The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1962-06-22
Fridays
Child
By LAWRENCE MADDRY

sponses, optical perspective and
togetherness at the
same time is the real human
dilemma. This idea was reinforc-
ed last week with what / like
to call the Woodwork epi-
scode."
am in the habit of visiting
Aycock Brown at IL pm. each
evening to catch, if / can, the
drift and warp of a depraved
mind, before browsing off to
sleep clutching a copy of Winnie
the POOch Revisited.
Last Tuesday night l followed
my usual custom and was settled
comfortably in one of the
Browns easy chairs watching
t.v. with Aycock> and his Mrs.
when Aycock leaned forward
from his paper at me and said
"stop making that noise" l
hadn't heard a thing and told
him so. Aycock wrinkled the
corners of his eyes in that ner-
vous squirt bordering between
evaporation and disbelief, which
is his trademark, and continued
with his copy of "The Bowry
Gazette"
l concentrated on whatever
mental chewing gum the t.v.
was dispensing at the time and
failed to notice anything around
me. l was startled a few mo-
ments later during a commercial
when Mrs. Brown dropped a
ash on my head, while
leaning her ear against the
wooden door frame a few feet
above the back of my chair. She
didn't say anything she just
kept her ear against the white
woodwork while her expression
changed from one of anxious
concern to that of stark terror.
"Did you hear it?" she asked.
"Hear what" l replied. She
turned to her husband with an
look. Their eyes
Joined and both returned to me
with a CLINT of mutual disgust.
Obviously l was missing some
thing. alright" 1 said, "just
what are we supposed to be
hearing" Aycock put down his
leaned forward in the big
stuffed chair where he sat, lifted
his arms in front so that he re-,
sembled a preying mantis and
said "crrrrkk". He didn't
actually say "crrrkk" it is a
kind of noise that you make
with your tongue. "That's just
what anybody with five senses
could hear" he said.
just then, saw Aycock give
4 nervous jump which lifted him
about a half-inch out of his
hair; and / knew that whatever
he noise was supposed to be,
t had struck again.
He bolted out of the room
md disappeared before the
PAPER which he threw into the
lir had settled peacefully to the
'loor.
Mrs. Brown, meanwhile, had
'rozen her face into an express
ion of crazed hatred. Her mouth
vas turned down on both cor
lers, and she slowly approached
he chair where l was sitting
one of her crochet
leedles, which she pointed like
| sword.
Gust let me at him she NUT
ered," as / crawled down out
# the chair on all tours looking
or cover. In bewilderment I
watched as she poked the point
ID crochet needle behind the
edge of the woodwork in a jab-
ling frenzy.
While l watched from my van
age point underneath the soft,
Aycock returned from the kitch-
m with a shotgun. At which
,oint, Mrs. Brown suggested
hat perhaps such a method of
determination was excessive for
| wood worm. "A woodwork"
mumbled from beneath the
sofa. "a WOODWORK" they re-
,lied in unison.
From upstairs a, voice was
heard to pick up the refrain
With ga wood worm! F" While
hey were standing in the living
room arguing over the best
means to eliminate the creature,
which I'm still not convinced
was there, Bill Brown, the son
IF the family came racing down
the stairs with a hunting knife
between his teeth. He stalked
over to where the two were
standing; Mrs. Brown pointed at
the woodwork, and, before any
body could utter a word, Bill
began tearing the white board
from the wall.
While Bill was prying the
board from the wall, with those
sqwaking noises which inter-
rupted wood makes when remov-
ed from its nailed resting place,
Mr.. and Mrs. Brown looked on
.ar rI ---..Lzlsc4s~ oAo~11