Author Archives: Breanna Barnhart

The Cousin with Nine Lives

Nationality: Irish-Italian
Age: 22
Occupation: Film Maker
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English

Informant: “My mom has this cousin, Steve, who’s almost died so many times.  I met him once, and he’s wild… He’s crazy, man…  He actually wasn’t the one who told me the stories, it was my mom and grandmother.  But I swear – he’s like that old man from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button… [laughs] You know who I’m talkin’ about?  That one guy who’s like: ‘Do you know I’ve been struck by lightning seven times?’ [laughs]  But seriously, he is…  The guy has nine lives…

“One time, he uh, was skydiving and his parachute didn’t open, so he pulled his emergency chute, and that didn’t open… But suddenly, the parachute did open a few hundred feet, I guess, before he hit the ground…  He broke a bunch of bones, he really screwed himself up, but… he survived.  Another time, he was working on construction or something, he was on a crane in a lightning storm, [laughs] thinking that was a good idea… A metal conductor, high in the sky… Yea, he was struck by lightning and survived… He had to have skin graphs, but I guess he was ok after that.  He was just crazy! …He raced cars, he probably got into an accident at one time too, he was an alcoholic… But uh, another time [laughs], he was scuba diving and of course he was attacked by a shark.  It was a great white too.  It uh, bit his oxygen tank on his back, and I guess he was able to take it off so he swam to the boat and was unharmed.”

Interviewer: “Oh my gosh! Is he ok from all that?”

Informant: “You know, we actually have no idea… We haven’t heard from him in like 10 or 15 years?  We don’t know where he is… I don’t know, this is really sad to say, but he probably lived out his nine lives…”

My informant has been told the story of his mom’s cousin by his mother and his grandmother for years, but he remembers being first told when he was about thirteen years old.  He explained that this is a story that his brother, cousins, aunts and uncles know and tell at family gatherings.  He also mentioned the fact that if I had interviewed anyone else in his family, they’d probably come up with different death-defying accounts.  His family members told him the ones included above, but these are the ones that he could remember.

A Direct Descendant of a Salem Witchcraft Trial Victim

Nationality: Irish-Italian
Age: 22
Occupation: Film Maker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English

My informant first heard about his blood relation to a Salem Witchcraft victim when he was about eight or nine years old.  Among stories of being related to pirates in the Mediterranean and Pat Garrett (the sheriff who killed Billy the Kid), my informant’s late grandmother, who was well read in her family history, also informed him that he was related to Samuel Wardwell.

Informant: “Well the story as I know it, or remember from what [my grandmother] told me, is that Samuel Wardwell, who I guess is my great-great-great-great-great grandfather… I don’t really know how many ‘greats,’ but he is my very distant grandfather… He and his wife were accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  He was made to confess, I think quite forcibly… and he uh, later recanted his confession.  From what I know, he confessed to save his life – his wife was pregnant with one of my relatives… I don’t know if it was my great-great-great-grandfather or one of his brothers or sisters, but she was pregnant… And because she was pregnant, she wasn’t executed… That’s why I’m here today, because she wasn’t killed.  I also don’t know exactly why Samuel recanted his confession, but I guess that was the reason why he was put to death.  He was hanged for suspected witchcraft in 1692…  I’ve never been there, but he has a gravestone in Massachusetts that’s still there today…”

Interviewer: “How do you know for sure that you’re related to him?  You have so many crazy family stories, how can you be sure that they’re true?”

Informant:  “I look at it like, some of them may not be true…  but I know for sure, that the Wardwell story is true.  My grandmother’s maiden name was Wardwell, and she was told by her family about the Witch Trials…My family came over on the ship after the Mayflower… So they had a lot of time to do a crazy shit…  Oh, and I also remember my grandmother saying that the story of Samuel Wardwell was the influence of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible.’  I can’t be sure that that’s true, but it’s still pretty cool.”

My informant voiced that the some aspects of the Samuel Wardwell story may have been embellished, since the story has been passed down from multiple generations.  He says “The Crucible” influence especially may have be an elaboration, but at the same time, might also be true.  The character of John Proctor in the play follows the same general sequence of events: he and his wife are accused of witchcraft, his wife claims to be pregnant, he confesses so he can live and care for his family, but then retracts his confession rather than admit to witchcraft and is finally hanged at the end of the play.  The two narratives are so similar that it made me think that maybe the story of Samuel Wardwell was altered in order to fit the story in “The Crucible.”  However, I was quickly taken by surprise when I read Court Records of the Salem Witch Trials.  The records report the same basic story that my informant revealed and also add more details about Samuel Wardwell.

 

To learn more about Samuel Wardwell, refer to these sites:

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ma/county/essex/salemvill/wardwell.htm

http://www.dixfieldcitizennews.net/genealogy/9004.htm

http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num=all&mbio.num=mb26

Pumped, Beta and Flappers

Nationality: Irish-Italian
Age: 22
Occupation: Film Maker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English

“Can I bounce some beta off you?”

“Check out this gnarly flapper!”

“My forearms are pretty pumped, man.”

If any of these sentences mean anything to you, you are probably a rock climber.

While at the rock climbing gym with my informant, these phrases were being tossed about, back and forth between climbers.  Like other sports, there is plenty of jargon that is unique to rock climbing.  Although there are many terms that refer to particular types of rock climbing – top-roping, lead-climbing, bouldering – the terms “pumped,” “beta” and “flappers” are examples of more generalized climbing slang.

My informant, a climber who specializes in bouldering – that is, a style of climbing that is done without rope and is limited to relatively short climbs over a “crash pad,” or cushion – explained the meaning of these common rock climbing terms: “Beta’s just tips or information that we tell each other before or during a climb to help solve a route.”  Apparently “beta” can be a good and bad thing with expressions like: “I need some beta” or even, “Quit your fuckin’ beta, man!”  The latter expression is used when a fellow climber offers too much advice, which can get pretty annoying.

My informant then explained the meaning of a “flapper,” which he coincidentally got after a couple hours of climbing.  A flapper is a detached flap on a climber’s fingers, which is caused from a sharp rock, too much friction or prolonged climbing.  When my informant first started climbing, he told me that he had a flapper on each finger within two weeks.  In rock climbing, building and maintaining calluses is important in avoiding these minor, but still painful injuries.

Surprisingly, the word “pumped” in rock climbing has a much different meaning than excited, ready or adrenaline-filled.  Instead, when climbers use the term, it means that they are exhausted or weak from a strenuous climb or a long climbing day.  It is especially common for forearms to be “pumped,” since rock climbing depends on core and arm (particularly forearm over bicep) strength.

The use of these unique terms illustrates the exclusivity of the rock climbing community, basically creating a different language to convey ideas and condense conversation.  My informant explains that “these are super basic expressions, they’re really easy to pick up… If you climb and don’t use these phrases, then you’re not a real climber…”

Tweeters, Five-Holes, and Soft Goals

Nationality: Sri Lankan-American
Age: 34
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English

“He went tweeters!”

“He scored through the five-hole!”

If you understand this terminology, you are most likely a hockey player, or at least a hockey fan.  My informant, a hockey player and fan, explained this hockey slang to me during a Los Angeles Kings game, after he exclaimed: “Oh man, Kopi got lucky with that five-hole shot!”  With this statement, he was referring to Anze Kopitar – who plays either center or left wing for the Kings and is nicknamed “Kopi” – and his shot on goal.

The term “five-hole” derives from the five open areas that the goalie is responsible for covering.  When a goaltender stands in front of the net, he holds his stick with his dominant hand across his body, down to the ice.  Therefore, there is a “stick side” and a “glove side.”  My informant further explained the five areas: stick side, low; stick side, high; glove side, low; glove side, high; and finally the “five-hole,” which is the gap in between the goalie’s legs.  He also told me that you can use the expression “going tweeters” to refer to this shot.  Nevertheless, the five-hole is a relatively difficult shot to make since goalies guard this area with the blade of their stick and can easily close the gap by falling into the splits, or “butterfly position.”  So, for hockey goalies, flexibility is mandatory.

My informant also explained that there are 2 additional, but minor holes as well: on either side of the goalie between the arms and the body.  However, since these three holes are relatively easy to guard, it is rare for players to deliberately aim for these holes; rather, they can be “luck shots,” where the puck sneaks through due to lousy goaltending.  Consequently, the five, six and seven holes are considered “soft” goals.

Now that you know the slang, make sure you use it properly because if you misspeak, hockey fans will quickly know that you are an outsider!

The Beard is Back

Nationality: Sri Lankan-American
Age: 34
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Northridge, CA
Performance Date: March 2012
Primary Language: English

When the sight of “playoff beards” becomes more and more frequent, it is most likely Stanley Cup hockey season.  Between the months of March to April, during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL (National Hockey League) players and fans begin growing out their beards in hopes of taking home the championship.  My informant, a hockey player himself, explains the tradition: “When playoffs begin, players don’t shave until their team is knocked out of the tournament or until their team wins the Stanley Cup.  Fans do this too to show their support for their team.”

Although he cannot remember precisely when the tradition began, my informant says that the tradition probably began when a team had back-to-back games in a single series (in which two teams compete to win best out of 7 games).  If this is the case, they may not have had a chance to shave, or did not care enough, since the playoffs were on their minds.  My informant explains that the tradition eventually turned into superstition: the bigger and thicker the beard, the better chance of winning the Cup.

In doing more research on the “playoff beard,” the majority of sources state that the tradition began in 1980 by the New York Islanders, “when the team won the first of four straight Cups (1980-83)” (Podnieks 8).  After their Stanley Cup winning streak, other teams dared not imitate the Islanders’ tradition, but were unsuccessful in winning the championship.  Therefore, it became superstition that a team cannot win the Cup unless they embrace the beard philosophy.  Over decades, the tradition and superstition has been reinforced because every year, the team that does win the Stanley Cup has full beards.  Yet, this also may be due to the fact that the beard philosophy has caught on.  All teams in the playoffs have players growing out their beards!

Podnieks, Andrew. Hockey Superstitions: From Playoff Beards to Crossed Sticks and Lucky Socks. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2010. Print.