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