LEAVING WAYLAND
Contrary ' to ' what ' most ' people ' think ,' not ' every ' story ' has ' a ' beginning .' Mine ' didn ’ t .' At ' least ,' I ' don ’ t ' know ' when ' it ' was .' The ' first ' thing ' I ' remember ' was ' that ' moonshine ' still ,' but ' it ' must ' have ' started ' way ' back ' before ' that .'' You ' see ,' my ' daddy ' was ' a ' runner .' And ' I ' don ’ t ' mean ' an ' athlete ;' I ' mean ' he ' ran '‘ shine .' And ' his ' daddy ' before ' him ' did ' too ' back ' in ' the ' twenties .' Matter ' of ' fact ,' the ' Selvy ' clan ,' far ' back ' as ' we ' can ' tell ,' had ' white ' lightening ' running ' through ' our ' veins ' instead ' of ' blood .''
My ' mother ' ran ' things ' around ' the ' house ' while ' my ' daddy ' was ' away .' She ' stood ' almost ' as ' tall ' and ' had ' every ' bit ' of ' muscle ' he ' did .' I ' never ' did ' ask ' how ' they ' met ,' or ' why ' she ' never ' left ' him ' even ' though ' he ' was ' drunk ' all ' the ' time .' Most ' days ' it ' was ' just ' her ' and ' me ' there ' in ' that ' house ' besides ' the ' babies ,' and ' we ' kept ' busy .' There ' was ' a ' hog ' to ' be ' fed ,' chickens ' in ' the ' coop ,' plowing ' and ' planting ' and ' harvesting ' in ' the ' garden .' And ' on ' top ' of ' that ' we ' had ' to ' keep ' everyone ' fed ' and ' clothed .''
The ' Singer ' machine ' Grandpap ' brought ' up ' from ' Lexington ' before ' he ' died ' sure ' made ' things ' easier .' Sometimes ' when ' I ' was ' little ,' my ' mother ' would ' get ' tired ' of ' pumping ' the ' wheel ,' and ' she ’ d ' have ' me ' crouch ' down ' under ' the ' table ' to ' press ' the ' foot ' peddle ' for ' her ' while ' she ' worked .' I ' kind ' of ' liked ' the ' job .' I ’ d ' pretend ' I ' was ' milking ' a ' goat ' because ' that ’ s ' always ' what ' I ' wanted ,' was ' a ' goat .' At ' first ' the ' metal ' would ' be ' so ' cold ' like ' it ' was ' frozen ' solid ;' that ’ s ' when ' the ' goat ' was ' lonely ' and ' her ' tits ' was ' sore ' and ' swollen .' I ’ d ' start ' gentle ,' and ' the ' metal ' would ' whine ' until ' I ' built ' up ' a ' rhythm .' I ’ d ' imagine ' that ' the ' goat ' was ' happier ,' and ' I ’ d ' think ' about ' how ' sweet ' and ' thick ' the ' milk ' would ' be ' when '
Writen by : Caroline Fraley Illustrated by : Andre Gruber Read by : Molly Sweet
But ' the ' real ' reason ' I ' wanted ' goat ’ s ' milk ' was ' to ' make ' soap .' Maddy ’ s ' family ' down ' the ' road '
I ' drank ' it .''
had ' goats ' and ' made ' some ' of ' the ' best ' soap ' I ’ d ' ever ' washed ' with .' It ' wasn ’ t ' anything ' like ' the ' lard ' soap ' mama ' used ' to ' buy ' in ' town .' Maddy ' complained ' sometimes ' about ' how ' the ' goats ' were ' loud ' and ' they ' ate ' everything ' in ' the ' yard ,' even ' the ' fence .' She ' had ' to ' wake ' up ' every ' morning ' before ' the ' sun ' to ' go ' milk ' them ,' and ' she ' used ' to ' complain ' about ' that ' too .'