Adventure into the Woods

_{Earnest, Gretchen, Mable, Joyce, Patricia, Margery, Helen, Ida, Anne, [Lana, Alice]}

_{Talk about something you can make out of it.  They do look like they are trying to make something.  Camping kids and at least six heads.  They’re not emptying anything out.  They’re all working.  Enjoy themselves, build a fire for warmth and food.  Water.  They enjoy going.  Facilities to camp.  Are you camping around here or are you camping off somewhere else?  It depends.  Camping in the Smokey Mountains.  Lovely campgrounds there and facilities for people.  They can go see how beautiful it is, if they’ve never been there.  This looks good.  You haven’t been there.  You need to go.  The trees, flowers, wildflowers that bloom, a stream, lakes, and it’s peaceful.  You’ve got that right.  Squirrels, yes you sure do, lots of squirrels and rabbits, and sometimes a bear.  Be prepared for the bears, get out of their way or get something else to give them.} 

_{Whatever time of day you go there, morning or night.  Shoe for boots.  Fix a snack or something.  Everybody likes to go camping in the spring or fall, when things have changed.  I love them.  It hurts so bad they have to eat something.  Look for the environment and animals.  Beautiful.  It’s uneven.  Warm and comfortable weather.  Mmm-hmmm.  That’s what they put on.  It’s beautiful when you get up there on the mountain top.  Let’s see you mountain climb.} 

_{Exhilarated.  I think so.  They would still be sleeping up there.  They’re not afraid of nothing.  Not yet.  The water isn’t running.  The wrong place.  People who come over there from cities.  Atlanta and any other city close by. They look for another place.  A camping place.  Camping area.  Where they have fires and water.  Do you want to go?   By the water, get drinking water, fix a snack, get ready for bed.  The Smokey Mountains are in the mountains, just above Gatlinburg.   Where they would be.  They’ve been told there was overnight camping, which there was.  They want to be in the wild.  She may have told them the wrong place on purpose.}

_{They went to the wrong place.  Somebody had to be in charge in finding the right campground - all the comforts of home.  Closer to the city.  No.  Get wood for camping early in the morning before it gets dark.  Snack it up.  Sandwiches, fruits, cookies, candy, yeah! All of it!  You want to eat them.  They are thinking about what they can eat without having to build a fire.  It smells so good.  That’s when bears come in.  Bears know where it is.  Oh, yeah.  They’ll go where it is, too.  Come in at night and eat it all up.  Doesn’t the fire keep the bears away?  When we are trying to eat, yes.  Don’t you have a fire tender?  The people all tell stories and have fun.  The fire tenant keeps the fire going.  Fireproof.  The biggest guy we’ve got.  We’ll call him Big Guy.  He’ll scare the bear off.} 

_{What happens in the morning?  I’m ready to go!  Get up at what time or whatever.  I’ll be ready.  Scared.  Don’t you think they go to bed too?  Went to sleep with the cubs.  They’re smarter.  They know.  A while. Look at all the animals, animals all around.  Lots of rustling and all that.  Yawning.  They would be fast going back, then they are going in.  They want to go home, they don’t want to stay somewhere all packed up.  They’re tired.  They are close neighbors and friends, all in the same neighborhood.  They know where they all want to go, and they will all shoot for it.  It’s exciting.} 

_{You’re talking to someone who has never done that.  I’m new.  That’s the nicest part.  Not really.  Talk to experienced people.  Dirty and smelly.  Shower and go to bed, that’s it, that’s me.  I’ve done enough for that length of time.  That’s the truth.  The woman does all the work. Yes.  That’s the best thing to do.  We are all in agreement.  Little tiny red bugs get in your clothes, you can’t get it out.  Get alcohol or peroxide.  Make sure it’s dead.  Get the chippers off.  Good old home.} 

_{The bear didn’t chase anybody.  That’s the nicest part.  Adventure me right in and right out, because I’m a city girl.  It’s a total turn-around.}

Roger and Gloria (Part One)

A man named Roger on his way to Heaven.  The lights behind him look like sky lights.  The colors bring him out beautiful, the bare ground is very nice.  He’s looking up and holding the light up in the golden background.  There’s an eye in the foreground that belongs to the one who wants to watch over him and keep track of him.  A beam brings the light, but I’m just trying to pour out what I hear.  He’s trying to get the light in the eyes, because he wants it there. 

It’s glorious!  The light is enough to cover something, whatever you are going to do, honey boxes in the background, a light in his hand.  Roger is touching his own hair.  The shine of the light is a halo on his head.  Red, like a lobster, warm, like a tree, and the bottom of the tree covers his face.  You can hardly make definition of his face.

He’s a dead Job - that’s my brother.  He put his own name, Job, but we’ll call him Roger.  He kept doing that telephone thing.  Roger is a musician.  Music is the whole soul.  Roger plays a violin that sounds like light and imagination.  I don’t think dilly-wamper is going to do it. Get all this together.  It sounds like Heaven, a light musical instrument.  He’s not afraid, dragging through the skull and bones.  It all shows up in the air. 

His sister plays the violin, too.  Her name is Gloria, like glorious, it sounds good.  Gloria is already in Heaven, waiting for her brother.  She has the ability to see him, more than he has the ability to see her, because he’s not there, but she is.  Things happen wonderfully up there, or miraculously, or gloriously, whichever one you want to use.  God’s hand at work, that’s what I think.  He’s in control. 

But the tree upside down on its head looks funny, real funny, and a horse, and a sleigh, and men, and animals, and a tiger in the back outlined in yellow, and there’s a big circle, and his shirt is sticking out, and that handball by his foot - God is not capable of fixing all of that.  God will add to it. 

We need to embrace Gloria, because she is in the story.  The picture needs to get bigger to embrace Gloria.  Will you see coffins and dead people everywhere?  Bring that picture next time, because it shows the story.  The graveyard shows something subconscious.  That’s a good point.  When we get to Part Two, we’ll embellish it from there.  We’ll bring it together, then.

Ellen, Ida, Philamina, Marjory, Anne, Jeannie, Earnest, Brenda

The Last of the Family

By Henry, Patricia, Gretchen, Anne, Ernest, [Lana]


They're all jumping in -- they want to get in the water. It should not be someone I know, a friend playin' in the water, the ocean. They'll get tired of the water.

[What will they do then?]

I write some of these, then erase them. I don't know where it is; I know it's in the South down by the Gulf. I just took mine down today. I couldn't get rid of it any other way. I had six of them. I doubt it'll do any good.

[What's the Gulf look like?]

It's very warm. The water looks hard, like it's standing still The water's going to get out of their way sometimes. They're gonna be very... (storyteller makes sounds for beach waves) hard. Could be anything. We did, we left it back. I think bottom, because if they take it, I'll be sad.

[What are they trying to take?]

I don't know, jewelry or something at the bottom. Somebody doesn't know what we know, not at the moment. They'll put it on the porch at the end of the levy where they take care of each other. A little of each one, I imagine they do because they're so close and are hanging on to each other.

[What will they do with the things they've found?]

Oh, gosh! They'll go down to the coast, and they'll see Indians! Today, my God! They'll join them, go on dry land. I was gonna say, "That's dry!"

[What will the jumpers and Indians do together?]

I've heard things, things like tepees and houses. From what I know of them, they like to be close. I don't know about this lake -- there's five of them! Where were they? They're in the air as well! Six babies, more than that to make a family. These are my families; I love it!

[Will the big group leave the land by the lake?]

These were different spaces. I have no idea, they have to go through us! These kids are three, and there's another three. This is at the beach. No, they're not going to leave. They'll probably just make a place where they can be together.

[How does this story end?]

That's automatic -- they're all going together.

Jack and Tom

By Patricia, Marjory, Ellen, Philamine, Barbara, Gretchen, Margaret, Ida, Evelyn [Lana]


Looks like a bunch of kids. They're very young, too...five, six, seven. Looks like they're getting ready to eat. They're got their fists clenched, getting ready to grab something. Their clothes are suits. Looks like a sort of uniform, some sort of class.

[Where do you think they're going?]

Looks like they're about to start scurrying; big eyes in a box is all I can see. Play, I would assume play. Hide-N-Seek, outdoor games, parents are probably working.

[Why are they working?]

I don't know. They're not supposed to, but they do sometimes. They might not have money. I used to work in a silk mill, stock and sell anything with silk. Probably the same thing.

[What're the kids going to do now?]

The kids will get ready for school, I think. How to read, write, and see about everything else. They're probably happy.

[What time of day is it?]

It's the morning. The parents will come home late in the afternoon probably. The kids will be home, too, I hope. They have supper. That's five children praying. I don't know probably nothing.

[What are they praying for?]

I imagine they're thinking about school, if they got in trouble and are going to get a whipping or not. I have no children, so I can't. I'm just looking at that; two eyes are off and one on. No! Yeah, you're right.

[What happened to the other eye?]

One of the kids (storyteller names him Jack) was hit in the eye, probably by accident by one of the other kids. Tom (the other kid) might have said, "I'm sorry!" He felt bad about it.

[What did Jack say back to Tom?]

What did I say? About eyes? The one working the best, I guess! Mad, Jack felt! Mad about it!

[What happens to Jack and Tom now?]

I assume they were friends. Well, they won't be best friends anymore. I don't think he would. It was an accident; it was not deliberate. He'll (Tom) start with an apology, help him (Jack) do something about it. It's a piled up mess!He'll help Jack get help with whatever problem he has. They'll go to their mother probably. I would think she would take him to the doctor and have an expert check his eyes out. Your eyes are the biggest thing in the world.

[How does Jack feel after seeing the doctor?]

He probably feels better. He forgives Tom, of course. It should heal the friendship. You could say it was a good ending.

A Couple Who Grew Up and Almost Got Married

By Ida, Patricia, Dorothy, Mabel, Gretchen, Ann, Margery, Margaret, Maxine, [Alice, Lana]

Some gal, isn’t she?  I’ve got one.  It would be hard for her.  I don’t think she could understand.  I never recognize them.  We don’t know them.  I don’t know what kind of names to name.  Andy.  I can’t say.  Andy.  What can I name her?  My favorite girl?  Rose, I guess.  We have to think?  What a story!  Doing a very good dance.  Dancing, yeah.  I think they’re partners.  They’re very minded about the dancing and very committed.  What else can I say?  [laughter]  What do you think?  She’ll be okay.  They’ll be okay.  Okee-doke. 

I think they’re just happy.  They feel good about themselves today.  I have no idea how long they’ve been dancing.  Lots of times.  They met out dancing. 

[Were they dancing with other people?] Yeah. 

[What did Andy say to her?] “Let’s dance.”  Rose said yes. 

[What kind of moves do they make?] Wide sweeping ones. 

[When did they learn to dance?] 

Night school.  When I got married.  Between grade school and night school.  In the service first.  I don’t know anything about the service now.  I came to find out.  How come they call her Rose?  They dance afternoons at school, when they have an hour for exercise. 

[How old were they when they met?] 

About twenty.  They knew each other when they were ten or eleven.  I wouldn’t know.  I was in the next county.  My sister knows.  I’m still the same Margery she knew. 

[Where did they dance when they were kids?] At school functions. 

[How old do they look in the picture?] 

About seventeen, eighteen, maybe twenty, but seventeen or eighteen at least. 

[How do they feel about each other?] 

They were in each other’s minds for a long, long time.  Part of that time they were close.  They’ve been together since they were kindergartners.  They liked each other quite a bit.  I’m gone too much.  I wasn’t that age.  I would like to make anything up.  They made up and started getting together again.  They were in love.  They started going together.  They were happy going places together. 

School children quite often are.  There are differences between them.  I don’t know for sure.  I’m taking a guess.  As far as I know, he might not have been called Andy.  Relatively know more about that than I.  He was friendly.  The girl was friendly, too.  They used to play together. 

Julia.  Not unless she had another friend named Rose.  I have no knowledge of that, whatsoever.  This is what I talked about, of her, around home.  I don’t want to unfriendly.  Rose is a girl. 

[Andy likes] 

baseball.  I was dizzy growing up myself.  So, no, you don’t sit around and ponder over sisters and brothers too much when you are older.  He was a nice boy. 

[What type of person was Rose when she was growing up?] 

Fell in love.  They did keep going out together.  She was an outgoing person.  She liked to go to the movies.  When they fell in love, they just realized their feelings for each other.

[Now that they are all grown up, what will they do?] 

They go to the playground and play baseball, football, softball.  I would not call them grown, I would call them half grown.  I’m talking about eleven or twelve.  No, I doubt it.  I would say not.  

[Who won the softball game?] 

The boy.  Probably messed up between boys and girls, boys and girls.  Celebrate! 

[Did they go anywhere afterwards?] 

They go home, probably.  I guess they were tired.  They probably played ball from the time they were in recess until the time they were in high school.  They probably were tired at night.  They did go home and do chores.  I know they had chores to do.  Watched TV.  The other children had cub meeting.  My children didn’t have, our children, our boys and girls didn’t have cub meetings until they were quite old.  Drive in to town and back again, after it is over. 

They tell them, “Visit our house.”  I don’t know how to play that.  Um… I’m not so sure about that.  By the time they were eighteen, I was twenty-one.  They talked about it, and they came to my house, too.  They wanted to find out if it was the house that he had written down, if it was good.  I was excited!  It didn’t go into it.  They were just kids.  They’re really not old enough for everything, but they liked to look at the books. 

The ones I just had, they made them in to [unintelligible].  Be together.  Don’t leave, don’t get upset.  He said, “I’ll be upset with you.”  It was a nice piece of paper.  This was the time around when they were giving away all the clocks, persons didn’t have to take it.  They could get in without it.  It was fine afterwards.

[Rose] 

was working until midnight.  That late.  Worked late.  I’ve just got to reading them, that’s all.  Yep, they did pretty well.  That’s hard to say.  It is for me.  They have their ups and downs.  Good!  Pretty good, isn’t it?  Boy, I would love to see that one!

They get married and live happily ever after.  They each got married to other people!  We feel that way sometimes.  Not as old as I am.  Her name is Phil.  Phillis.

The Man on the Wheel

by Gretchen, Marjory, Anne, Maxine, Margaret, Ernest, Philamine, [Alice, Lana]

[What's your first impression of the picture?]

Not watching where he’s going. With hair on his head, he looks big. He’s not really straight, thinking he’s at that road. That’s a man that did it by himself. I have nothing to do with it. Look at that. That’s what they hand to me. I don’t know who the hell that is! I never saw it! I guess he’s on a pretty big thing. He seems happy. He’s looking at the situation around him to know what he can talk about. I think he’s trying to be a modern bicyclist. He’s younger, not mid-life yet. The bicycle was sent to him so he could do something.

[Do we want to give him a name?]

What’s his name? We gotta give him a name – James, just James. Good God.

[What does he want?]

He wants to get people out. We don’t see any more people. The people there are down below wondering what they’re going to do. Do you recognize that man? He’s the one who was telling everybody about all the good things. Why was I supposed to tell him? I’m not at the present to them. I don’t know him! I don’t want it near me. I’d rather you have it than I do.

[Who are the people?]

They’re just regular people. Friends he meets, issues in their personalities that would decide what kind of people there should be.

[What is your favorite personality?]

Yes, and no, I guess. I hope people are sincere. People want to get out! Sound like a good idea? The people really actually care. They can get out with his help.

[Explain their personalities.]

You’re the one, huh? Well, you’re on the list. Wait a minute, give me your hands. Now pull me! Some place he lives tells what people are like. They won’t all be good people. It seems like there’s always some people that are different. It’s not working. I want you to keep an eye out. Don’t give anything out, something’s not right. We’ll take care of this ourselves. Bring them to my office tomorrow morning.

I don’t know any bad personalities in my family. They weren’t very truthful, misrepresenting themselves. You put your trust in them thinking they were okay, but not really. Hypocrite! Let’s hope there aren’t too many. Why’s he gonna get everybody out? What’ll he use the place for?

[What will James do with the empty space?]

He wants it to go with what he wants to do and feel and think. He covers it all so he can hide if he wants. He might not be thinking that way now. He’s thinking about the beautiful world! Oh, yes! I know it. I just hear things, here and there. I’ll kind of watch out now and then.

[Tell me about the beautiful world.]

 Birds and bees. Christmas is coming! I hear many things. For me, they pass out a lot of things. I went out on and thought it was very interesting. I stayed there a while and had a good time, too. The next time, it was just beautiful. Who can do something and who can’t. beautiful is not tearing down, and they love it. Red. Smells like fragrance. Sunshine. Good weather.

[How should the story end?]

We should have a beautiful world.  The people want permission to build a plan. It’s hard, too.

[What does James really think?]

He has no idea. He’s observant. He wants to be in the future.

[What's in their future?]

Good ideas to better themselves, to do good things. Everything looks good, and everything goes good. I don’t know, the things that are best. You know, the stuff you bring, something to eat or drink. It’s what you want to give them. Be nice to them. Give them things they need, do what they like, smile.

Black Eye

by Marjory, Anne, Gretchen, Earnest, Patricia [Alice, Lana]

[What's happening with this woman?]

She has a black eye. She got hit by somebody.

[How does she feel about that?]

She's feeling pain and discomfort, and she doesn't want anybody to see her. In other words, that's what you worry about.

[Why was she hit in the face?]

She didn't get to finish putting on her face, it's healing. The man in the circus hit her. She upset him.

[How did she upset him?]

She didn't want to see him anymore and had him arrested.

[What does she do when he's in jail?]

It didn't feel good because it was the wrong thing. She goes out somewhere, probably goes home.

[Who's waiting for her at home?]

They're alright, the people that came in. They're from around here. She knows them from church.

[What do they say about her black eye?]

They thought to let her know that it wasn't right. They have to talk about everything. The next day, they all felt better. They're all getting along, but some are hesitant and some feel guilty.

[Are these people close to her?]

They all think they're friends, but she doesn't know if she's guilty or not.

[How do you feel about her situation?]

I'm an adult, a damn good adult! It's a confusing situation and has got her all upset. He (the circus man) shouldn't have done that and he's going to pay for it.

[How long will he be in jail?]

He won't be in jail for very long. He knows people that have been bad often.

[How does the woman feel about him being in jail?]

She thinks he's bad and unsuitable for her. She may feel sorry for him when he's out of jail, but things may change.

[How is her life without him?]

I don't know how her life is going, waiting on you. Oh, my God! He'll get out when his sentence is over.

[What do you think she'll do once he's out of jail?]

She has two opposing thoughts -- she's at fault, and he's half bad. So, they pull each other's hair and I think they get back together.

[How do they feel about getting back together?]

They both feel bad and work through reasoning to fix it, and both keep trying. They have to.