My friends - Today, we are continuing our review of the essays written by Dr. Gordon Wilson, concerning his boyhood days in "Fidelity" - better known as New Concord in Calloway County. The topic of today's narrative is "Burning the Wind". I can remember my late grandmother using that phrase from time to time. There will be no data post tomorrow or on the weekend, as is customary. I have been working on converting a miscellaneous file for several weeks, and I hope to have it completed in time to offer over the next few days. -B ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BURNING THE WIND -A. Gordon Wilson Fidelity Folks When something went fast in the older days, we said it "burned the wind." In our slow world that did not mean, necessarily, that some thing was going at terrific speed. But the very slowness of our lives made speed exciting. In our play we often burned the wind. When an occasional ice storm coated the ground over, we slid down the hills on slides or chairs or planks and felt that we were setting records for speed. On one such occasion I went so fast that my overcoat, handed down as a relic from several older brothers, was left hanging in tatters on the ice. I was afraid to rejoice, but I know now that I did not grieve much over such a tragedy; for it meant a new one for me and just for me. Sometimes we would stand up in the swing and "pump" until we fairly went up into the limbs of the trees and would then burn the wind as we made a huge arc across the yard. On the seesaw we went up rather slowly but often came down with a rush. To this day a similar motion, such as going down a small hill too fast in a car, makes me think of the nausea I suffered when the seesaw broke or else descended a bit too fast. One of the best ways to burn the wind was to get the running gear of the old buggy that had been discarded, take off the bed, remove the shafts, and guide the clumsy old thing with a plowline or a piece of baling wire as we whizzed down hill. Skiing and tobogganing were never a part of my experience, but I know that the wildest dare-devil of the White Mountains never felt any bigger than we youngsters did when we sped down one of our small hills on the old buggy. People older and more sophisticated than we could burn the wind in another spectacular way. Our older brothers might own fine horses, fine for our part of the world. These same horses ridden or driven might excite the wonder and covetousness of the whole neighborhood. On Sunday morning, when people were supposed to be in a pious frame of mind, the sight of a dapper young fellow dashing up to the very doors of the country church on his steed or, better still, driving up equally fast with the pretty girl from up the creek by his side provoked violations of the tenth commandment among the younger set and caused the bearded old fellows to recall vividly some of their own escapades at burning the wind. When people gathered at the village for election day or Saturday afternoon or just gathered, how great it was to come driving by as if you were oblivious of the whole world, though we all knew all this was to show off the gaited horse! Even the old people could burn the wind occasionally by purchasing something above their usual level: some furniture, a new buggy for the family, some fancy wall paper, or other equally prosaic but exciting thing. Then the older neighbors had their turn at envying and talking in whispers. When Mother's mother died, along about 1893, there was a small sum left for each of the numerous children. Mother invested hers in a new suite of furniture for the front room: bed, wash-stand, and dresser, all of golden oak. One of our neighbor women came, apparently just to call, but really to see the new things. She asked to see them, for, of course, the front room was not open on week days, When she had surveyed them for several minutes in silence, she remarked, "Fine! Fine! I ain't got nothing, I never had nothing, I never want nothing," This, you may guess, let Mother down several notches from the exalted feeling she must have had from burning the wind. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++