I Got a Boner
I shovel de dirt. I sling de dirt. Dat boy, he needed da root. I done tole him dat. But, dem pirate Spaniards don’t listen to nobody.
So, I be pourin da dirt all over him now. I’s a voodoo novice. I don’t know nothin bout no spells to raise de dead.
I throw a white root in there wid him. Just in case it help him along.
And, I think about spells for de sorry son done put me in dis filthy pre-dic-a-ment. Voodoo hexes no root can ward off. What be the worse spell?
He be a haint, doomed to wander de earth for all time?
No.
He be haunted by haints? Everwhere he look be haints? His dreams be haints?
Not terrible enough.
Dat Spaniard’s face be disappearin in da ground. I got to think of somethin to avenge da poor bastard……….
There he be. Da font of my misery. Da killer. Damn him. When he walk dis way, and see my smile, my root will damn him to somethin awful.
Cause dis root be human bone.
I lead with my bestest grin. “Da root, Sir. Here. Take it. You be gonna need it directly, to ward off the effects of all this Spanishness.”
I tamped down the last of the dirt on dat grave, and you know somethin? He done took dat root from me. He did. Put it under his hat, and patted me on the shoulder, and wandered off into da black night.
I whistled while I watched him go.
Whistlin be part of de best voodoo spells, you know.
A Charleston series. The first post in the series is here, the second post is here, the third post is here, the fourth post is here, the fifth post is here, the sixth post is here, the seventh post is here, the eighth post is here, the ninth post is here, the tenth post is here and the eleventh post is here. Thank you for reading.
Whistle while you work!
Wonder if there are any hexes on those bones at the Gaillard? What has all this activity from the past unburied?
BTW, love the title.
They don’t think the bones are from any sort of plague situation. The graves were dug at different times. It amazes me what they can tell from the site.
I’m really enjoying this Andra…waiting to find out who the killer is, but I think I have an idea who it will be…
I haven’t decided who it is yet, Lori, so you are ahead of me.
After today’s (February 22nd) blog, I no longer know who it is…
Like it, Andra. I think whistlin’ be da best part, too.
It does cast an ominous glow on voodoo.
Th Vicar in the drawing room with the candlestick.
I’m glad you’ve turned this into a game of Clue.
Always with the clever reparte…
The story is absolutely chilling and wonderful. I love how the character at the bar who was sideways to the whole thing is suddenly central. I’m not entirely comfortable with rendering accents using phonetic spellings – Mr. Mark Twain and I never did get along. But the story here is a powerful one, and scary.
I don’t think I’d ever use this much phonetic spelling in a submission, but for my blog, it’s a fun exercise sometimes. It really helps me as the writer drill down to what the character sounds like in my head. For a submittal, I’d go back and take it all out, but I’d do that with the voice firmly in my head.
That does make perfect sense. You’ve captured the cadence of his speaking perfectly, so that if you did go edit it down, you’d have … well this
I done told him that. But, them pirate Spaniards don’t listen to nobody.
But I think he could still say “da root” – that establishes him quickly in the bar
Fantastic. I don’t know much about voodoo, but it is wonderful to see it in the mix of this tale.
Voodoo isn’t as prominent a presence in Charleston as it is in a place like New Orleans, but it certainly was here during this period, imported through slave populations. It even impacted our architecture. It is customary to paint the roofs of our side porches a blue often called ‘haint blue.’ The color is supposed to ward off the evil spirits that linger on porches.
Andra, I wish that I could write in accents and dialects as you do… I find myself reading the words in a different voice, if that makes sense. In fact, I think I actually listen to your words rather than read them! Loving the story as well!
Tom, I don’t feel like I do a very good job, but thank you. These kinds of posts are always stretches for me. This really is what this character sounds like in my head. I’m glad he’s ‘talking’ to you, too.
Oh you do, Andra… really good!
I can’t get my character’s tones down properly, however I try…
In this case, I too think the phonetic spelling helps set the characters in my mind.
It works for some people and not for others. I know it can be distracting sometimes.
The whistling. Perfect ending.
He seemed like a whistler to me. Maybe between the gap in his front teeth.
Just waiting to see what happens. Does “boner” mean the same in the US as it does in the UK?
Yes.
I’m adding my appreciation for the phonetic spelling, Andra. It works! Voodoo is fascinating and it adds a whole different way for the story to progress while we wait to learn what really happened. I do like Lou’s theory! Hahaha!
A man in my Rotary Club had a grandfather who was the sheriff of Beaufort County, SC and also learned voodoo to combat the black magic practiced on the sea islands there. His stories are fascinating.
Great story, me tink. Da root is a powerbull magik. I met many folk who had experiences with haints, hags and “somebody who done put a knock on ‘um.” An dey done need da root ta get ‘um ‘moved.” Dr. Buzzard was the most powerful root doctor of all in the Lowcountry in the 1960s and 1970s. (short link to a Google Book entry / tale of him. http://ow.ly/hXCo9 )
According to the book Dr. Buzzard died in the 1940s and his son took over…so it must have been his son that the folks I met referred to. I helped research da root in the mid-1970s . Lawd, don’ get no plat-eye after me. And love the term in the name of the Book, “Boo-hags” which we always called “Boo-Daddies”.
I never knew the origin of Boo-hags. Great info to have handy.
There exists within me, a certain contempt for being duped by the suggestive nature of this title. Though, that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed it haha. Love your stuff. It inspires me to keep writing.
Matt, I am sorry. I am notorious for my suggestive titles that mean not-at-all what they suggest.
Thanks for reading. And, definitely keep writing.