Page 85

By Jack Joseph Smith

came over me to draw the line as streight as possible, and he had not given me a ruler. When I had finished I realized what he ment by his continual statement, never tell a lie. A simple statement, but so exact in my mind as I moved second to second along the paper. After I had finished, I passed the paper back across the table to him, and he looked at me and said, you may go now Michael. Thank you father. I rose and walked out of the rectory thinking, that for awhile anyway, I wouldn't give the black and whites, and nothing else nuns, too much trouble. The year went by quick, and I was away from Daniel for the summer, because we drove across the country to California. The only thing I remember was seeing Indians in a slum desert, and spending the whole of my summer allowance on a five feet high totem pole I had insisted on buying. When we were leaving the Indians shop he came to me and placed an old wooden carved charm snake whip around the neck of the totem pole, and explained to me that it was used during the snake dance by the witchdoctor to prevent the intrusion of the evil devil into the lives of their children. When we returned to Mount Lebanon, I put the totem pole with the snake whip around its neck in my room, and prayed to it as a false god the day I decided to stop burning fires on the hill. It was in the winter time of my last year at Saint Bernards, that Father Lawnegan saved Davids life. It happened on a day toward the end of a very strong week. A few days before, Papa Joe had told two cops to get the hell off his playground and quick, when they had pulled their car up to the iron chain and walked across the playground in search of a young boy called Tank, who was accused of arson. The boys playing went silent, when they heard his voice ring out over the yard. His arm was raised over the ice with his finger pointed directly at the cops

Original Scan

Page 85

AI Interpretation

GPT

After completing the line exercise, Michael leaves with a temporary resolve to give the nuns less trouble, then the year folds into a California trip, a totem pole and snake whip worshiped as a false god, the end of the hill fires, and the beginning of a week when Papa Joe saves David's life by facing down the police.

The page moves fast, but the continuity is strong: discipline, false devotion, renunciation, and rescue all circle the question of what kind of power Michael will submit to. Papa Joe's authority keeps outrunning church walls, reaching into fire-setting, private idols, and playground crisis alike.

Claude

Drawing the line 'as streight as possible' without a ruler, the boy suddenly grasps the meaning of 'never tell a lie' as something lived 'second to second along the paper' - the lesson dismissed with a simple 'you may go now Michael'. The page then accelerates through a year: the cross-country drive to California, the 'five feet high totem pole' bought with his whole allowance, and the 'wooden carved charm snake whip' the Indian winds round its neck to ward 'the evil devil' from children. Back home he prays to it 'as a false god the day I decided to stop burning fires on the hill', renouncing one ritual for another idol. The page closes by setting up the rescue, Papa Joe having told 'two cops to get the hell off his playground' as they hunted Tank 'accused of arson', his arm 'raised over the ice with his finger pointed'. Scan-backed spellings ('streight', 'ment') are preserved.