In just a few pages, Van Buren author Joyce Rapier is able to transport anyone picking
up her book back in time to the northern Crawford County of the early 100's.
"Windy John's Me 'n Tut" is a collection of recollections and tall tales told to Rapier
and whomever else was willing to listen by Rapier's father, J.D. Brannam, better known
as Windy John because of the stories he was known to tell.
In the book's prologue and epilogue Rapier explains that while visiting her father in a
nursing home toward the end of his life, she realized the stories he was fond of telling
would disappear with him if she didn't do something. So she visited him each day, asking
him to tell more and more stories. This book, she said, was the product of a promise to her
father to keep his stories alive.
But the book was more than just that; it was Rapier's dream come true. "I've dreamed of
writing a book since I was in the second grade. This is so exciting for me--a dream come true,"
she said when she brought one of her newly published books into my office, shaking as she
signed her very first copy. "I want to be the female Samuel Clemmons," she said.
And while she might not be quite comparable to the Mark Twain many of us know and love,
Rapier has made a fine start.
Her stories cover a few years of Windy John's childhood and some of his many adventures.
Most give a quaint look at the rural Crawford County at the dawn of the century, allowing the
reader to go back to a simpler time when flinging persimmons, cooling down in swimming holes,
catching crawdads and telling ghost stories were the best of times.
The stories also bring back childhood days, when adventures with best friends provided all the
excitement anyone could ever need.
The stories of church and school are pretty similar to just about every other book written about
the same time period. But the chapters on settling in the valley, paying last respects and a visit
to a hobo cave provide wonderful lessons on learning something new. Other passages made me
laugh out loud. When the boys made wild muscadine wine, purely by accident and tried smoking
and snuff, I couldn't help but chuckle. And the account of two mules and their own kind of trouble
was downright entertaining.
I could have down without most of the chapter on persimmons, sweet potatoes and greens. It was
pure bathroom humor that I found neither amusing nor entertaining. But that was just a short
interruption. The main problem I found in the book were the first chapter, where Windy John
introduces his work, and a middle chapter where Rapier takes us back to modern day and her father's
nursing home. I thought the first chapter was too contrived and didn't offer an introduction fitting of
the rest of the book, which is unfortunate because if you get past that chapter, the book is a lot of fun.
The middle chapter just seems out of place, I understand wanting to include it in order to show how
much telling the stories meant to her father, but it was disorienting to be rushed back to modern day
for such a short period of time only to be just as quickly returned to the past.
Fortunately, those few annoyances were not enough to take away from the charm of the rest of the book.
Thirteen Sick Tasteless Classics, Part II is adult literature featuring adult language and situations that satirizes thirteen famous novellas and short stories. It is Jay Dubya's sixteenth ebook.
Share
Save
