Ethel's never been an intellectual by any stretch. Born in 1920, married to a WWII army man, a housewife and stay-at-home mom of the 50's. She's a product of a time when women weren't expected to be particularly strong academically... but she can work the devil out of a seek-and-find.
This isn't to say that she's stupid. More like mentally unexercised. However you look at it, though, the result is a view of the world that is somewhat child-like. Born from this are statements that are often naive, simplistic, or just flat wrong. And sometimes strange. She's always done this, though, so it makes it hard to know what is "normal for her" and what is mental slippage, and even harder to know when exactly it started.
-----
A few years back we went to Ashville, NC during Christmas to visit the Biltmore Estate. They put on an amazing display of Christmas decorations, and Ethel has always loved to see the lights and the trees of the season.
The Biltmore Estate is the largest private residence in the United Sates. Massive is an understatement, and it is honeycombed with secret passages and stairwells. One could spend weeks in there and not see everything. It's worth the trip to see it once, but be prepared for a long drive. Ashville is a long way from everywhere.
We took the tour of the house. There's a lot of house, so there's a lot of tour. Long days with lots of moving about are tiring for anybody, but especially for older folks. Ethel was just glad to finally be back in the car heading back towards the hotel and the rest that meant.
The way off of the estate takes one up a one-way horse path. It was getting dark, and in the winter, so I assume the horses were stabled at that moment, but the "Watch for Horse and Carriage" signs were along the path. I don't know if it was one of these signs, or our conversation, or simple muse, but it was at this moment that Ethel jumps into the conversation with a new thought.
"Do you know how horses see at night?" she asks us.
---
As I've said, Ethel has always had some notions that aren't exactly on the mark, but they aren't exactly off the mark either, or at least not inexplicably so. It's just the way she is, and we all roll with it. And as I've said, it makes it hard to know exactly when it started, but this is the moment that cemented it in our minds that all was not well.
---
"Do you know how horses see at night?"
"No, mom, how?" my mom asks her mom.
Ethel looks at us, and with the gravity that one delivers any important news, intones, "They have eyes in their knees!"
The car - went - silent. Thick, sticky silent. My mind was whirling this thought around, looking for something to grab it by. Did I hear that wrong? Is there some other way to interpret that than literally? Is there some bizarre possibility that this could be "true" in some sense?
The silence pressed on, as Mom and Sister were doing the same mental juggling. Finally, sister musters, "So, what you're saying is--"
And I can't remember the rest of the question. Mom and I, relieved to have the silence broken and our own thoughts voiced, burst out in laughter.
---
Ethel meant literal eyes, literally in the knees, specifically so they could see in the dark. "My daddy told me that," she insisted. Only we can't find anybody who can verify that. We tried to give every benefit of the doubt. We asked all of her relatives if Great-Grandaddy ever said such a thing. We explored folklore, thinking perhaps it was some form of old wive's tale. We even asked a veterinarian if there was any basis for this.
He said, I quote, "................ what?"
What, indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment