Bat 6

by Virginia Euwer Wolff

  Shazam, center field

  I always put my puka-shell necklace on top the red silk scarf every different place I live. Little tiny white shells just the way they was when my dead father give me the necklace he was still alive he didnt know he would be dead in the bottom of the sea. He give me the scarf and puka-shell necklace in Hawaii my birthday I turned 3 I never seen him no more. In these shells there was animals but there isnt no more. They are famous Hawaii shells. There is palm trees in a picture on the silk.

  I dont have my gas mask they took it away.

  The necklace is full grown jewelry not for a little kid I save it every time. I always keep it wrapped in the Hawaii scarf when I am leaving to go live another place. When I get to the new place I unwrap it I put it on a special spot I have it on the apple box at Grammamas house here at Barlow.

  I do not never wear it they might get hurt.

  I come on the Greyhound to live with Grammama so my mom can get on her feet.

  I bring that necklace and that scarf every place I live.

  My mom she hit me I forgot the gas mask I said I forgot she said dont dare forget them Japs bomb us again you die without no gas mask I wont have nobody. It hurt when she hitted. I always tried to remember the gas mask hang the bag on my shoulder all the time over to the sugarcane fields the beach too where puka shells growed on the beach.

  Over to Idaho them little children messed with my puka shells. I popped them in the face my mom went to hit me I outran her.

  Nobody never give me no say so. Everybody putted me in places made me stay there. I never got to say where I live.

  Over here to Grammamas it is OK. There is the fire dream but that is everywhere. The fire dream too loud I cant hear with the noise.

  Too many bombs on my only fathers ship I cant remember how to do 7 X 7 Audrey she said sure you can Shazam Wink said it too. The fire dream in the night the 7 times in the day it pushed too loud on me I couldnt.

  Mrs Winters said we are all learning these timeses everybody in this room. I did try then those bad bombers come in my head my mom crying.

  Hallie was my friend she made me go to her place play ball with her and her dad. No fire no bombs when I play ball. Her mom made cookies she give me a sack full for my grammama I give her when I got home.

  In Hallies house there was water running in the sink in a faucet I could not see no pump. They have their toilet in the house.

  Hallies father hit us fungoes back of their woodshed I fielded better than Hallie on 3 of them. More than that but I lost count. Hallie has her own bedroom with her mom made her a cover to put on top her bed with zigzag stripes of red and blue on the white.

  Her own father made a table beside her bed. He made it out of wood. It is her own table. If I had a father.

  They have a plaster bear paw print in their front room a foot of a real bear that walked in their woods. It sets by the radio.

  They had a Jap man over there to Hallies house. Nobody told me how come they had him over there I was going to home in Mr. Hallies pickup when I seen him.

  You never know one could sneak up. I dont have my gas mask they took it away said we dont need it maybe we do you never know.

  I told Hallies father in his pickup he could get that Jap good over to his house. He said Huh what did you say I said you could get him good that Jap over there. He said Shirley they are our neighbors. He should call me Shazam my name. We went on home.

  No gas masks at Hallies house. Maybe in the closet. I did not see none.

  My own father give me my name. Shazam there she is he said. I jump into his arms my mom told me many times how he said Shazam there she is and he would make like to let me fall then he would catch me and he would laugh. I seen my mom laugh when she told me.

  Them Halloween trick or treaters over to Idaho my mom said Go way you Jap faces she slammed the door. They did not get no candy. Get away from here you Japs she told them she did not give them none of our candy. She give it to the others that had plain eyes.

  They was Jap children in costumes of a witch and a cat and a ghost. They ran around the side of the porch they never come back there.

  Them Japs they made you a orphan. She explained me the Japs over and over again so I never forget. The bombs on my fathers ship all the fire all around. We did not have our gas masks anymore in Idaho. Here either.

  That bed was so crowded with little ones that wet their-self when we lived over to Idaho I did not like to sleep with those several children. It was in the trailer house I thought we was going on trips with that man my mom said the war was over we would see the country but we never went on one single trip. The trailer stayed where it was the whole time. The wheels was gone from it. Too many little children they left their Tinkertoys all over the floor they got sand in the bed too. And that one window leaked.

  Then I come over to Barlow to live with Grammama to have a bed by myself by the stove it is warm all the night. When the fire dream come.

  The snow got deep I did not know snow got so deep. She made me clean my plate at suppertime she makes pot roast so good I cleaned my plate without her saying so. She has napkins for our laps she makes me fold mine every time.

  She sewed me a dress. 2 dresses. And then some blouses. On the sewing machine she has.

  From the first day I got to this place it wasnt like the other places we been my mom and me. There is a game Bat 6. I could pitch just as good as Ila Mae but Coach made me go to center field he said Im important there.

  In the kitchen by the pump there is a mirrow on the wall where I put on my red Pioneers cap. I looked in the mirrow I said Center field for the Pioneer team. My grammama sewing my number 7 on a white blouse on the back.

  There was water in the faucet at Winks house too I went to the party I won the prize I took it home let it set on the crate besides my bed. When my grammama tucked me up in the night she always shook the snow globe and the snow fell down on the little people every time.

  I told Grammama I dont need no tucking up Im big. She said any child sleeps better they get tucked up at night, I do not know. I still get the fire dream. Some nights not every night. It comes if somebody tucks me up or not. My mom did not tuck me up and I slept good. But the fire dream when it come I dont sleep good. When we lived with those children of that man I forget his name in the trailer I did not sleep good there. Me and my mom left that trailer house and I come over here to Barlow.

  My grammama kissed me good night in the nighttime every since I come here. One night when the fire dream come I woke up in the dark she was kissing me on my hair. I said how come and she said I was crying in my sleep.

  My mom said dont think about the fire dream itll go away and my grammama kissed me on the hair. It is the same either way.

  Grammama is a spooky old lady that gets headaches.

  I could of been a good shepherd in the play at the church it was about a doll in a barn. I had me a shepherd stick and shepherd robe and a shepherd cloth around my head. But they had a Jap shepherd too that Jap face made me dizzy I left.

  How come my mom sent me here where they have Japs. And no gas masks. I did not ask her she was crying so bad.

  Alva got her glove in a Easter basket she worked for the money to buy it and it come in her basket with the eggs.

  Dotty Rayfield down to the college got me a glove. The ones in the sports box was too tore to use. The glove come in a package to school. And Coach Rayfield let me have a bat and ball too from the sports box for home. I went out back the chicken coop I hit fungoes there I can hit that tree. My job was dig potatoes and feed the chickens I hit fungoes after. I tagged the chickens out at the bases which are stumps Grammama says dont you do that you get them hysteric. I did it sometimes not all the time.

  My job was shovel snow when it come down a lot also. It like to broke my back shoveling.

  And bring in wood for the stove.

  The Japs killed my only father I ever had. They bombed him in his ship the Arizona down at the Pearl Harbor I was
too little to get a chance to have a father. If he was alive my mom would be on her feet.

  My mom said he did too get married to her. She showed me the picture of them together they must of got married.

  I hit so many home runs against the boys I was the best one. Some boys said they would not play no more but Kayo Riley he always played. They brought the sister of Hallie after school to strike me out one day. I got hits off of her too.

  The snow melted and grass come up Grammama had yellow flowers by the porch. We had to make a mothers day card in school when we was done we had to go to the 2nd grade room help them do cards too. Theirs was messier than mine.

  I made mine with blue color for Grammama. We was supposed to write words in the card Brita Marie wrote many words inside her card to her mom. And Alva too. Kayo Riley made a picture that come up off the page if you pulled on it then it sprung back he let me pull it. I did not write words but I put my name in big letters.

  Mrs Winters said I know all your mothers so happy these pretty cards on mothers day. I got so bad feelings I did not tell nobody it made me so mad that stomach squeeze. I did not make my mom a card she come here for Christmas brang me that green dress I worn to Winks party but my mom cried all the time how bad her poor life was. I went away out behind the chicken coop in the snow I hit fungoes to the tree. I did not listen to my mom cry all the time Grammama she listened she made her arms go around my mom all the time. I had 2 fire dreams then.

  I made my card for my grammama.

  Snow melted we got outside practice I always caught flies good and grounders too. I can move over to right when a batter hits over there I can move left too when the ball comes that way. I threw to the right base every time. Coach hollered You throw to the wrong base you could lose us the game he did not mean me.

  Coach said I was relief pitcher.

  We all got our red numbers sewed on our blouses. My grammama finished mine there was 4 more days to the Bat game and there going to be hot dogs there from the Boy Scouts Brita Marie promised.

  I never played a game with uniforms and hot dogs and the Star Spangled. My grammama said sure she would go to the game she hardly never went noplace Darlenes dad promised take us my grammama ironed her dress to wear and she had a hat for the sun. I had my red Pioneer cap setting on the apple box with my puka beads. Not on top of them nothing goes on top of them. At the side. Alongside the snow globe shaker thing from Winks party I won there.

  The night before the game Grammama made merang cookies. She made me take my turn to beat up the egg whites her arm got tired. The cookies was to take to the church ladies booth along with doilies she already made they was in a box. I said how come. I thought it was a game of sports. She said it is that and other things people selling things for the church too she said it is a good time for everybody. She does not go to the church she made doilies for the booth. She said it was neighborly. Then the fire dream come I couldnt breathe and then morning come. I put on my red shorts and my number 7 blouse and my red Pioneer cap for the game. Grammama cooked me up flapjacks and sirup she said she was proud to go to the game see me play so good for the Pioneer team.

  Vernell, manager and general sub

  The Boy Scouts were the first ones to get to the ball field to set up their weenie roast and build the fire. We got there plenty early too, my dad was one of the dads helping take up the tarpaulins they laid down the night before on account of somebody thought it would rain and they were right. Just an itty bit of rain in the night and bright and clear blue on the Bat 6 morning. Seven dads picked up the tarps together, some I did not know from Barlow.

  My mom’s old cousin that sits in McHenrys’ Store at the woodstove came early in a car too with the retired Blue brothers, one of them with his harmonica for “Oh, Say, Can You See.” My mom joked how they like to get there early to criticize the way the Boy Scouts build their weenie-roast fire.

  My mom carried her pies in a box with a towel over the top of the box so not to get dust on them, there was 29 pies in the church ladies’ booth. And the Gospel Church ladies had preserves and cookies and jam and crocheted doilies and what-all over in their booth. I went over there with my mom and she said hi to those ladies she knows from working in the fruit packing house. Their booth had red-and-white crepe-paper streamers for the Barlow team.

  Old Louella got brought to the game early too, like always. She took her embroidered dish towels she had sewed over to the Poor Fund booth, for them to sell and get money for the poor people, she does not believe in churches. It took her a long time to walk over there and back on account of her cane. Then she set down to watch the players warming up.

  She gazed at the batting order that Mr. Porter gave into her hands, she had her green sun visor on her head and she read up and down the list in the visor shadow.

  Where she was sitting was her rocking chair they put on the quilt they laid out on her spot behind the third-base line, and she had a apple box there with her Thermos bottle of tea and her bottle of aspirins too sitting on it.

  I heard her say, “Gals gonna catch their death, those short pants. Them breezes from down to the crick. That there’s a smart one, that tall stick of a gal….” There was one Barlow girl in long slacks, I hardly ever saw such a tall girl. Not in grade school.

  Mr. Porter made me throw and catch with Lorelei and Susannah till he said I could stop and go to the bench where I wanted to be, guarding our bats and the water can.

  Herby left his old black and white and yellow dog with me so he could work at the weenie-roast fire. He tied the leash around one leg of our bench. I did not want the dog there, my mind wanders and I had to concentrate on keeping the bats and the water and the towels as neat as a pin. But Herby just attached the dog there and said See you later Vernell and he went away. He thinks he’s so big being 12 and starting to be a Boy Scout.

  Nobody told me I would have to have a dog too, along with everything else. I told the dog to lay down and behave himself. Then I felt bad from the look on his face and I petted him and he laid down besides one of my legs, my left one I guess.

  Kate, second base

  The excitement was almost too much to take sitting down, like we all agreed. Daisy woke up with a kink in her throwing arm, but her mom rubbed linament on it. Daisy kind of smelled from it, but her arm was better. We got to have batting warmup first, on account of being the visiting team.

  We pretended we weren’t nervous. All except Susannah, who admitted she was very nervous. Vernell too, but she had the bats, balls, towels, and water all lined up by the time I got to the field. Her mom and dad brought two milk cans full of water in their pickup. She had the ladle all laid out for us, she had done a excellent job.

  Well, the Barlow team had some strong throwing and perfect catching and some missed balls just like our team. I could tell watching them warm up they would be hard to beat, and I got nervouser than I had thought I would be.

  I watched the ambulance from River Bend drive over and park out near left field. They always have the ambulance there for an emergency that wouldn’t hardly ever happen. My dad said the ambulance men just like to come and sit in the sun and watch the game.

  Before the game there are many ceremonies. First, all the first graders from both schools march out on the field with their teachers and they make the Pledge of Allegiance and everybody stands at attention and says it with them. I remember when it was our turn in first grade to do this, it was on our home field and it seemed so important. Ellen wasn’t with us then and neither was Aki. Now it’s just a bunch of little kids with their hands over their hearts.

  Then we had prayers by both preachers. We all bowed down our heads. Our minister said a prayer about peace for all time because like he said, “Those good ladies of 1899 found a way to stop the strife by playing sports with their hearts.” He praised God for keeping “our special friend Louella” in good health to come to this year’s ball game. And on account of Decoration Day he blessed the soul of her husband and her son, the
y both died in wars. Then he praised the coaches, he praised the Superintendent of Schools, he praised everybody’s parents, he praised the sunshine. And he said to God, “Place your blessing on the girls that play this game today, may they bring courage and ladylike good sportsmanship to this playing field like has been done before, Amen.”

  And the Gospel minister from down at Barlow prayed a good prayer too: “We are all one family here in Your sight, oh Lord, even if we are different faiths, we are all gathered on the same playing field to bring glory to You with our annual game.”

  And after he asked God to bless the game, he said, “All you folks blessed by God to be here on this great day you all join me with a big Hallelujah!”

  And we lifted up our heads from bowing, and we whooped. “Hallelujah!”

  And he said, “Again, brothers and sisters!”

  And we whooped “Hallelujah!” louder than before.

  And he yelled. “One more time for the Lord!”

  And everybody whooped again, very loud this time, “Hallelujah!”

  It was very nice, but all I could think of was I had to hit a single or double, help get the bases loaded, and pray Aki would knock us all home.

  Mrs. Porter said in our team huddle, “Remember, girls, we can’t play ball with our teeth clenched. We get to have fun today. You’ve earned it. Go get ’em.”

  The “Star-Spangled Banner” was very excellent like the year before. It was the 3rd-grade teacher from Barlow with a violin and our principal’s husband on clarinet plus one of the retired Blue brothers from McHenrys’ Store porch with his harmonica. Everybody sang and it was then I realized how many, many people were there to watch us play. It was a loud song of our country, coming from many voices. I tried not to let so many onlookers disturb me.

  Little Peggy, right field

  While we were supposed to be lining up to do the tradition of shaking hands with the Barlow team, I was watching Mr. and Mrs. Porter standing with the Barlow coach and his wife, all laughing their heads off about something. I had been quite nervous about trying to play well, and I had woken up too early in the morning, full of worry. But seeing those coaches laughing and friendly, I was suddenly reminded it is just a game, it is not life and death who wins.