Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella

Author:W. P. Kinsella [Kinsella, W. P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 978-0-7953-1171-0
Publisher: RosettaBooks LLC
Published: 1982-10-23T04:00:00+00:00

“He always carried an umbrella and was always losing them,” says a voice that filters into my dreams. “Businesses around town would just lean his umbrella somewhere near the door. If anybody asked, they’d just say, ‘Oh, that’s Doc’s umbrella.’ “

And I dream, too, of Annie. Behind our house a hundred yards or so is a collapsed building, its unpainted wood aged to the softness of owl feathers. Annie loves old buildings. It was perhaps a granary or a henhouse once, but stood abandoned for years, until, as if nature had given it a gentle karate chop, the roof collapsed in the middle, sinking slowly downward like an old camel attempting to kneel. It rots with dignity into the earth. A window is now at ground level, and the strangle grass, bent by evening breezes, peers inside.

Late one evening, I looked out and saw Annie standing in the knee-high grass, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, staring dreamily at the building.

I joined her and slipped an arm around her waist as I did so.

“Oh, love,” she said, turning and laying her head on my chest. “One day I want to travel around the country, in no hurry, no hurry at all; I want to stop and explore old buildings, walk through them and listen to my footsteps—funny old houses with porch pillars and turrets …”

On our honeymoon, in New England, we passed an elegant old home painted an olive green with white trim and shutters, and a turret, like a medieval castle, obviously unused.

“Maybe we could rent the turret,” I said to Annie.

“I’ll bet the lady who owns it has her hair in a tight bun and hasn’t smiled since 1933. I can just hear you. ‘Excuse me, Ma’am, we’d like to rent your turret.’ ‘Why young man, I’m shocked, I’m not that kind of girl.’ “

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.