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Monday, November 8, 2010
"Gulleywasher" Blog
After reading Jonathan Raban's "Gulleywasher", please find two lines from the memoir that resonate with or appeal to you and to your 5 senses. Post them on the blog. You can list them as #1 and #2, or merely write them in quotations--with proper, MLA citation. Then write a short passage--5 to 7 lines--about why they appeal to you. Do they remind you of anything? A story, perhaps? An experience? Enjoy the story, and explore your story.
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"A crowd formed at the open doorway of the bar to watch the downpour. The rain fell in gleaming rods. Main Street was a tumbling river, already out of its banks and spilling over onto the sidewalk" (Raban 37). This quote reminds me of camp two years ago when it started pouring. We were at a track meet for tribal competition and then all of a sudden it started raining so hard everything seemed fuzzy. When we got back to our cabin we all dried off and sat on one bed starring out the window. In the common area between boys camp and girls a river literally started forming on the incline and flowed between our cabins. During my session it usually never rains, so also like in Gulleywasher,"It falls like money" (Raban 38). It raining at camp is like a gift. Of course we can't continue with the activities the rest of the day, but when it rains it is so fun. We lay around the cabin and play games and talk about random stuff. The sound of rain hitting the tin roof is so peaceful, so usually everyone ends up taking a nap at some point.
ReplyDelete"The people in the bar were huddled and talkative: living by day in so much space and solitude, they evidently liked to squash up close at night."
ReplyDelete"The thunder was directly overhead, and it was immediately followed by a long kettle-drum tattoo of rain on the roof."
"Main Street was a tumbling river, already out of its banks and spilling over onto the sidewalk. Its greasy waters were colored red, white, and blue by the neon signs in the bar window."
"That," a turnip-faced brute in Stetson, speaking in the voice of long and hard experience, "its a gullywasher."
The first quote makes me feel as if I am in the bar, sitting shoulder to shoulder, and table to table to everyone else in there. I can picture being seated next to someone having no room to breathe just enjoying the closeness that I had not had all day.
From the second quote, I can imagine what the rain would sound like. I can hear the drumming of each drop as it hits the steel roof. It sounds familiar and it makes me think of times where I have heard that same sound. Every time I hear rain hitting a roof, a window, an overhang, pure relief comes over me, and I know that the day has just turned around for the better.
For some reason, this quote gives me the sense of smell. When I read this quote, I thought of the rushing waters of a river and how they give off a distinct smell that only rivers can provide.
AB
"A Mexican seated at the table next to me was talking to a scrawny, pencil-moustached, thirtyish type, perched on a swivil-stool at the bar" (36).
ReplyDeleteThe first quote reminds me of Pedro Sanchez from Napoleon Dynamite because of the “pencil-moustached”, which instantly reminded me of Pedro’s skinny mysterious moustache. “perched on a swivil-stool at the bar", most definitely qualifies as one of Pedro’s humoristic characteristics! The “swivil-stool” rings a bell from my childhood when my sisters and I would sing along with the “Ice Cream Crazy” lyrics, even as it played at the bottom of the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Ice Cream Birthday Bash movie. In this movie, young girls jubilantly sang the “Ice Cream Crazy” song, while eating ice cream on swivel stools.
"A truck sloshed past at crawling speed, throwing up a wake that broke against the doors of darkened stores" (37).
Reminding me of an old man, this second quote leaped out at me, as I distinctively pictured every detail of this happening, in my mind. As did the time I witnessed this old man get smothered by a “wake” of water as it tsunamied over his grey hair. The shocking, yet so puzzled look on this old mans face was memorable, as I felt his fury shine right through his dramatic facial language. In this quote the “darkened stores” metaphorically portrays the old man as he was seconds before all bright then in an instant freshly drenched and feeling dark, as do the stores.
GMF
"I sat up listening to it; attuned now to what I ought to hear"(38).This reminds me of whenever its raining outside I can focus better on homework. Because I like listening to the perfect rythm of the rain and how it falls. I used to look out the window for a good twenty minutes when it would rain just watching the rain hit the pavement. Also The rain helps me sleep better too, because its just the perfect amount of noise. I think that in the desert in this story, everyone enjoys the rain.
ReplyDelete"Alas! he said, 'I do my best, and yet I cannot even make a living on my little farm!... Then his house caught fire and burned to the ground."
This quote reminds me of when i was at my house making something on the stove. I was very young and did not know the consequences of leaving the gas on. After I made the meal the gas was left on, and when my mother came home she freaked out. She noticed that the house smelled like gas, and yelled at me. She said that if a spark went off or something, then the whole house would have blown up. Also at camp I recall putting a knife on a plug that was not in the socket and the power went out for about 20 minutes in the whole camp.
PM
"The rain made everyone young: people dropped their guard in its presence, and the pleasure in their faces was as empty of self-consciousness as athat of the toddler, who bounced against her father's neck saying, "Water. Water. Water." (Raban, 38).
ReplyDelete1. This quote appeals to me because it reminds me of how when it rains I too, have a childlike excitement. It reminds me of hearing the pitter-patter of the rain drops hitting the roof, making me feel drowsy and slipping into a deep sleep at night. I still have my habit from my childhood of wanting to sit next to a window when it rains so I can see it, or curl up and watch a movie and make hot chocolate. The rain makes me feel peaceful and brings out the child in me.
"A crowd formed at the door to watch the downpour." (Raban 37)
2. This quote reminds me of my family when it starts to rain really hard. We live on the corner house where it floods really badly, and when the water fills the street and pours over onto the sidewalk we watch the cars go through judging whether or not they're going to make it. Some roll by slowly making ripples. Others speed by making miniature tsunamis. The unfortunate ones however get stuck. When this happens my mom sends my brother and I out to help the car owners push their cars onto driveways, we always return drenched and muddy. Nevertheless happy to help too though.
EJP
1. "The slogan in scabbed paint on the bar door announced..."(Raban 36).
ReplyDelete2. "...a long kettle-drum tattoo of rain on the roof"(Raban 37).
The first quote appealed to me because I know what the chipping paint feels like. I actually hate the way it feels. I remember running my hand along my grandparents fence when I was younger and getting this cringing feeling as the old paint nicked my fingers.
The second quote reminds me of the sound of rain at camp. The metal shutters that hand from the sides of the cabins offer a loud collaboration of sounds when it rains. It's so loud that you might think you could never fall asleep, but then your head hurts so bad you wind up passing out.
MW
"I loaded two armfuls of books into the boot of the car and headed south to Baker, where I put up in a motel room furnished with junk from the wilder reaches of the 1950s" (Rahan, 35).
ReplyDeleteThis quote reminds me of myself. What I mean by this is that if I was moving somewhere, I would grab armfuls of books as well and put them up where ever my final stop would be. The smell of the pages of the books, the squeak of the trunk, probably dirty motel room, the feel of the weight of books in his arms, and the view of the road laid out paving the way to his destination. He obviously does not consider his books as junk, just as the way I feel. Junk are things that are unwanted or unneeded, and books, in my view are not junk.
"He looked down at his hands. They were brown and rough with toil. 'Alas!' he said, 'I do my best, and yet I cannot even make a living on my little farm!'" (Raban, 36).
This quote shows the importance of this man's ruined hands, the worry and age that came with his unproductive life. The color of brown is plain and disheartening, and the roughness, not only on his hands, but mind and heart as well. The toil being the true earth, but also significant in ways of his well-being. The smell of his soiled hands would figuratively define him. The feel, rough, like his life, trying to support a small farm and a family. Everyone's life is rough in one or another, and in his case, he has financial problems.
CB
"That evening a lightning-storm moved in on Baker from the west. One could see it coming for an hour before it hit: the distant artillery flashes on a sky of deep episcopal purple (35).
ReplyDeleteThis quote reminds me of a lightning-storm that came through Houston a few months ago. I specifically remember the purple flashes of light streak across my ceiling as I laid in bed that night. The appearance of those flashes of light came into my head as I read this section.
"When rain falls in these parts, in what used to be known as the Great American Desert, it falls with the weight of an astonishing gift. It falls like money" (38).
When I read this, I immediately thought of monopoly. When I was young, monopoly used to be my favorite board game in the world. I would play every weekend with my mom and brother and could not get enough of it. However, the main image that comes to mind is when it says that it "falls like money". This reminds me of my monopoly games because whenever I would win, I would throw the money up in the air and watch it as it fell back to the ground.
TG
1. " The thunder rolled away eastwards, towards North Dakota, but the rain kept coming" (Raban 37)."
ReplyDelete2. "Its greasy waters were colored red, white, and blue by the neon signs in the bar window" (37).
The first quote reminds me of how I always used to sit outside on the front steps of my house with the first dog I ever had, Lucky. I would try to anticipate the loudness of the thunder every time I saw lightning strike. I stuck my hand out far enough to be able to catch some rain and I would wipe it on Lucky. I also remember how I would light candles up around the house because I was scared of the electricity being knocked out. I can feel the heat on my hands and see the lit rooms of the house.
The second quote reminds me of visiting the Victorian Gardens in Canada with all the bright lights and the smell of the flowers. The area had a strong aroma of a thick perfume. I went on my birthday and every Sunday at the gardens, they would have a fireworks show. I remember the myriad of colors and how the water reflected those colors.
"I know Wilmer! I was in jail in Wilmer. Buy you a drink, man?" (Raban, 37).
ReplyDelete"Its greasy waters were colored red, white, and blue by the neon signs in the bar window." (Raban, 37)
I enjoy both of the quotes because of the sense of joy and friendship involved in the bar. Even though he talks about going to jail in Wilmer, which is usually a bad thing, it is actually funny in this context. The colors just bring a sense of joy also to the bar. Everyone can relate to the colors they speak of.
1. "The bar was quiet. Everyone in it listened to the rain" (37).
ReplyDelete2. "People craned to see. A couple had brought their toddler along (this was an easygoing bar in an easygoing town); the man lifted her on to his shoulders to give her a grandstand view of the wonder" (37).
The first quote reminds me of camp this summer. I remember the smell of the rain and the dropping temperatures as the storm approached. As the storm inched toward the campsite, we put the flaps down to prevent our beds from getting soaked. Sitting in the cabin, we could hear the rain as it poured down on the tin roof. Silence filled the cabin as everyone sat, huddled around the food, listening to the peaceful sound of the rain.
The second quote reminds me of when I was younger and my dad would throw me up on his shoulders. Although I don’t remember a lot about when I was little, I remember one specific visit to the Fort Worth Zoo when I was about six years old. A baby bear had recently been born and the zoo was packed. Dying to see the bear, my brother and I rushed over to the exhibit. Unable to see over the crowd of people, my dad hoisted me up on his shoulders. I felt as if I was on top of the world, but most importantly, I had a clear view of the baby bear.
MZ
Good!
ReplyDelete