ffiffiH*!ffix;ffi xssK-W,sd^.%*w -g. W ffiW*ffi* # &&,%. lffi ffi#*ffiffi K #W%t%. #%**R

-;ffi- '%"3P W W %*'se *.'ru

Tobias Wolffb.y

The Author Tobias WolfI was born in Alabama in 1945'

His parents divorced when he was five' After dropping out

of high school, he enlisted in the special fbrces attd became

an advisor to the South Metnamese from l964 to 1968' He

later graduated fiom Oxford University' Thi't Boy) trl/r is his

memoir about his youth' The book was made into a 1995

movie of the same name starring Ellen Barkin and Robert

DeNiro. He has published a second memoiq several short

story collections, and a novel' His short stories have won

the O. Henry Prize and the Rea Award' He was writer-in-

residence at Syracuse University from 1980 to l99Z and

now teaches at Stanford University'

The Selection "Powder" was first published in the llew York

Titrc,t ,l[aqozina and.later collect ed tn The l'Iiqht in Que,ttltn

(1996), along with 14 other Wolfl stories'

Further Reading "Mortals" by Tobias Wolff

270

€mr

'olff

-Alabama in 1945.

,. After dropping outLl forces and became,m 1964 to 1968. Hey. Tbu Bo11) Life ishisr made into a 1995

Barkin and Robertrmoir, several shortI stories have wonl. He was writer-in-1980 to 7997 and

Just before Christmas myifather took me skiing at

-\lount,BakenlHe'd had to fight for the privilege ol my company,

Readinc.ashortltow"#

w,"ft Names of g

I characters f;

I and ptaces $

ffi

'I

ffi|ffi?nLf; First-

fr

I Person #

g l:11i1""1 *$

Wfr Repeated !l-"91 : a

€tcoo

*oI*ot

because m;r mother was still angry with him for sneaking me Iinto a nightclub during his last visit, to see Thelonious

-\1onk.2

He wouldn't give up. He promised, hand on heart, to $

take good care of me and have me home for dinner on :Christmas Eve, and she relented. But as we were checking :out of the lodge that morning it began to snow, and in this :snow he obset-ved some rare qualiqr that made it necessary ;:or us to get in one last run. We got in several last runs. He :-n'as indifferent to my fretting. Snow whirled around us in :biner, blinding squalls, hissing like sand, and still we skied. I-\s the lift bore us to the peak yet again, my father looked at inis watch and said, "Criminy. This'il have to be a fast one."**

By now I couldn't see the trail. There was no point inr+-ing. I stuck to him like white on rice and did what he didand somehow made it to the bottom without sailing off a:litT. We returned our skis and my fbther put chains on the

-\ustin-Healeys while I swayed from foot to foot, clappingnv mittens and wishing I was home. I could see eveq,thing.The green tablecloth, the plates with the holly pattern, the:ed candles waiting to be lit.

We passed a diner on our way out. "You want some

=oup?" my f'ather asked. I shook my head. "Buck up," he

said. "I'll getyou there. Right, doctor?"I was supposed to say, "Right, doctor," but

anrthing.I didn't say

1 Mount Baker, a ski resort in Washington State.

2 Thelonious Monk, famous jazz pianisr.

5 Austin-HealSa English sports car.

,.:rtiit::.ii#

- .:3O:,r:fltaP:{(J?Flr 'r:::::''

ished in the Nes, York

:rntn, in Que,ttnn

Molff |:

a

,l'

271

,..;r,::t:.: t: 1:$t .::r,.

..jiii,iil,r''',.:,r jr;,irlili:!

i0bstacte 'i.i increases i:i tension, Ii nslng i',r action .,,1

: l':::;':: ::l: :::'-' : ::" .::,...':':::,' '.-::'::' '.. ..:''

A state trooper u,aved us dou'n outside the resort' A

pair of sanr.horses n'ere blocking the road. The trooper came

up to our car and bent dou'n to my father's windorv' His

face lr'as bleached bv the cold. Snolr'flakes clung to his

eyebro".,s and to the fur trim of his jacket and cap'

"Don't tell me," mY f'ather said.

The trooper told him. The road *as closed. It m;ght get

cleared, it rnight not. Storm took everyone by surprise' So

much, so fast. Hard to get people moving. Christmas Eve'

What can you do.

My f-ather said, "Look. \Ve're talking ahout five' six

inches. I'r,e taken this car through worse tl-ran that'"

The trooper straightened up. His f'ace u'as out of sight

but I could hear him' "The road is closed."

\, f;11[". sat rvith both hands on the *'heel, rubbing

the lr,ood r'r'ith his thumbs. He looked at the barricade for a

long time. He seemed to be trying to master the idea of it''fhen he thanked the trooper:, and rvith a weird, old-maidy

show o{r caution turned the car around' "Your mother q'ill

never fbrgive me fbr this," he said.

"We should have left befbre," I said. "Doctor'"

I-le didn't speak to me again until rl'e were in a booth at

the diner, waiting for our br-rrgers. "She won't fbrgive me,"

he said. "Do you understand? Never."

"l guess," I said, but no guesswork rn"'as required; she

u,ouldn't lbrgive hitn."l can't let that happen." He bent tou'ard me' "l'll tell

you r,r,hat I want. I want us all to be together again' Is that

whar vou tvant? "

Ies' slr.

He burnped my chin rvith his knuckles. "That's all I

nceded to hear."

When rl,e finished eating he u'ent to the pay phone in

the back o{rthe diner, then joined me in the booth again' I

:il father's iI frustration itr

, and son's ir.tone ,l:.'

272

r outside the resort. Ae road. The trooper came'fbther's window. Hisrvflakes clung to hisjacket and cap.

lwas closed. It might get

ieryone by surprise. So

noving. Christmas Eve.

alking about five, skworse than that."lis f'ace was out of sight

closed."

on the wheel, rubbing:ed at the barricade fbr a:o master the idea of it.vith a weird, old-maidyund. "Your mother will

said. "Doctor."

,til we were in a booth at.^t t P5he won 1 Iorgrve me,

er. "

'ork was required; she

nt toward me. "I'11 telle together again. Is that

nuckles. "That's all I

:nt to the pay phone in

re in the booth again. I

--. i':'.j ',-:'. i.r-

figured he'd called my mother, but he didn't give a report.

He sipped at his coffee and stared out the window at the

empry road. "Come on, come on," he said, though not to

me. A little while later he said it again. When the trooper's

car went past, lights flashing, he got up and dropped some

money on the check. "Okay. Vamanos."a

The wind had died. The snow was falling straight

down, less of it now and lighter. We drove awa;r from.the

resort, right up to the barricade."'-h{ove it,l'm;l father

told me, When I looked at him he said, "What are you*-aiting for?" I got out and dragged otte of the sawhorses

aside, then put it back after he drove through. He pushed

rhe door open for me. "Nowyou're an accomplice," he said.'\\'e go down together." He put the car into gear and gave

me a look.,"Joke, son."

Down the first long stretch I watched the road behind

us, to see if the trooper was on our tail. The barricade

',-anished. Then there was nothing but snow: snow on the

road, snow kicking up from the chains, snow on the trees,

sno'uv in the sky; and our trail in the snow. Then I faced

:onvard a.rd had a shock. The lay of the road behind us had

reen marked by our own tracks, but there were no tracks

ahead of us. My father was breaking virgin snow between a

line of tall trees. He was humming "Stars Fell on Alabama."

I t'eit snow brush along the floorboards under my feet' To

jeep my hands from shaking I clamped them between my

'"":; father grunted in a thoughtful way and said, "Don't

e\ er try this yourself.""I won't.""That's what you say now, but someday you'll get your

.icense and then you'll think you can do anything. Only you

{ Vamanos, Spanish for "Let's go.

Re.ading-a" "Shart-$tow€

273

!gr!

won't be able to do this. You need, I don't know-a certain

"Maybe I have it'"You don't. You have your strong points' but not this' I

only mention it because I don't want you to get the idea this

is something just anybody can do' ['m a great driver' That's

not a virtue, okay? It's just a t-act, and one you should be

aware of. Ol course you have to give the old heap some

credit, too. There aren't many cars i'd try this with'

Listen l"I dicl listen. I heard the slap of the chains' the stiff'

jerky rasp of the wipers, the purr of the engine' lt really did

purr. The old heap u'as almost new' All'y father couldn't

af'ford it, and kept promising to sell it, but here it was'

I said, "Where do you think that policeman went to?"

"Are you warm enough?" He reached over and cranked

up the blower. Then he turned ofT the wipers' We didn't

need them. The clouds had brightened' A f'ew sparse'

feathery flakes drifted into our slipstream attd were swept

alr''ay. We left the trees and entered a broad field of snow

that ran level fbr a while and then tilted sharply downward'

Orange stakes had been planted at intervals in two parallel

lines and my father steered a course between them' though

they were f'ar enough apart to leave considerable doubt in

my mincl as to exactly where the road lav' He was humming

again, doing little scat riflso around the melody'

"Okay then. What are my strong points?"

"Don't get me started," he said' "It'd take all day"'

"Oh, right. Name one'"

"Easy. You alwaYs think ahead'"

True. I always thought ahead' I was a boy who kept his

5 scat riffs, frec-fbrm stvle oljazz singing'

I

.; .t :. ". *:'+" 1F::rf g+ .+=i: e'E-,$l

i Repeated H

il word #

ti .,'J, :fl rqi-;*il!g:i,Tin

, Decreased r

tenslon,. fatting ... action

,,

274

Readinc"a*Shff L Stoxy--ffi

I don't know-a certain

,ng points, but not this. Irt you to get the idea this

I'm a great driver. That's

rnd one you should be

ve the old heap some

I'd try this with.

the chains, the stiff,

,f the engine. It really did

'. My father couldn'tI it, but here it was.

at policeman went to?"eached over and cranked

the wipers. We didn'tned. A f'ew sparse,

stream and were swept

I a broad field of snow

tilted sharply do*n*ard.intervals in two parallel

;e between them, though

e considerable doubt in>ad lay. He was humming

L the melody.

ng points?". "It'd take all day.'l

t."

I was a boy who kept his

nslng.

: rthes on numbered hangers to ensure proper rotation. I

:':ihered my teachers for homework assignments far ahead

:: rheir due dates so I could draw up schedules. I thought

:read, and that was why I knew that there would be other

::oopers waiting for us at the end of our ride, if we even got

:-ere. What I did not know was that my f'ather would'- needle and plead his way past them - he didn't sing "O

iannenbaum," but just about - and get me home fbr dinner,

:';ring a little more time before my mother decided to make'-= split final. I knew we'd get caught; lwas resigned to it.

-\nd maybe lor this reason I stopped moping and began to

:niov myself.

\\'hy not? This was one for the books. Like being in a

.:,eedboat, only better. You can't go downhill in a boat. And

- .'"'as all ours. And it kept coming, the laden trees, the

-icroken surface of snow, the sudden white vistas. Flere

"rd there I saw hints ofthe road, ditches, fences, stakes,

: ur not so many that I could have found my way. But then I:-ln't have to. My father was driving. My father in his

::rn'-eighth year, rumpled, kind, bankrupt of honor, flushed-., -ih certainry. H* was a great driver. All persuasion, no

::ercion. Such subtlef,z at the wheel, such tactf'ul

:edahvork. I actually trusted him. And the best was yet to

:,.me--switchbacks and hairpins impossible to describe.

!:rcept maybe to say this: if you haven't driven fresh

:'r...'der, You haven't driven.

Questions to Consider\\/hat are the causes of some of the difficulties between

the father and son?

The father doesn't say whom he called from the diner.

\\rhat is your guess, and on what do you base yourguess?

Who has changed the most by the end of the story?

What do you think will be the future relationship

betr,veen the father and son?

..xd).m.;;

o#&.d::*

u .:?l!:::llr."

275