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101 T He yeaR aFTeR Hiram was born, i contracted mononucleosis , which was terribly debilitating. all i could manage to do for months was to stay in bed. Before i became ill, D. J. and i had bought the Gray Mule Saloon in Fort Stockton , which we were restoring. Built in 1896, the Gray Mule was in surprisingly good condition. elodia Barron had rented the space for her Mexican café, but to meet city regulations, we needed to add another restroom. We were adding the facility to the outside of the building. i told Magdalena, my yard man, that i would give him our old ranch pickup if he would make 200 adobe bricks from which we could build the restroom. He was so thrilled at the prospect of getting the truck that he eagerly agreed to make the adobes. at the time, our home was located on the parade ground of old Fort Stockton, where, more than a hundred years earlier, adobe bricks helped to build the fort. even though i had too little energy to supervise his project closely, i knew Magdalena could make adobe, because his own and most other Mexican families built their own houses from adobe. after Magdalena tested the clay soil, he told me it had just the right consistency for good adobe. One morning a few days later, i pulled myself out of bed to check on his progress with the bricks. i had on my brand new neiman-Marcus red brocade lounging pajamas, thinking i would feel better if i dressed up. in grand style, i strolled through the brush and mesquite onto the parade ground behind our house, where the men were making the adobe. 8 a Motherhood 102 C H A p T e R 8 Magdalena and his son, with their pants rolled up, were tromping around in the shallow pit, mixing water with clay mud for the bricks. Magdalena spoke little english and my Spanish was no better. The adobe looked good to me, but i did not see any hay for the bricks. Hay helps bind the muddy clay and water. you do not need much hay, but i did not see any, so i said, “Magdalena, donde está . . .” Oops, i realized at that moment that i did not know the Spanish word for “hay,” so i used the word for “grass.” “. . . secate para el adobe?” He scratched his head, then finally, he said, “Oh, Janie, i used a little bit of sheet.” He motioned to the corral and then i got what he was talking about. We had two arabian horses. i did dressage on one and D. J. rode the other for relaxation whenever he had time. Magdalena had used pure arabian “sheet” for the binder, and it worked just fine. Once i understood what Magdalena was saying, i leaned against that old pickup truck i was giving to him, dying with laughter on the inside , but not daring to laugh out loud so as not to embarrass Magdalena. adobe bricks are made in a frame on the ground, divided into sections , one for each brick. a mix of mud, water, and hay is dumped into each section, a lot like baking mud pies. as the mixture dries, the wood absorbs some of the moisture, and so does the air and the ground underneath it. after a few days, the frame is removed and you can stack the adobes like bricks of gold. Only in our case, it was mud and manure. Finally, we completed the restroom and the restaurant was opened. it had a charming Mexican décor, with murals and painted glass, and the food was excellent. Unfortunately, it was not successful financially, closing a few years later. it took me months to recover from my mono. While i was sick, i did not feel like doing a single thing. eating and sleeping were the most taxing activities i could manage. Mono was widespread in the fifties, when it was “the kissing disease.” Maybe so, but i assure you i did not get it from kissing. in fact, i have no idea how i ever contracted it. all i wanted most was to rid myself of it. The local girl who helped me out during the day had her own family, so she went home every night. i was lucky to have our two grandmothers living close by to help take care of the children in the evenings. [18.220.66.151] Project...

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