Word: bluejays
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...dude reader will be wrong. Dorothy Johnson pays her respects to the strict conventions of western fiction (by now as stylized as a Flathead bluejay dance), but the best of these ten tales of a lost frontier echo Bret Harte or Mark Twain in the West. There is the sentimentality and pawky humor by which all oldtimers of all frontiers recall the brave days. Storyteller Johnson's memories are authentic; she grew up in Whitefish, Mont. with wide ears for tall tales. Her characters are primitive and romantic, as they probably were in life, and she has a surprising...
...years ago, when Army Engineers asked Kiewit to take on one of its biggest projects to date-"Operation Bluejay," a $100-million-plus contract to build heavy-bomber airfields on Greenland and housing for 4,000 men-Kiewit turned down the hurry-up job. When the Engineers could get no one else to take it on, Kiewit finally agreed to tackle it. He formed a combine of his own choosing, headed up three other firms to do the job. The project is now well under...
...expanse of pale yellow wall separated two harshly sunlit windows which faced the bed. Between these windows stood the woman. She did not notice Joel, for she was staring across the room at an ancient bureau: there, on top of a lacquered box, was a bird, a bluejay perched so motionless it looked like a trophy. The woman turned and closed the only open window; then, with prissy little sidling steps, she started forward...
...woman, who is his father's wife, Miss Amy, proceeds to hit the bluejay with a poker. This proves to be an appropriate introduction to the household. Other inmates are the languid and effeminate Cousin Randolph, Jesus Fever's granddaughter Zoo Fever, and Joel's father, Mr. Sansom, who is mysteriously sick and invisible. Joel begins to think maybe he doesn't exist. But in the evening a red tennis ball bumps down the stairs as if it had a life of its own, and rolls into the parlor. That is how he learns that...
Sinister Summer. In this atmosphere, half sickening and half magical, the events of the summer continue to shock the boy's senses like the bluejay and the red ball. At first Joel misses his aunt in New Orleans. But the sinister fascinations of Skully's Landing increase, centering on the tomboy, Idabel, who lives up the road, and on Cousin Randolph, who drinks sherry, calls him "darling" and holds his hand...