A DEGREE OF TRUTH

Look at that! Some kind of afternoon project.

I’ve been here for a while, since 1927, in fact. We had eight hundred acres and 2,000 head of cows. All of us had our own horse.

Are you getting religion? Yes! I’ll try to get you included. I’m too old for that now. I’ve already done all my criminal stuff, and now I’ve resigned.

This picture could bring about many interpretations. I don’t see anything that would give the picture away, other than that there’s a lot of activity.

Why are they covering their faces? Probably because of odor. I’m going to have to take the Fifth, because I don’t know.

Look, she’s hiding down there. There’s nothing that’s a giveaway. There probably isn’t one since she’s so young. They might be looking at the sky, or clouds, or the airplanes. Everyone is looking up.

It could be a building, a plane, a hundred different things. From the half-smile on the girl’s face and the frightened look on the young one’s face, it would have to be something that would be scary to the young and acceptable to the elderly.

The one girl is covering her nose out of all of the traffic. Maybe it’s a spray plane that’s up there spraying citrus or farms or something and has an odor. I would rather think it’s probably a plane spraying something. Nobody seems to be covering their head but they’re all looking up. If it’s a spray deal, there’s not enough for them to cover their heads.

Poor little kid. She might be scared. Maybe there’s a bad smell. She’s the only one doing it.

It couldn’t be anybody jumping with a parachute, because the crowd is too tightly bunched together. Somebody would get hurt. Someone jumping out of a parachute is not frightening.

They’re looking at the moon. They want to look at it because it shines so brightly. I love the moon. I love to watch it.

One woman is looking at the moon and the other one just looks mad. One of them is yelling like heck and the other one is just looking. You can see her eyes rolled up. The little girl depicts fright, the way she’s hiding her face.

They’re talking to each other. Looks like claws. The woman is yelling something. They may not be taking proper cover. You’re really getting thorough, aren’t you? Maybe somebody’s doing something.

Is the girl looking up at the sky? No, no.

Where are they? I’ve traveled too many places to keep them all together. They’re in a yard.

If I were standing right there with that woman, I would look the same way. It could be a collision of two planes in the air. There are so many different hazards that could call the people to be frightened. You’re so talented.

I flew for several years, and I learned all the things you can run in to.

They’re skittish, and they don’t want to get hurt, but they want to see it. You’re so smart. I’m so impressed. Did I sell anybody on my suggestions?

That woman is saying something. They wouldn’t be looking up if she was chewing them out. She’s looking at the people and telling them to do something, either move back or move forward. She’s issuing orders. I can tell you from the position of her mouth that she’s yelling in a loud voice. She’s got a big mouth. She’s trying to tell somebody to get their butt back or it’s going to hurt you!

They’re in a yard, with all those people? They wouldn’t be in my yard. They could be in a grove or anywhere. It’s generally felt that they’re in danger. That’s felt throughout the group.

I kind of like this. It’s fun to try to figure out a photograph that’s supposed to talk to you. So many of them don’t.

What kind of danger? Somebody’s fallen out of an acrobatic plane, and they’re parachute didn’t open. I see people looking and staring, but there’s no fright. This is an act of caution. “Cover you damn face!” Boy, are you talented. I’m a good guesser. Well, you failed.

All these people are part of a community. They live in the same town and have the same outlook on life. This is in the fall part of the year. Notice the heavy coats?

There’s something going on that could be injurious to the crowd. What kind of word is that? It means subject to being an injury because of this act. You’re pulling my leg now. That word is as common as going to the bathroom.

What town do they live in? You’ve got to look at their dress. I would say it’s early fall. We’re looking at November, maybe December.

There’s smoke in the back. They’re barbecuing, evidently. It could be a party. They’re barbecuing a steak. Many a time I’ve been to a barbeque. I’ve led such a full life.

The only thing I would see that would differ on that, sugar, is that everyone is looking up and the woman in the middle is chewing somebody’s butt. She’s trying to keep those two in the pack.

There could be some truth in that. They might have been barbecuing and then a plane flew over. This time of the year you would get a lot of winter haze. It’s not even winter. She’s telling them, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

There’s so many interpretations, it’s hard to know which one is right. There can be a degree of truth in many different interpretations.

Could be a building on fire, too. That’s always possible, because you’ve got smoke.

What happens next? Everybody goes like hell and runs. No, I don’t see fright in their faces. I do in Momma’s face. She’s yelling at the kids to get back from the fire. There might be a stick of dynamite, or a plane blew up. Maybe the kids are looking at the building burning. Somebody must be doing something wrong. They’re all frightened. Probably somebody jumping out of a building or something.

The woman in the middle is a protective person. She’s being a typical mother. Somebody behind her is as concerned as she is. She might not see the danger, but she anticipates it. Are those her children? I doubt it. She doesn’t look like she’s old enough to be their mother.

I think the people in the background are excited, or impressed by it. They’re smiling. Maybe somebody is jumping out a plane or trying to commit suicide or something stupid. Maybe they’re looking up waiting for someone to dive off the building.

I don’t know why that girl is covering her nose instead of her eyes. Maybe there was an explosion.

STORY BY: Duncan, Roy, Vivian, Gretchen, Nina, Everlyn, Joyce, Betty, Patricia, Maxine

TEDDY

Two kids and a dog. I’ve done that! It’s a new puppy and they’re getting acquainted with it. It has a long tail. It’s a leaf. He has his hat on.

I had a dog and a cat. They ate out of each other’s dish. They’d smell each others’ dishes, then look at each like old people and swap. I had so much fun. On top of that, the dog and the cat slept together.

What kind of dog is it? He’s like the ones we had at home. It’s about that size. Ours was light. He was about like that, but not as dark.

That reminds me of my children. They had one little dog and four little boys. He’s a cutie. Looks like a monkey from the front. Ours wasn’t that. It was a good dog, but it wasn’t the run-around kind. He was good.

Our cat used to lie on his side, and the dog slept on his stomach. They fought for each other. I’d hear the dog crying because he was timid, and my cat landed on the other cat’s back, and came back strutting because she had won. I wish I had them back. They’d be awfully old by now.

I’d call the dog Teddy. That’s what his name was for us. He fought for everybody. He ran the cats off. He was the king.

Does Teddy like cats? No. Our kids liked our dogs. They had another one, but it wasn’t as nice. They had three.

They all play together. Ours would just run, run, run, run.

The two little girls are sisters. Are you sure the one with the hand across her face is a girl? Would a girl have a hair cut like that? In this day and age, how can you tell if it’s a girl?

I don’t think boys and girls played like that together. Oh, I did. I played with my little brother. He had a heart condition, and he couldn’t get out and play, so he stuck around the house all the time.

We had more than this dog, even. We had two and another one.

She’s kissing the dog. I had a house full of animals. I had cats, dogs, birds, everything.

What’s a good name for the girl with the long hair? I find a lot of names cute. Especially when the girl is little with a big name.

They’re going to hang onto the dog because he’s going to run after a bird. He’s going to run as soon as he gets a chance. They’re curious, pups are.

There’s a cat out here, too. Maybe that’s what the puppy is looking at. A cat wouldn’t be that close to a dog. They wouldn’t be looking for a dog.

Those kids are kind of big for a dog. I’d be afraid they’d get lost.

It looks to me like they’re out on a prairie. They might be out in the field. It looks like a prairie in the distance. People shouldn’t take kids out in a field like that. There are snakes out there.

I don’t see any parents around, do you? Unless back there. They might be holding two dogs, or maybe three.

The black dog is on a green leash. One, two, three, four. There are several leashes coming together at the end. Who is holding onto the leash? The father is holding onto the animals.

Who gave them the puppy? I don’t know whether anybody did or not. Somebody wanted to get rid of him. They had a whole mess of dogs. They don’t always have just one or two.

About a year ago, they had little dogs. They were bigger than these. I was never far away from them.

Do they have any other pets at home? Birds, I imagine. They wouldn’t have to, because they have birds all around the field anyway.

How many dogs do you think are there? Is this partly a child? I just wonder how they can manage to get different characters with them all the time. They never look alike to me.

What are they sitting on? Are they on the edge of a pool of water? Do you think they might go swimming? I don’t think it’s that deep. I think they’re watching their own faces. That dog—if that’s a dog—that looks like a kid to me. It’s got big legs. Maybe those are her legs.

What are they going to do next? They’re undecided, because there are so many things.

I’m trying to decide if that’s a dog or a child. In a way, it could be a person, and in a way it could be anything.

I also kept a house full of food for kids. They’d always come up and say, “Are you cooking today? What time will it be ready?” I never had so much fun in my life.

Story by: Betty, Patricia, Maxine, and Gretchen