Browse:Above Mah Jurisdiction Doctor's Order Impossible (Volume 1, entries 889)
Above Mah Jurisdiction [Doctor's Order Impossible]
Volume 1, entries 889. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → Consultation Technique. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 889
Dere wus a ole lady an' she told me dat, to drive to de graveyard on a person dat ah know - jes' ah would be knowin' him on de earth an' he dies an' ah knows his full name. So when he die an' ah know de man as good as ah know mahself. So ah went to her. She tole me whut tuh do, at twelve a'clock - one minute after twelve dat night ah must be tuh dis grave, an' walk to his grave, an' she gived me a rod. De rod wus 'bout dat long ah b'lieve [demonstrates].
(Long as your arm.)
An' ah tole her that, "Ah think yo've given me somethin' tuh do above mah furisdiction - I would not be enable tuh do dat." She says, "Why?" Ah tole her, ah says, "Ah nevah have talked to de dead." She say, "It ain't a thing - no mo' den talkin' tuh me." Dat's whut she say. Ah tole her, "It's mean hard, but then," ah says, "I couldn't bat a eye an' nobody roun' would speak." An' ah wus to be tuh de head of dat grave jes' lak in de time dat it twelve a'clock. Well, twelve a'clock ah had tuh be right at de head of dat grave, see, an' call dis man by his full name. Jes' lak mah name, ah'd call mah full name - call his name an' he'd ask me whut do ah want. An' ah would tell him whut do ah want. He'd tell me - well, ah axe him could he do dese matters, an' he'd tell me yes. Dat whut she say he did. Well, ah didn't go - ah tried. Den she changed it an' tell me to be down dere at one minute aftah twelve a'clock to do dese mattahs - ah'd have 'em tuh do mah- self. Ah tole her, ah says, "Ah couldn't do dat." An' she says, "Dere's nobody in de worl' have tuh see yo'." Ah tell her, "Well, where ah'm gon'a hide at?" She says, "Ah kin hinder anybody from seein' yo'." [Make her invisible.] Ah says, "Maybe yo' could but," ah says, "now, ah know people passin' de high- way all de time an'," ah says, "de man ah know is nearby on de highway." She says, "Well, ah tell yo' whut chew do," says, "yo' go an' buy me a knife wit fo' blades on it." An' so ah tole her, "Well, ah kin do dat." Ah gone long out mah job - ah wus put outen mah job, an' she says it wus on a wrong cause an' she could replace me back. An' so when ah started back to dat grave
(Did you buy the knife for her?)
Yes sir, ah bought de knife - a fo' bladed knife, an' she tole me dat, she says - now, ah'll have to nuse [use] dese words - she says, "Damn" - ah hand her de knife, she say, "De damn son-of-a-bitch, ah'm goin' cut his goddam haslet loose."
(His what loose?)
Cut his haslet loose.
(What is that?)
Dat is whut inside him. She's goin' cut it loose wit dis new knife. Dis knife nevah wus nused [used] until she nuse it - ah didn't even open it. (Haslet - that is his inside - means his guts? I don't understand the word - haslet.) [Heart, liver, etc., of an animal when used for food.] Yes sir - haslet. So ah give her de knife an' she says, "Now, is yo' got five cents?" Ah tole her no. An' she say, "Ah don't want five cents neither - ah want a dime." Ah tole her, "Well, dat's all de money ah'm got - ah bought de knife, ah ain't got but a dime." She say, "Well, give it to me." Ah hands her de dime an' she says, "Yo' come back ovah heah tomorrah an' ah'll tell yo' exactly whut ah done an' whut will happen." So ah went back ovah den dat day an' de next day an' she says, "Ah had a talk wit dat man." Ah says, "Yo' did?" She says, "Yes." Ah said, "Well, den whut happened?" She says, "Yo' go 'way from heah an' yo' stay three days, an' if he don't reply nobody tuh yore home in dese three days," say, "yo' come back tuh me." An' so ah tells her, "Well, ah kin do that." Ah stayed the three days an' after de three days, ah went back ovah dere an' she wus sick. Her daughter says, "Well, now, mama's sick today," an' says, "yo'll have to come back." She says, "Stay three days mo' an' come back." She says, "Ah can't claim dat chew'll be successful." Ah tole her, "Well, ah hope ah do." An' after ah went back de three days whut her daughter tole me, she says, "Mah mama don't git no bettah." Ah says, "No?" An' ah says roughhan', "Ah knew yo'all bought her dis knife" - yo' know, ah says to her daughter, I says, "Maybe 'stid of she cuttin' de man's haslet in two, maybe he cut hers in two - she let de knife got away from her." She said, "Did chew bought her a knife?" I tole her, "Yeah." She says, "Ah'm gon'a kinsult mama an' fin' out somepin concernin' of dat knife, to see is she got dat knife or whut did she done with it." Ah says, "It's a brand-new knife," an' ah said, "it's a good one, too, an' she said it wus de very knife dat she needed." So she says, "Well, yo' come back tomorrah an' when ah done kinsult mama, I'll tell yo' when yo' go in to her an' let yo' an' her have a private talk." Ah tole her, "Well, ah'd be mighty glad - ah would like to see her anyhow to see whut she wus doin'." So de next day ah went back an' she says, "Now, yo'll have tuh set chere one hour befo' kin ah let chew see her." So ah sot dere an' sot dere - had mah watch an' could see whut time ah'd sot down dere, an' de one hour dat ah'd sot dere, she comed out an' she said, "Now, yo' kin go in an' see her." Time ah walk in, she says, "Why is dat chew?" Ah tole her, "Yes mam, dis is me." Says, "Yo' haven't got any answer?" Ah tole, "No mam, ah didn't got any." Says, "Why?" Ah tole her, "Ah couldn't tell." An' she says, "Well, yo'll git an answer tonight." Say, "Ah'm sick but chew'll git an' answer tonight." Ah tole her, "Ah will?" She says, "Yes." An' whut happened den - de next mawnin' she died - she died. She nevah didn't finish dat - ah will call it a story, she nevah didn't finish de story out to me. But ever'thing dat she asked me tuh do, while she wus able tuh do dese great merits, why ah did 'em fo' mah part an' she says ah had nuthin tuh do now an' it all lied in her han's.
[I requestion the informant.]
(Well, now what did she tell you in the beginning - what did she tell you that you had to do? What were all the instructions that she gave you?) Well, de instructions dat she give me about de grave now, she says, "At twelve a'clock" - ah nevah didn't go.
(What did she tell you to do - that's what I want to know.)
She tole me tuh be to de grave at twelve a'clock. One minute aftah twelve ah wus to call dis man full name - see, call him by his full name. See, jes' lak his name Richard, call him Richard so-an'-so an' ask him - tell him whut did I Want done. An' his words would be to me, he could do it. Yo' understand, dat whut she tell me - dat he could do it. An' ah said to her, "Ah nevah did talk to de daid." She says, "If yo' do dat, dey will either have tuh put chew tuh work or leave dis town, an' leave it at once." (Well, all you have to do was just to call the man's name - you didn't take anything out of the graveyard or what?) Den, ah had a rod - yo' know ah tole yo' about de rod. Ah had a rod an' she gived me a papah sack - ah don't know whether the papah sack wus dressed or not, an' she give me dis rod but ah nevah didn't go.
(Well, what did she tell you to do with that stuff - that rod?)
Right to de tender part of his chest, heah - ah wus to sound it right down there. De fust thing ah do, wus sound dat round down in de tender part of his chest. An' when ah do that, then ah would go to takin' to him. After den, when ah git de rod where ah want it, an' all of de dirt dat would be to dat rod - but nevah yo' turn around. If yo' did it on dis side an' yo' face wus headed no'th or wes', yo' hol' yore face jes' lak dat. Den yo' walk roun' by de foot of de grave an' yo' pull dat footbo'd up an' yo' bring it on round an' carry it to de haid. Den yo' pull dat haidbo'd up an' go right on roun' an' place to de foot. See. An' if yo' do that - an' when yo' git to de foot, yo' speak a word, jes' says, "Lord be with me, Lord be with me in my undertakin'." An' she says, said de man'll make a word - dat is de dead man - said he'd make a answer, says, "Yo' kin beg him tuh be with yo'." But ["he'd make a answer"] "Ah am with yo' an' whatsomevah yo' say to me ah'll fillful it." See. Now, whether it wus [would have been] done-d or not, ah don't know.
(Now, what were you going to do with that dirt that stayed on the rod?)
Whut ah did wit dat dirt? Ah wus tuh take it back to her - put it in dat sack an' take it back to her. An' then when I'd take it back to her, I wouldn't know whut she done to dat dirt or nuthin of de kind. But when she fix it up an' give to me, why ah could go anywhere an' when ah speak, it would be jes' de same lak ah don't know whut [ah] had spoke - jes' lak ah were workin' wit chew or somepin of de kind [like I employed him] an' ah go tuh work an' git dis craftwoman - a thing lak dat - an' she would take it an' fix it up an' den [after] she would fix dat dirt up, everywhere dat ah'd go, ah have tuh carry dat dirt. When de package dat she put it in - if it git bad, why den she'd give me odahs [orders] to put anothah piece ovah it to keep it from Wastin'. [She could not repair this hand without permission.] (When you wouldn't go out to that graveyard, then she told you to buy her the knife?) Yes sir.
(But she didn't tell you what she was going to do with that knife?)
No, she didn't tell me - er, yes she did. She says, "De damn son-of-a-bitch, ah's goin' cut his haslet loose," say, "yo' givin' me de right thing when yo' git me dis knife." She said, "Dis heah knife nevah haven't been nused?" Ah tole her, "No, mam, it nevah haven't been nused - ah bought it." She looked it ovah, she says, "Jes' de thing ah want - de very thing ah want." After ah give her de knife - lak dis evenin' an' she tole me about how ah Would git an answer twixt dat an' tomorrah mawnin' -
(You didn't get the job back but if she hadn't died you would have gotten it?)
Ah would have got it - yes sir, ah'd a-got it.