Viewing page 26 of 73

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

became my focus and my dream. The hole was five, seven, then twelve inches deep. The whole length of my arm could reach to the bottom, up to my shoulder. As I dug I imagined I would put my hand through and see the blue skies of China. I would see the people with their little black hats pulling rickshaws. I was worried that digging might cause some kind of cosmic disturbance. Would the world deflate, would it stop its orbit? This was the hole that offered me my greatest escape and diversion. When I lay in bed I didn't wonder if we were leaving, driving home. I was onto something. No one had ever had the simple idea about digging a hole to China. This was a mining town, and everyone dug and I was part of the plan. 

25