by Sandra Hume and Erin Blakemore
Sandra: Sigh. Literaries.
Erin: The chapter title does not bode well, folks. One would almost think that Ma had got a hold of a Dickens serial or an edifying work of Mr. Bulwer-Lytton. No such luck. Instead, we look upon a sigh-worthy vista indeed…a winter with…wait for it…no snow.
Sandra: We’re slouching towards Christmas, and it’s the opposite of last winter. No snow. Zilch. Nada.
Erin: Irony alert! But guaranteed to make a teenage girl without a lunatic fringe to comfort her a trifle…antsy.
Sandra: Bleak is the word. Rows of samey samey days. Laura’s not even looking forward to getting the stealth Christmas present book of poems. But it’s Friday night! And Laura has had it! She slams her book on the table. OMG, a real teenager!
Erin: In brilliant contrast to the grown-too-soon girl we witnessed twisting hay last year around this time.
Sandra: I love the term “wooden swearing.” Remember Pa’s “Well I would swear, if I did”?
Erin: I think of this term at least three times a week when catching myself before cursing in public. Crafty of Ma to point out that it’s the thought that counts
Sandra: But Pa’s the soother, especially for Daddy’s girl. And then Ma gives in (sorta) and says OK, we’ll stop studying, and Laura can read a story in one of the Youth’s Companions.
Erin: As if this embarrassment of riches weren’t enough, Pa swoops in like a hero. Looks like the Ingallses aren’t the only ones with cabin fever!
Sandra: What do you think he said to the men around the stove at Fuller’s? “Gosh dang, my angsty teenager sure is driving us crazy tonight. Any ideas for getting her out of the house?”
Erin: He had only to mention the wooden cursing and they organized in a jiffy! Goshdarnit.
Sandra: They all walk with their lanterns to the school. For some reason I really like picturing this. A band of lighted families down Main Street, just looking for fun on a Friday night. And EVERYONE’S going. Fuller even closed his store! Heck, everyone closed their store. Par-tay in De Smet. Oh, wait. Not so fast. Clewett bums everyone out by trying to have an election.
Erin: Easy to forget that parliamentary procedure was all some gentrified folks had to cling to, back in the day. What do you say? Pa objects?
Sandra: Pa speaks in favor of casual Fridays. Who needs officers? Go Pa! But shoot … there’s no agenda. I love how “the barber” suggests singing. I’ve never noticed the barber before.
Erin: Singing school foreshadowing!
Sandra: Oooooo. Decision made, and teams are picked for a spelling match. Pa (of course) and Gerald Fuller are captains. Why didn’t we pick teams at LauraPalooza?
Erin: Don’t worry. I still would have won.
Sandra: There’s a tense few minutes when the scene of every elementary kickball game is played out in the schoolhouse. Pa picks Laura before an adult – Mr. Foster. This will prove prophetic. Dumb Mr. Foster. Scared the antelope away. Almost made Almanzo lose Lady.
Erin: Yes, our girl Laura knows how to hold a grudge.
Sandra: First guy to go down is an adult: Mr. Barclay spells “hero” “heroe.” Sorry, Dan Quayle! Excitement grows. Toes on a crack in the floor, hands behind backs. The lines grow shorter on each side, first one team, then the other. Close game.
Erin: As if participating in a real live De Smet-style bee at LauraPalooza wasn’t enough, the experience of standing inside the actual schoolhouse in De Smet was electrifying when I visited last summer. I’ll admit, I looked at every crack in the floor and thought of the room packed with people, all livened up and excited at the simple thrill of competition among neighbors.
Sandra: I came in third.
Erin: It’s spellin’ time. The little kids fall quickly to the wayside, as do the more backwards attendees. Laura and Ma (differentiation, repetitious) hold their own. Foster busts it out, prairie style, lording his momosaceosity (sp?) over Ma AND Miss Garland. Jiminy Christmas!
Sandra: Anyone else think it’s a BIT over the top to have Pa and Laura the last folks left on his team?
Erin: Then again, if Laura’s going to be a schoolteacher, shouldn’t she be able to get to the back of the speller?
Sandra: Good point. But I guess her grip on her mental view of the last speller page is not so firm. Darn “xanthophyll”! And then it gets Foster. But not Pa. Thunderous applause for the winner!
Erin: Ah, I am reminded of my own winning streak at LauraPalooza. The pregnant pause…the last word, “heinous.” The sweet smell of victory and a LIW sweatshirt I cherish to this day. Oh, what? We’re still going? Um…oh, that Pa. The town’s celebration sends a chill through the tips of everyone’s BEARDS and down to their BONES. Whooops…foreshadowing.
Sandra: What kind of guy can spell down the whole town? A heroe.
Erin: *snort*
Sandra: I came in third.
Erin: Heinous.
Comments9
Wonderful recap! Bravoe!
I enjoyed reading this. Great job! With working two jobs (speaking of jobs) I forgot about checking in. This post actually had me laughing out loud. Thanks!
LOL! Fab recap, Sandra and Erin 🙂
Here’s a xanthophyll story: There’s a TV show in the UK called ‘Mastermind’ – it’s a serious sort of quiz with people being questioned on a subject of their own choice, followed by general knowledge questions. They sometimes do a celebrity version (with a very generous definition of the word ‘celebrity’) and a TV newsreader on that picked LIW as her specialist subject. She did pretty well (and won her show, in fact) BUT, and I’m not kidding here, she had to ‘pass’ on the question “With what word did Pa win the spelling match?” Can you believe it? How can anyone forget that word? (As you can tell, I’ve been bursting to share my horror with people who understand…)
That was awesome.
Wait a sec… I thought I came in third, Sandra! 😉 Darn that “vexatious” word! Love the clever dialogue format, guys! What’s great is the way that the kids in town entertained themselves. A spelling bee was JUST the ticket for a dork like me! Imagine suggesting that to the majority of today’s teens, though. I can just picture the rolling eyes of my nieces. But here, the whole town joins in the fun, kids mixing with adults for some classic family entertainment. Makes me wish it was still that simple to entertain a whole town!
Sandra and Erin: absolutely the best thing I’ve read all day, no matter if it is a chapter summery or not, just downright wonderful – coming in second is the story from 1847 I read this morning about the Irishman who barely escaped being duped into a marriage to a one legged milkmaid – but this is not the place to recount that tale.
Am I the only one laughing at the thought of Pa going to the general store to complain to the guys about the angsty teenager in his house?
Wheneve I’ve gotten a foreign language edition of this book, I’ve always gone first to this chapter. Spell-downs tend to be far less exciting in languages which are more or less phonetic. (Which includes most non-English languages.)
In the German edition, Pa spells them down with good old Xanthophyll, spelled in the good old way.
In Hebrew it’s (transliterated) Tatoo’im. I can’t find my Hebrew dictionary, so I’ve no idea what it means. (But it would be fairly tricky to spell.)
Back in English, I always chuckle at Laura’s shock that Miss Garland misses the word. How odd that the primary qualifications for a teacher back in the day would have been to have memorized the spelling book.
I know it’s been two years, but I LOVE you guys’ recaps. You’re my heroes! Wait…that’s right! Darn, that’s heinous.
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