Wed. June 15th

TEN MILE

Bonjour Grann,

Bonjour Grann

"bohn-zhoor gran"

French for Hello Grandmother.

I write this in the dark, under the lowered tailgate of Papa's station wagon, with a full strawberry moon

Strawberry moon

"STRAW-bree moon"

Traditional Native American nickname for full moon in June marking ripening strawberries. Blood moon is a full moon during a total lunar eclipse.

 turning blood illuminating my words in fluorescent gel. Papa is stumbling around our campfire with flames shooting four feet in the air. If he falls, he'll be charred like Uncle Tonton's burnt

Uncle Tonton

"UNG-kuhl tawn-tawn"

Tonton is French for uncle. Uncle Tonton is like saying "Uncle Uncle".

 beignet.

Beignet

"BEN-yay"

A deep-fried French pastry made from sweet yeast dough, cut into squares, fried until golden, and dusted with powdered sugar.

I crawled under here to get away from Papa's crazy screaming and getting mad at Bobby. He threw a chunk of firewood at Bobby's head, but missed by a mile. No joke.

1975 AMC Matador Station Wagon in a Sagebrush Field

Grann, I wish you were here with me, I'd crawl into your lap, even if Ma mere

Ma mere

"mah mair"

French for My mother.

 thinks I'm too old; you're the only one that can comfort me without trying. I'm all grown, but Ma mere told me to go to bed, as if I'm a baby, and get out of Papa's hair. I don't mind. Tomorrow will come early.

Tomorrow, we leave; Papa wants to see the ocean, and he says it's a full day away.

Sleep well, Grann.