Russell Baker

SUMMER BEYOND WISH

A long time ago I lived in a crossroads village of northern Virginia andduring its summer enjoyed innocence and never knew boredom, al-though nothing of consequence happened there.

Seven houses of varying lack of distinction constituted the community.A dirt road meandered off toward the mountain where a bootleg stillsupplied whisky to the men of the countryside, and another dirt road randown to the creek. My cousin Kenneth and I would sit on the bank andfish with earthworms. one day wę killed a copperhead which was bask_ing on a rock nearby. That was unusual.

The heat of summer was mellow and produced sweet scents which layin the air so damp and rich you could almost taste thęm. Morningssmęlled of purple wisteria, afternoons of the wild roses which tumbledover stone fences, and evenings of honeysuckle.

Even by standards of that time it was a primitive place. There was noelectricity. Roads were unpaved. In our house there was no plumbing.The routine of summer days was shaped by these deficiencies. Lackingelectric lights, one went early to bed and rose whilę the dew was still inthe grass. Kerosene lamps were cleaned and polished in an early-morninghubbub of women, and childręn were sent to the spring for fresh water.

This afforded a chance to see whether the crayfish population hadmultiplied. Later, a trip to the outhouse would afford a chance to day-dream in the Sears, Roebuck Catalogue, mostly about shotguns andbicycles.

With no electricity, radio was not available for pacifying the young.One or two people did have radios that operated on mail-order batteriesabout the size of a present-day car battery, but these were not forchildren, though occasionally you might be invited in to hear "Amos 'n'Andy."

A1l I remembęr about "Amos 'n'Andy'' at that time is that it wasstrange hearing voices come out of furniture. Much later I was advisedthat listening to "Amos 'n' Andy" was racist and was grateful that I

hadn't heard much.In the summer no pleasures werę to be had indoors. Everything of

delight occurred in the world outside. In the flowers there were hum,mingbirds to be seen, tiny wings fluttering so fast that the birds seemed tohave no wings at all.

In the heat of mid-afternoon the women would draw the blinds, spreadblankets on the floor for coolness and nap, while in the fields the cattleherded together in the shade of spreading trees to escape the sun. After-noons welę absolutely still, yet filled with sounds.

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Bęcł lruzzed in the clover' Far away ovel the fields the chug of an

a,,, ;.u iiirull-po*er"d it"e't';ng *""hin" could bę faintly heard' Birds

ł'tąll,,l rrrrrlcr t'he tin of the porch roof'"'ra'rn,,,r,

tlrrst along tt"-to"lJtorn the mountains signaledan approach'

iłtg cvcrr l, A car was comint' 'c"''' "oming'''

someone would say' People

-,i-'u,',if '"* houses. The"approaching dust was studied' Guesses were

hg* rll,',1 itbout whom it might contain'

! lrlrr n big moment in the day-the car would cruise past'

"Wlro was it?""l rlirlrt'l get a good look'""!t l,rokcJ like Packy Painter to me'"''( lnrrkln't have been Packy' Wasn't his car'",l'lu,stillness rer"tttJiiJelf as gently as the dust, and you could

*r,',i,'' lrort th" henfrour" and watc a hen settle herself to perform the

łłtYłl.'l y rlf laying "n "gg'-Fo'

livelier adventure there was the freld that

*.nrlarrrt:<l the bull. fn"i?, on" tould test his courage by seeing how far he

+lgrerl vcrtture before running back through the fence''l'lre rncn drifted U".t *iif, the falling sun, steaming with heat and

lellgrrt', and washed ln iin u"'in' with włer hauled in buckets from the

rrrr iirl I knew a few of it.it ,."t"tt, such as who kept his whisky hidden

il,'."i',,t,1"1.;;"il;,ht lime bariel, and what they were reallv doing

*lrerr llrcy excused tt "*"i""' r'om the kitchen and śtepped out into the

,,u 1,,,,r.1 and stayed out there laughing too hard'

Lrlso knew what the wotn"i t"ti about it' though not what they

tlrnupilrt. blven then I could see that matters between women and men

r 'uhl lrccome very difficult and, sometimes' so difficult that they spoiled

lllr' łtr tlf summel.Al srrnset people sat on the porche.s' As^ dusk deepened'.the lightning

lrrrpl t'arne out to be ."uJni arid bottled' As twilight edged into night' a

i;i';,; Jacross thę;;"J. I *., not afraid of bats then, although I

i"n,,',t ghirtr, which made the approach of będtime in a room wherę even

tlr,' kcrlirsene lamp would quickiy be doused seem terrifying'

I wits cven ,nor" ,f,"'id o-f toads and specifically of the toad which ]1ve{

rrrr,k't the porch steos and which' everyone assured me' woulo' lr

lnttllrcd, give me *"rttr' On" night I was allowed to stay up un-til the stars

w.re i' full command;f ,h;;k;. A woman of great age was arlns in fne

vrllirgc and lt *as conJd"t"a nt to let the children stay abroad into the

lrriilll. As four of * ,"iit'"" we saw a shooting star and someonę said'

"tM;rkc a wish."I rlicl not know what that meant' I didn't know anythint to *ttn

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