Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper's Life Among the Herd Interior Layout

assumed he would make farming his life, but after almost two
decades of watching his parents struggle against the vagaries
of weather and market rate, he preferred something with fewer
gambles that would guarantee a living wage.
Leonard and Myra had reached the same conclusion.
In June 1956, they announced plans to relocate to Portland,
Oregon, following a trail toward greener pastures laid down by
Aunt Dorothy and her family. Ten-year-old Donald would go
with them, but Virginia planned to remain behind, living with
friends until she graduated high school the following year.
With his family about to be scattered, it took no
arm-twisting to convince Roger to accompany high school
buddy Bernie Carroll on a trip to California to seek their
fame and fortune. In January 1957, carrying two suitcases and
their entire life savings—about $400 apiece, nearly $3,600
by today’s standards—they set out in Roger’s Chevy Coupe,
thrilled at the romance of the open road and the adventure
ahead.
Expenses were small. Gasoline cost just twenty-three cents
a gallon, and thirty-seven cents purchased a loaf of bread and
a jar of grape jelly. When Roger and Bernie wanted to splurge,
three dollars bought two chicken dinners and a six-pack of
beer. They washed in gas station restrooms, slept parked by
the side of the road, and opted for a motel room only when the
need for a shower or a real mattress became desperate.
In Arizona, a sign advertising the North Rim of the Grand
Canyon drew them off the highway on a long detour. They
arrived to find the canyon fogged in, the magnificent view
obliterated by a swirling wall of white mist. Deeply disappointed,
the two friends solemnly performed a commemorative
urination into the abyss and continued on their way.
California was kind to Bernie, who had family living
there, but proved to be no golden land for Roger. After two
Melissa Crandall ◆ 29