"Same River Twice" 9-53

After reading the first 53 pages of this book I am really enjoying it. This is because it is illustrating how Chris Offutt is finding out his role as a man.
To start out he is sharing his how he has just gotten married to Rita. On page 16 we find out that soon afterward they have some big news. “Two weeks later Rita called from the doctor’s office. She spoke fast, her voice husky with tears and glory. The test was positive. I went outside and lay down beside the river. …I was stationary while all existence was on the glide.

I never thought I’d be married, let alone mutate into a father. Such normal events had never seemed to have a place in my life. To mark the occasion, I bought an aluminum skiff with a six horse-power engine, and dubbed it Lily, Rita’s middle name. I moored it in the river twenty yards from the house and felt a little better prepared for fatherhood.” From his remark that he normally doesn’t follow the traditional roles of a man was very evident in the next pages. When he was old enough he went to New York to become an actor. Here he failed to become successful at acting. But he managed to meet a black girl named Jahi. I immediately didn’t like her. She began to teach him about New York life and he started to enjoy it and her. On page 36 we find that there are some things that remind him of Kentucky. “Tony led his motley posse along a dirt path through the park. The horses walked a lazy single file. Half an hour later they still strolled with heads down, performing their function like machines. I was embarrassed for the animals, domesticated to disgrace.” This event was when Jahi and Chris went horseback riding in the city park. Chris seems to miss the way that he grew up, in the country. He then proceeds to gallop his horse. Then another inexperienced rider is thrown from his horse and is killed. For some reason Jahi seems to think that having sex will make them forget this awful tragedy. I believe that it was at this point Chris realized that he doesn’t belong with her.

After moving on from her he plays some football with some others his age. He catches a pass but in the process he blows out his knee and has to have a cast put on it. He took his first airplane ride home and rested. But he didn’t stay long. As soon as the cast was off he left again.

Throughout this story he is looking back on his life. But at some points he comes back to the present where he is on the verge of becoming a father.
After having the cast removed he hitchhiked to Minnesota. There he became involved with a native American and a couple of Hispanic brothers. These three roommates were a strange bunch. They seemed to always stay intoxicated or high. There were some crazy events. The brothers were some type of gangsters and they were trying to force their cousin onto Chris. They wanted him to marry her so that she could stay in the country legally. On page 51 we see this conversation.

“Maria says she is in love with you.”-The brothers aunt

“What!”

“Because you will marry her.”

“I won’t.”

“You must”

“Why?”

“Because she is in love with you.”

I found this interesting. Maybe in other Hispanic cultures there is very little regard for the feelings of the children. Probably they just wanted have some type of connection so that they could stay in the US. Chris proceeds to take advantage of the situation by having sex with the cousin and then leaving town for good.
Vocabulary words:

Delineate (page 25): To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.

Hutch (page 42): A pen or coop for small animals, especially rabbits

Sojourn (page 50): To reside temporarily