Page 24 - Ninety Miles From Nowhere

together at one end of the long table and gossiped away at a very rapid rate. The children were lined up along the sides of the table on benches, while I sat at the far end of the table — a convulsed witness.
Barbara was a short chunky little girl with brick red hair, myriad freckles, and a belligerent attitude. She had none of the social graces, endearing ways, or cute looks of most little girls . She was said by other members of the family to resemble her father. Sam, an ex-navy man, had looks and ways of speech and action which most mothers would prefer that their daughters wouldn’t copy, but everyone seemed to think Barbara’s speech and ways were “cute.”
The Christmas before, Sam and Dixie trimmed a tree for her, and when Dixie carried her in to see it for the first time, the whole family gathered around and waited with bated breath to hear what she would say. She eyed the tree for a few seconds, with her eyes popping at the glitter of the bright candles and at the gifts piled beneath, then turned to her father and said, “My God, Sam! Look what I got!”
On the day at the lunch table, Barbara said quietly, “Pass the beans, please.” No response from either of the mothers.
“Pass the beans, please!” She said in a slightly louder voice. Still no answer.
“P-a-a-a-s-s- the b-e-e-e-ans!” She wailed, but the mothers were too engrossed in their conversation to hear her. When she saw a response was not forthcoming, Barbara stood up on the bench, grabbed a tablespoon, began beating on the table with
it, and shouted, “PASS THE BEANS, DURN YOU!”
The little lady received immediate service.
In the high altitude of nearly 7500 feet, the atmosphere was rarified but clean and brisk. The climate was dry, and although the temperature dropped very low, the cold did not hurt as it does in a humid climate — except on one’s feet down under the perpetual snow, as I learned to my discomfiture the following winter. Most activities were not curtailed by the weather as the snowy days came seldom, and the snow that covered the ground did not stop travel by horseback, and usually not by car. I learned that because the temperature did not rise above freezing, to thaw the snow and to allow it to refreeze and form a hard crust, the snow remained dry and powdery like sand.
During the winter we found diversion in visiting when we could, riding horseback, going to dances, and in reading, for me. Reading material was scarce there but I read everything I could get my hands on, and the mail always brought something new to read.
The entire population found their greatest pleasure and relaxation in attending dances. People came from a radius of two hundred miles, by automobile, truck, horseback, wagon, and even by foot, with the entire family, from tiny babies to grandparents, attending. A bedroom was always set aside for bedding down the children too young to dance, a necessity as the dance usually lasted all night long. Some of the oldsters would also sneak off for a short nap and would return chipper and refreshed.