Julie Demboski asked Julie Demboski:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Julie Demboski Someone asked me this question, though when I went to answer, it had disappeared--but I liked the idea of mysteries in our lives, those things we'll probably never have answers to, and the way they relate to our storytelling, especially the stories we tell ourselves. What came to mind for me was something I ran across while looking through a genealogy written by my grandmother. She had written out what she knew about her ancestors--they were Dutch, settled in Kansas--and one note caught my eye. It was about her uncle; it read: (his name and birth date, 31 years old at the time of death), died 1 January 1901, hit by a train'. New Year's Day! And a new century! I always picture New Year's as crisp and cold and very sunny--and I wondered what this man had been doing that he found himself on the railroad tracks, killed on the very first day of a new year. He lived with his brother, my great-grandfather, and his family, so in a way he was untethered, not bound by a wife and children, and maybe not feeling he truly had a place in the community. Or was he a man with problems, a gambler or drinker or one whose proclivities could bring the world down around his head? Did his brother shelter him willingly, were they close, did his sister-in-law care for him, did the children love their uncle, or were they all holding their breath, waiting for some darkness or restlessness to surface? A thousand scenarios ran through my mind. Did he die in the wee frosty hours, in darkness, drunk or fleeing something or a victim, knocked out and placed on the tracks? Was he hopping the train in broad daylight, done with trying to live a conventional life, looking for escape to the West or far North or South to Mexico? Will I outfit him as hero or ne'er-do-well, as a free spirit or a broken man, in my own mind? There are so many possibilities, and no one left to ask, now, about the reality. But I do wonder.

flag