Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: THE UGLY TOURIST (07/09/15)
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TITLE: Inquisitive Sadie Mae | Previous Challenge Entry
By PamFord Davis
07/13/15 -
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“Mama, Mama… Why’s the people crowdin’ round the train tracks? Kin’ we go too?”
“Just you never mind! We got r’ own business ta’ tend to, gotta’ fetch buckshot fer yer Pa.’ Don’t you take no notion ta’ go nosin’ round those tracks alone neither! The minute I turns my back you always be gittin’ in mischief!”
Sadie Mae sticks out her bottom lip and takes a final glance toward the bustling crowd. Sulking, she unwillingly follows her mother up creaking wooden steps of the country store. A gust of October wind nearly knocks her off the platform.
“Land sakes girl; thought fer’ a minute you were gonna’ fall n’ take me with ya'!”
Entering the store, a familiar sound of jingling bells atop the door and scent of licorice candy erases Sadie Mae’s melancholy mood. She does not get into town often and will not let her earlier disappointment spoil the day. Surveying the nearly empty store, she steps slowly toward the candy jars and rests her chin on the counter.
“Mornin’ Mrs. Mc Caullie. Guess you saw that crowd outside waitin’ fer’ the train. Ya’ hear who’s comin?”
“No and I don’t care either. None a my concern.”
“But Mrs. Mc Caullie …”
Holding her opened palm before her face to stop him from continuing she says, “Told ya’, none a my concern. I’m here to buy a box a buckshot fer’ my man. Then, we’ll be on our way. Don’t have time fer’ gossip er’ the goins’ on out yonder neither. How much fer’ the buckshot?”
“Twenty cents.”
Untying her handkerchief, she removes proper change and places it on the counter. Before leaving, she notices Sadie staring at the candy; her countenance softens and she places an additional penny before the storekeeper.
“Git’ the girl a stick of licorice.”
Obliging, he lifts the top off the glass jar and reaches inside. “This one look good to ya’ Sadie Mae?”
“Yes, Sir!”
Reaching down to place it into her hand, a lump comes to his throat. She looks so small and so grateful…
Mrs. Mc Caullie breaks the silence. “I’ll take those shells…”
“Here ya’ are. Be careful walkin' through the woods; been track signs of bear.”
Nodding, Mrs. Mc Caullie takes Sadie by her sticky hand as they exit the store. The sound of applause fills the air as a man steps down from the train. Sadie is close enough to see a full view of the stranger that townsfolk are welcoming.
“Mama, that man is ugly!”
“You stop that talk, er’ I’ll wash yer’ mouth out with soap!”
Sadie knows better than to argue. Maybe Mama is right. Maybe he isn't ugly, just different from men in the Delta. His bushy hair, mustache and eyeglasses scare her. Grinning, and showing his teeth, she thinks he could eat a bear if it showed itself. Daydreaming, her mother startles her when she touches her on the shoulder.
“Sadie Mae Mc Caullie git’ yer’ head outa’ the clouds. We gotta’ git’ home. I got chores ta’ do.”
“Yes, Mama.”
A generation apart, the mother and daughter are made from the same cloth. Walking along the well-beaten path, the elder spins daydreams of her own. She’ll never let on to the girl but she is curious about the stranger too. Maybe listening to the store keep a bit longer would have been a good idea… As for the man being ugly, well he’ll never win a prize for his good looks.
Reaching their sharecroppers shack, life returns to normal.
“Sadie, you go inside, straight to the wash-basin and get those hands clean. I’ll get wood ta’ start a fire. Papa should be in from the big river in time fer’ supper.”
The anticipation of her father’s return puts a spring in the little gals step. It had been a bad harvest year; like many, her father went to work on the Mississippi to earn a living for his struggling family. While her mother fixes biscuits and white gravy, Sadie Mae plays with her rag doll and listens for her father’s footsteps.
Suddenly, he bursts through the door; breathless, he falls into a chair by the fireplace.
“Woman, you’ll never believe who I just saw; he came in on the Lake Providence afternoon train!”
The man of the house holds the apt attention of both his wife and their only child.
“President Theodore Roosevelt!”
*Note: Creative Non-Fiction.
President Teddy Roosevelt arrived in NE Louisiana on October 5, 1907 for a bear hunt.
{Research: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lamadiso/articles/roosevelt_moncrief.htm}
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Nicely done and completely on topic!
God Bless~
You developed your characters well. They made sense for their situations. I especially liked the mother's no-nonsense attitude, but then you showed her soft spot for her child when she bought the licorice (hope I spelled that correctly).
Well done and God bless!