doing it. Like I said we made it home safe and sound. Dorothy believes (she told me so) she should get credit for being so diligent and watching out for me. I agreed with her thinking all the time we made it home because I am a very tolerant and forgiving man.

I still love her though. A lot!

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle 

Getting Ready To Go Home

We ain't even been to the wedding yet and I am already thinking about the drive home. Early tomorrow morning we will get up and leave. We plan to drive all the way back to Harper in one day. Dorothy is excited to get back and start moving her furniture back in place after getting the floors refinished. The only time I flew in an airplane was when Hollis talked me in to going to London with him and that girl. You can be sure that my next trip will be by air. I probably won't post anything tomorrow since we will spend the whole day driving.

It will be good to get back to our little lake.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Good People in This Country

Dorothy and I are in St. Louis. We did have a little adventure getting here. I drive an old Mercedes (1995.) I love it because it is comfortable on the road and gets real good milage. Dorothy has been after me to get a new car since before we were married. Her big objection to my old car is the fact there is only one cup holder between the seats. Well actually it's more than that but that's the one I hear most often. Her next suggestion was we drive to this wedding in her car, a much newer one. I wouldn't hear of it. She may have been right. We stopped over night because I was a little tired and my vision was getting blurry. This morning the car wouldn't start. It's a diesel and the glow plug light was not coming on. Luckily the place we stopped had a MB dealership. They didn't have the parts we needed but phoned ahead to St. Louis. The car ran just fine once it was started so we made it in plenty of time for the dealer to take a look at the problem. They sat us down, gave us coffee and drinks, and even brought in a plate of fried chicken and potatoes (they have a catered lunch for employees every Friday.) The car couldn't be fixed till the next morning (waiting for the part) so they gave us a loaner (no charge.) The people along the way couldn't have been nicer. I told Dorothy the only problem was they were so nice I would have to drive to St. Louis the next time I needed a new car. Don't worry. I ain't ready to give up on my old '95 just yet.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

St. Louis Memories

We are off to St. Louis today for that wedding, one of Dorothy's nieces daughters and a boy from San Diego. Last night I saw the Cardinals win in a game against Pittsburg. The Cardinals have always been one of my favorite teams. As a boy I listened to their games on the radio and once my Uncle Bertram took me and a friend up to Missouri to watch a game in person. It was played at Sportsman Park (I think that was the name) and luckily Dizzy Dean was pitching. Unfortunately he was pitching for the Chicago Cubs. Since he was a big part of the Cardinals and their winning ways back in the thirties he was greeted with a mixture of cheers and jeers. I was only nine years old but I will never forget the thrill of seeing right in front of me the heros of my radio viewing. One of the things I hope to do, if we have time, is drive by the old spot where the stadium stood. Nostalgia, doncha know.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Another Wedding

We are packing for another wedding trip. This one is in St. Louis. This year we have been to weddings in Highlands, Charlotte, Ft. Worth and now to St. Louis. We have another in November in Watercolor, Fl. Packing is harder this time because we are working around the floor refinishers Dorothy has commissioned to do the downstairs at our house. Seems I always forget something when I go on one of these wedding trips. My wife is on it this year, she has made me a checklist and I am trying my best to follow it. I told her thank you and she said, "You're welcome, Harvey Lee, but I'll be honest I'm doing it more for me than for you." A couple of years ago I forgot my tux shirt and Dorothy had to go to the ceremony alone. She didn't know many people there and the trip home was a silent one. Maybe the list is more for me after all. Well, gotta get busy.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle