What: f would sneak out when he heard them in town, he would hide under a wagon and watch 5/6 girls of all ages dance around a large fire. He thought they saw him but didn’t say anything.
What: f says he shoots birds w his BB gun to help feed his family of 5, (mainly meadowlarks but sometimes a scissor tail if he was short on meadowlarks). He says he learned not to waste shots on robins bc they could see his bb’s coming. The scissor tails apparently ate disgusting things compared to the meadowlarks, so he made sure his siblings ate it instead of himself or his parents. F also says that sometimes, after getting “switched”, he would sneak out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night as revenge, and walk down the street to the grave yard. He would sit on a man’s gravestone and stated a kid could do a lot of thinking that way.
Where: temple Texas,
Hillcrest Cemetery
1873 N First St
Temple, TX 76501
United States
When: 1943+
Why: He was starting to make his own important decisions, weighing right, wrong, and grey areas
Possible hints:
He shot birds to help feed his family - is there a deeper meaning to this?
it wasn’t legal to shoot birds, but Marvin allowed it.
the types of birds he shot are in question - in rumblings and ramblings we are told he sometimes shot mockingbirds instead of scissor tails, why did he change the type of bird? Mockingbirds are beloved, could that be why?
He walked straight down to the cemetery - is he giving us a clue about directions? “Straight down/look quickly down”
Who: ff, maternal grandmother (Arie Beatrice Simpson), his siblings (skippy and June), his parents
What: f remembers his maternal grandmother’s days as a child in Ft. Worth, when Indians happily chased chicken’s near her property. He remembers being the middle child in his family and wishes they’d return so he could be in the middle again.
Where: ff’s memory bank, Fort Worth, tx, pics of his siblings at Hebgen lake
When: various years, some unknown years
Why: because fenn was remembering that in his opinion his family was better than most and he was feeling nostalgic
Possible hints: the Comanche Indians were chasing chickens and f’s grandmother watched. The Indians had a good time even when they failed
The idea of someone/something being in the middle, somewhere/somehow
Who: ff, school kids, miss ford, Marvin fenn, old lady at the pie factory
What: The reader is told f uses his time in Spanish class to create toys to sell to his “rich” schoolmates who are driven to school. He makes money to spend on indulgences such as Fritos, coke, ice cream, and pies. Things are starting to go well for F, he believes his father is proud of him and he starts to like himself, which suggests he is gaining confidence. F is the best marble player in his school and makes sure the girls know it.
Where: Spanish class with miss ford at central junior high school
When: 1943ish
Why: he was beginning to learn the value of money and the advantages of a capitalistic system of government. He was learning to use his street smarts / imagination to create wealth.
Possible hints / noteworthy sentences:
Always carried a small sandstone slab in his pocket (kinda like an ace in the pocket)
Sold to rich kids who always had a drive to school (kids who didn’t have to work as hard, perhaps less savvy)
He dreamt of the sweet old lady who broke pies for him so he could afford them
Who: FF (about 8 yrs old) 2 Old Biddies who lived down the block (about 30 yrs old), F's mother is mentioned.
What: F overhears the 2 biddies saying he would run away from home but he's not allowed to cross the street. He loathed them since then.
Where: A big church social, everyone was there. It is assumed the church may have been "First Baptist Church 102 W Barton St, Temple, 76501"
When: When F was about 8 years old, presumably 1938.
Why: The women spoke unkindly about F, who was just a child, in a place where they were supposed to be showing love. They thought they were better than him because they lived in brick housed and were nasty, as some people are in this world.
Possible Hint: The searcher will have to cross the street somewhere and other searchers may not agree.
- Ch 1 First Grade (who, what, where, when, why, possible hint...)
Who: FF, his father Marvin Fenn - principal, the kids (John Charles - antagonist, and his mother - also an antagonist, Billy Jo Ray - friend, Ora Mae - lunch bucket woman/janitor, ff's mother
What / Inciting Incident: F's father gets promoted to principal after a couple of years, F is proud and puts a sign at his father's new special parking spot, he gets bullied.
Where: Lanier School, Texas
When: Sept, 1936
Why: The bully is jealous of Fenn and his father, he likely believes Fenn is showing off.
Possible Hint: Sept 16 stamp, awareness first step, GPS coordinates
the cold creek pours into the warmer madison at 16" longitude at 9 mile hole. Two beginings that line up.
Chapter 8
Gypsy Magic
Who: ff, Gypsies
What: f would sneak out when he heard them in town, he would hide under a wagon and watch 5/6 girls of all ages dance around a large fire. He thought they saw him but didn’t say anything.
Where: The Katy rr tracks
When: 1940’s
Why: f wanted to be near magic
Possible hint: f is hinting that he was a spy
Chapter 7
Surviving myself
Who: ff, his family, birds
What: f says he shoots birds w his BB gun to help feed his family of 5, (mainly meadowlarks but sometimes a scissor tail if he was short on meadowlarks). He says he learned not to waste shots on robins bc they could see his bb’s coming. The scissor tails apparently ate disgusting things compared to the meadowlarks, so he made sure his siblings ate it instead of himself or his parents. F also says that sometimes, after getting “switched”, he would sneak out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night as revenge, and walk down the street to the grave yard. He would sit on a man’s gravestone and stated a kid could do a lot of thinking that way.
Where: temple Texas,
Hillcrest Cemetery
1873 N First St
Temple, TX 76501
United States
When: 1943+
Why: He was starting to make his own important decisions, weighing right, wrong, and grey areas
Possible hints:
He shot birds to help feed his family - is there a deeper meaning to this?
it wasn’t legal to shoot birds, but Marvin allowed it.
the types of birds he shot are in question - in rumblings and ramblings we are told he sometimes shot mockingbirds instead of scissor tails, why did he change the type of bird? Mockingbirds are beloved, could that be why?
He walked straight down to the cemetery - is he giving us a clue about directions? “Straight down/look quickly down”
Chapter 6
Me in the middle
Who: ff, maternal grandmother (Arie Beatrice Simpson), his siblings (skippy and June), his parents
What: f remembers his maternal grandmother’s days as a child in Ft. Worth, when Indians happily chased chicken’s near her property. He remembers being the middle child in his family and wishes they’d return so he could be in the middle again.
Where: ff’s memory bank, Fort Worth, tx, pics of his siblings at Hebgen lake
When: various years, some unknown years
Why: because fenn was remembering that in his opinion his family was better than most and he was feeling nostalgic
Possible hints: the Comanche Indians were chasing chickens and f’s grandmother watched. The Indians had a good time even when they failed
The idea of someone/something being in the middle, somewhere/somehow
Chapter 5
My Spanish Toy Factory
Who: ff, school kids, miss ford, Marvin fenn, old lady at the pie factory
What: The reader is told f uses his time in Spanish class to create toys to sell to his “rich” schoolmates who are driven to school. He makes money to spend on indulgences such as Fritos, coke, ice cream, and pies. Things are starting to go well for F, he believes his father is proud of him and he starts to like himself, which suggests he is gaining confidence. F is the best marble player in his school and makes sure the girls know it.
Where: Spanish class with miss ford at central junior high school
When: 1943ish
Why: he was beginning to learn the value of money and the advantages of a capitalistic system of government. He was learning to use his street smarts / imagination to create wealth.
Possible hints / noteworthy sentences:
Always carried a small sandstone slab in his pocket (kinda like an ace in the pocket)
Sold to rich kids who always had a drive to school (kids who didn’t have to work as hard, perhaps less savvy)
He dreamt of the sweet old lady who broke pies for him so he could afford them
Chapter 4: Bessie and Me
Who: ff, bessie the cow, and Ms ford
What: Ms ford embarrassed f by suggesting he should change his pants before class.
Where: at the central junior high school
When: Around 1943
Why: Ms ford didn’t know f was running late
Possible hints:
He would squirt milk in the cats mouths and they felt blessed
Noteworthy sentence: until you have loved a cow, part of your soul remains undiscovered
Image of cow is flipped
Chapter 3:
Jump starting the learning curve
Who: ff, his father, Miss Ford
What: ff tells Ms ford that his father called her an old bat. His father tells him to tell the truth, but not the whole truth.
Where: Central Junior High School
401 N Main St, Temple Texas, 76501
When: in 1943
Why: It is important to be savvy and street smart. Telling the whole truth can be counterproductive sometimes
Possible hints and notable lines:
don’t make the alligator mad before you crossed the River
He prayed for d’s but nobody listened
“Forrest fenn, don’t you know anything?”
“Miss Ford, I don’t even suspect anything”
Chapter 2 - No Place For Biddies
Who: FF (about 8 yrs old) 2 Old Biddies who lived down the block (about 30 yrs old), F's mother is mentioned.
What: F overhears the 2 biddies saying he would run away from home but he's not allowed to cross the street. He loathed them since then.
Where: A big church social, everyone was there. It is assumed the church may have been "First Baptist Church 102 W Barton St, Temple, 76501"
When: When F was about 8 years old, presumably 1938.
Why: The women spoke unkindly about F, who was just a child, in a place where they were supposed to be showing love. They thought they were better than him because they lived in brick housed and were nasty, as some people are in this world.
Possible Hint: The searcher will have to cross the street somewhere and other searchers may not agree.
- Ch 1 First Grade (who, what, where, when, why, possible hint...)
Who: FF, his father Marvin Fenn - principal, the kids (John Charles - antagonist, and his mother - also an antagonist, Billy Jo Ray - friend, Ora Mae - lunch bucket woman/janitor, ff's mother
What / Inciting Incident: F's father gets promoted to principal after a couple of years, F is proud and puts a sign at his father's new special parking spot, he gets bullied.
Where: Lanier School, Texas
When: Sept, 1936
Why: The bully is jealous of Fenn and his father, he likely believes Fenn is showing off.
Possible Hint: Sept 16 stamp, awareness first step, GPS coordinates
the cold creek pours into the warmer madison at 16" longitude at 9 mile hole. Two beginings that line up.
~ Credit to JPC