Don Lemna

“The movie was Son of Frankenstein, and there was a Gene Autry film along with it. I liked the Frankenstein movie. I liked all Frankenstein movies. But as for Gene Autry, I never liked him very much. He had a bad habit of pulling out his guitar and singing, right in the middle of the movie.”

“He [Pat] pushed a little wheat onto the edge of the shovel, then swung the thing around with such sudden force that the wheat might have actually made it onto the truck, if only he hadn't let go of the shovel. But he did let go of it, and it went sailing through the air like a silver spaceship until my forehead stopped it."You've killed me!" I cried. I slipped down onto the pile of wheat, blinking wildly and clutching at my wounded forehead."I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he shouted.I felt quite numb all over, as if I weren't really there."I see three angels with golden trumpets," I informed him.At this point he began to blubber."Don't die!" he cried."It's too late. I responded. "You've killed me, and now I'm going to die."They'll probably hang you," I added as an afterthought.”

“I don't think she [Mother] likes doing the laundry," I said. It was actually the first time in my life that I'd really thought about it - about what she did once a week, every week, all our lives. I suddenly felt very sorry for her. At the same time, I wondered what it would be like to never again have clean clothes.”