The Wheelbarrow

The movie Raising Arizona stars Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter. Great movie; early Coen brothers. The song “Away Out on the Mountain” (Jimmy Rogers, 1928) is used, especially the yodel part, which was whistled in the movie.

Father, who passed away at 98, would be 104 years old. The other day I was pushing father’s wheelbarrow up the hill from the old barn with some dirt and thought about him. Not the 98 year old father but the one that used to push that wheelbarrow in San Dimas Canyon. He pushed it for miles. He would have loved this place. My mom would have too. I could almost see him standing under the big oak tree.

The wheelbarrow was one of the things I really wanted, when my parents were gone. I believe it still has the original front tire. It was made before “The War” (the one that made the papers) and was probably made out of real rubber. The tray is made of some pretty sturdy steel. I don’t remember it ever being painted, but there is no rust on the tray. There is not a dent in it. We carried a lot of wood in that wheelbarrow and we didn’t lay it in, gently. Some of it was heavy oak, cut up on the hill. Father would roll pieces down the hill yelling, “Faggots for Granny”. My grandmother had an oil stove.

Rachel wrote and said she had been thinking of Papa Jack. She quoted a song he used to sing to them when they were kids:

“I packed my grip for a farewell trip,
Kissed my Suzy Jane goodbye at the fountain.
For I’m going says I
To the land of the sky.
Waaaay out on the mountain.

Weeeeeoooweeeeiiioooooo Weeeaaaaeeeeooooo!” (Father would often say, “Now comes the yodeling part.”)