Nan, I had to look up camas. Hadn't heard of those before, but I can imagine the indigenous knew the difference between that and wild onions. I don't think I'd want to cultivate them as edibles though. They take WAY too long to cook! Interesting conversations here, Susan.
Shawn, one of the things I've learned about the indigenous TX nomads: while they didn't settle and cultivate food, they knew where the foods were and when they were available: prickly pear cactus, pecans, mesquite, grapes, berries, etc. They timed their travels to coincide with productive periods and they repeated their trips annually. The middens are markers of where they made these periodic camps. We have one on our property here in the Hill Country, at what used to be a live spring (now dry).
It's easier to read a short story when you're already familiar with the characters/setting, isn't it? Much easier to write, too! But there's a danger in that: new readers who don't have that familiarity (don't start from the same place) may feel a little lost. So the writer has to remember that . . .
Part 2 adds more to the intrigue, so thanks. Susan, I want to compliment you on your ability to reflect the Central Texas lingo since you are not a native Texan as I am. I guess those decades living in the area have given you the understanding of the language quirks.
When I came to TX to teach at UT Austin in 1972, my mentor told me that I needed to learn to use "y'all" (second person plural) without feeling I was making a grammatical error. It took a while. 😊
Y'all is the most important, of course, in the speech. But I like that you used "bid-ness" for business, too. Some still say that, though I never did. I think it has been more the country folk, and it seems especially the men. Not sure, but that's an observation.
Since I grew up in San Antonio, and my parents did not particularly have a Texas accent, I never developed one. I thought I had, but during one of my first years of teaching in San Antonio, a student asked where I was from. When I said San Antonio, students said, "No way. You don't have an accent, Miss." I had never thought about it since naturally I always used y'all and all-y'all.
These days, I think "bid-ness" is often comically exaggerated. There's an interesting list here (more exaggerations): https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Texasisms-A-Glossary-of-Texas-Speak . "Fixin-to" ain't Texan exclusively, though. Growing up, I heard it from my Missouri family. When I taught my first class at UT Austin in 1972, I was astonished when students called me "ma'am." Made me feel ancient. (I was early 30s.)
That's funny that you felt that way. That never got to me as a teacher, but so many of my students called me "Miss." I even had one call me "Mom," a student I knew well, but still it surprised both of us.
Nan, I had to look up camas. Hadn't heard of those before, but I can imagine the indigenous knew the difference between that and wild onions. I don't think I'd want to cultivate them as edibles though. They take WAY too long to cook! Interesting conversations here, Susan.
Shawn, one of the things I've learned about the indigenous TX nomads: while they didn't settle and cultivate food, they knew where the foods were and when they were available: prickly pear cactus, pecans, mesquite, grapes, berries, etc. They timed their travels to coincide with productive periods and they repeated their trips annually. The middens are markers of where they made these periodic camps. We have one on our property here in the Hill Country, at what used to be a live spring (now dry).
I didn't know camas grew in Texas. I thought it was an Oregon/Washington plant.
They do grow in TX, Nan: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=casc5. We've had them here in the past, when our little wetland was . . . well, wet. Too dry now. But there are some at the Wildflower Center in Austin.
Looks like there's a typo in the story. It's camas (as you have it), not camus. I've corrected it online.
Loving this, Susan - meeting old friends and carrying on the mystery.
It's easier to read a short story when you're already familiar with the characters/setting, isn't it? Much easier to write, too! But there's a danger in that: new readers who don't have that familiarity (don't start from the same place) may feel a little lost. So the writer has to remember that . . .
Part 2 adds more to the intrigue, so thanks. Susan, I want to compliment you on your ability to reflect the Central Texas lingo since you are not a native Texan as I am. I guess those decades living in the area have given you the understanding of the language quirks.
When I came to TX to teach at UT Austin in 1972, my mentor told me that I needed to learn to use "y'all" (second person plural) without feeling I was making a grammatical error. It took a while. 😊
Y'all is the most important, of course, in the speech. But I like that you used "bid-ness" for business, too. Some still say that, though I never did. I think it has been more the country folk, and it seems especially the men. Not sure, but that's an observation.
Since I grew up in San Antonio, and my parents did not particularly have a Texas accent, I never developed one. I thought I had, but during one of my first years of teaching in San Antonio, a student asked where I was from. When I said San Antonio, students said, "No way. You don't have an accent, Miss." I had never thought about it since naturally I always used y'all and all-y'all.
These days, I think "bid-ness" is often comically exaggerated. There's an interesting list here (more exaggerations): https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Texasisms-A-Glossary-of-Texas-Speak . "Fixin-to" ain't Texan exclusively, though. Growing up, I heard it from my Missouri family. When I taught my first class at UT Austin in 1972, I was astonished when students called me "ma'am." Made me feel ancient. (I was early 30s.)
That's funny that you felt that way. That never got to me as a teacher, but so many of my students called me "Miss." I even had one call me "Mom," a student I knew well, but still it surprised both of us.
😄