That Grand Canyon and other stories
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Lawrence Judson Reynolds (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Robert Watson
Abstract: Unloading a half ton of manure had made Melvin's shoulders and arms ache, and he rested his elbows against his legs, holding the steering wheel with one hand as he drove. His mother had done it deliberately, he figured. There was no other way to figure it; the chicken house certainly hadn't needed cleaning that badly. And even if it had, she wouldn't have told the men to clean it on Saturday afternoon if she hadn't known that he wanted to use the truck that night. But now it was all done. He had given up supper and unloaded it, but his mother's ridicule still resounded in his mind: "You're a torn-fool. I no more'n got you out of your diapers, and here you think you're big enough to be seeing girls. Dating, you say: Hal If your father..." She always mentioned his father when she really wanted to shame him. She knew the effect it would have, and Melvin always gave her the satisfaction of seeing that effect, outwardly, at least. He would take on a saddened, reflective look—letting his shoulders drop slightly— and stare at the floor. It was a kind of conditioned response that signaled his complete surrender to her. But this time he hadn't surrendered; he'd waved his flag of truce as always, but he continued fighting.
That Grand Canyon and other stories
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Created on 1/1/1967
Views: 293
Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 1967