by Lorraine Ray
One: 1) Big Chief notebook writing, library of the Agricultural College, University of Arizona, 1978 2) Easterners appear at Saguaro Monument, pale woman kicks a barrel cactus, photography, discovery, entrapment and subsequent interrogation, Meredith lies about our 129,000 head of cattle and Rancho Supremo, escape from the pale Easterners up the hill of rocks to summit, Spring 1962.
Two: 3) Our survey from the top of the hill at Saguaro Monument, imaginary Apache compliment from pale Eastern lady, mountain ranges, saguaros stretching to the border with Mexico, 1962 4) Mother's first tirade about baby scorpions, 1962 5) Mother's peanut butter tirade at Saguaro Monument, 1962 6) Scorpion second tirade 1962 and return to the time of the real scorpion outside washhouse on Seventh Street, 1957 7) Blocks in living room, Mother circa 1975 interrupts to tell Lugar story which she says is much better, snakeskin blows by north window on Seventh Street, 1959 8) Tubercular sanatoriums, Beatniks, Mother warns about arroyos, the kleptomaniac lady steals our groceries and my brother's sailor suit back from the cleaners, unknown location. Mother refuses to prosecute, explains reasons. Thanksgiving 1959.
Three: 9) Itty-Bitty Cocky Baby, 1960, spring and grass is dying, old iron wheelbarrow 10) The barrel cactus that grows into a comma out of the foundation where the scorpion disappeared years earlier, 1960 11) Ralph Campbell's home and pomegranate picking. Little Red Hen story.12) Arc of my emotions, the old pink metate, Gumm's backyard on Eighth Street, with Anna Henry visiting and tells about her mother, Poncho Villa, afghans, Gumm's work at Bentz' and cutting fabric, communists and socialists, wreck in front of her home in Michigan, the phone in the boarding house in San Diego, Odd Fellows the words of the lodge installation, lisping, and Rikki, Air Force protection of America from all potential monsters, Fourth of July 1961 and onto future of tearing up the paragraph on the metate, Gumm's front porch, 1971.
Four: 12) How Jack destroyed his school papers in the dirt lot on the corner of Fifth and Rosemont, 1962, Mother's Royal Road to Learning tirade 13) Saguaro Monument search for dead saguaro, 1962 snow and cold, January, disinterment and journey home in station wagon, up jumped the devil, and the writer's silent scream 14) Mother's Cowboy Prince fantasy, 1962, and various future variations on to visiting the old ruins of cowboy prince homes in later years 17) Canteen style water bag saying Saturate Before Using hanging in car window drips on me during car trips to ghost towns, 1962 and on, the rattle of the chain of the canteen water bag.
Five: 18) Dress shops, 1962, squaw dresses and Mrs. Yates arrives to threaten Dottie Park into buying her squaw dresses 19) Journey to the church luncheon with Peg and the Congregational church ladies, 1962 20) The buffet table and patio at the luncheon, 1962 21) Sad lady who has a past of abuse falls into cactus patch in an equipale chair and is rescued by husband of the host, 1962 22) "Mexican" things to Midwesterners 23) Lady with big ears and squaw dress tries to call me out of a cactus patch and coaxes me with cake and icing is pulled off my marble cake 24) Treasures on the way home with Peg, 1962, Mrs. Le Brec wakes up and talks about President Kennedy and lost mines, I see The Phantom Herd for the first time in the sky in the backseat.
Six: 24) Mother's Woman Marine Bra, Dad on an Easter Evening, he tells the tale of That's the Way It Was Moving West, 1963, and the Wallacachuchu bird, Springtime 24) Rincon church, 1960s, folding chairs, concrete floor, communists, Reverend Sheldon, Mrs. Sheldon, church kitchen and old people in kitchen 25) Shirley Sheldon in church, 1963 and on in years of the sixties when I took care of her and her shouting in church 26) Molly Cameron, church treasurer, 1964 and on after church and her counting the paper offerings bags 27) Taking Shirley home, 1965, her dog the yappy brown dachshund, and walking her to the gate, watching her walk to the sliding door, and how she waved at the front window.
Seven: 28) Blaine threatens us and extorts money from us for the supposedly living pet turtle 29) Knot Hole Club and football at the stadium 30) the Boy Scout Pow Wow and I see cattle rustlers on the big screen of the Apache Drive-In on the way to the Pow Wow, 31) Secret eye club with no members and donkey imaginings on the rocks 32) Coming home alone 1965-66 33) Big Paper Skeleton at the school with suicidal speech therapist and 34) Maelstrom in Nogales, the streets, the toys in the shops, fleas, getting rescued by stinky vagrant
Eight: 35) Mother's tirade about the culture of the rodeo and its tastelessness, and Rodeo Parades in general, 1964 36) Sour orange trees and their history in the town, 1966 37) "I am the sheriff of this county" boy and finding oranges with young girl, blasting oranges and taking orders 38) Tiny white horse and creativity inside the orange tree from spy-hole, and the little fat conquistador who is walking near the horse, dolls, also.
Nine: 39) several undated windy rodeo parades in the past 40) absconded memory of overweight lady on the horse, 1955 dusty autumn on Allen road 41) Marshall KGUN TV show appearance for , 1962 42) Boy who jams an intricately carved ivory bean up his nose at Mrs. Jones' house while we are watching the rodeo parade on TV 43) windy parade with Hopi sand painter, 1964 44) Mother's recording industry tirade, payola and Mafia claims, 45) Mother's opinion of Nat King Cole as a record she would gladly own 46) square dancing at school to a record and wearing levis to school for rodeo week 47) taunting the many Easterners we thought we saw downtown 48) bullfighting on TV from Mexico and coloring 49) a mysterious big shot in yellow Cadillac zooms by us and we chase him 50) hobos approached who are hollering 51) phantom herd seen for the last time before folklorist gets word of them reflected in chrome bumper of station wagon 52) people lined up for buses to the rodeo 53) story of the rodeo goers who were kidnapped 54) handsome young cowboy 55) missing out on the Mysterious Big Shot 56) Navajo in shop window of department store 57) evil folklorist rustler that we met outside department store window watching sand painter 58) phantom herd discussed with folklorist by error 59) return to stereo shop 60) Dad hears Trotsky plot while listening to Mexican radio on new stereo 61) Maude Moran babysits and tells a terror story 62) discussion of sand painting with Meredith 63) phantom herd seen departing at the insistence of a gloved hand.
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Lorraine Ray is an avid reader and writer. She lives in an adobe home in the center of Tucson, Arizona with her husband and daughter.
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