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I was just sitting here, minding my own business, generally being very short of sleep, when a pretty idea for a cultural practice came into my head. So I wrote a short story.
P.S. No, this isn't a Rabbit Hole Day post.
Yesterday we raised Alerick's standing stone.
He had selected a piece of somber grey granite. Anne tried to talk him into something a little more expressive, but he insisted. You can't let your mom talk you out of your first adult decision, after all.
For weeks the sound of steel on stone have been coming from the barn, Grandpa Harold's light and steady blows tempering Alerick's uneven enthusiasm. It meant a lot to both of them to be able to share this. Dad had promised me he'd still be here, but last winter was hard on the old man. Alerick would never actually say anything, of course, but I had seen the fear in his eyes that he'd have to carve his standing stone alone.
The big day began slowly as the neighbors began to trickle in. Breakfast was made, and then made again as more people arrived. At some point the crowd drifted away from the kitchen and started getting ready. Rough timbers had been brought in the week before, and these had to be dressed into rollers and framework. The pit had to be dug at the exact right location.
The sun was high in the sky when the stone finally started to move. Everyone took a turn at the ropes as it slowly moved toward the circle. Alerick was the only one who did not switch out. He was quite winded by the time they reached the waiting pit, though he tried not to show it. The framework to pull the massive piece of granite into place now had to be built. This was the moment Alerick feared most about today. Around the circle several dozen pairs of eyes turned to him and waited. The silence stretched, but not for too long.
'Get the... get the long members,' he said, 'and lash them together in two sets. I, uh, think we can save time by attaching the braces partially on the ground.'
It was a good, if cautious, design. I was grinning like a fool, or so Anne told me later, watching him deal with problems as they came up. Under his uncertain leadership the framework sprouted quickly around us. The younger children swarmed over it, some helping to tie members into place and others just having fun.
After Alerick had declared the frame finished, it was time to raise the stone into place. This time everybody pulled as one, straining as it slowly tipped into the pit, then slid into place with a solid thump. There was a smattering of cheering that was quickly shushed. Alerick, now stumbling a bit from exhaustion, went up to the stone with a plumb line. Minor errors could be fixed, but if it was too far off the only thing to do was pull it down and start again. The crowd waited silently as he measured the stone's alignment and position within the circle.
Alerick looked up and started to say something, but his smile gave it away. Another cheer broke out, this time long and sustained. The cheering had barely died down when the food and drink started to be brought out from the house. I barely had time to take over his first mug of ale before he was lost in the congratulatory mob.
It was an excellent feast that lasted late into the night. Poor Alerick could hardly stand by the end of it, but he saw everyone to the door. We all collapsed immediately, to get what sleep we could. I don't think anyone awoke at the first cock crow, but eventually we all managed to stumble out of bed with time remaining. No one felt like food yet, so we went straight out to the circle to wait.
As the sun rose that day, 16 years after his birth, we hugged our son. We watched a new shadow take form, reaching toward the center of the circle. There it touched, in perfect alignment, the column Anne and I had raised 27 years ago on our wedding.
Our henge was finally complete.
P.S. No, this isn't a Rabbit Hole Day post.
Yesterday we raised Alerick's standing stone.
He had selected a piece of somber grey granite. Anne tried to talk him into something a little more expressive, but he insisted. You can't let your mom talk you out of your first adult decision, after all.
For weeks the sound of steel on stone have been coming from the barn, Grandpa Harold's light and steady blows tempering Alerick's uneven enthusiasm. It meant a lot to both of them to be able to share this. Dad had promised me he'd still be here, but last winter was hard on the old man. Alerick would never actually say anything, of course, but I had seen the fear in his eyes that he'd have to carve his standing stone alone.
The big day began slowly as the neighbors began to trickle in. Breakfast was made, and then made again as more people arrived. At some point the crowd drifted away from the kitchen and started getting ready. Rough timbers had been brought in the week before, and these had to be dressed into rollers and framework. The pit had to be dug at the exact right location.
The sun was high in the sky when the stone finally started to move. Everyone took a turn at the ropes as it slowly moved toward the circle. Alerick was the only one who did not switch out. He was quite winded by the time they reached the waiting pit, though he tried not to show it. The framework to pull the massive piece of granite into place now had to be built. This was the moment Alerick feared most about today. Around the circle several dozen pairs of eyes turned to him and waited. The silence stretched, but not for too long.
'Get the... get the long members,' he said, 'and lash them together in two sets. I, uh, think we can save time by attaching the braces partially on the ground.'
It was a good, if cautious, design. I was grinning like a fool, or so Anne told me later, watching him deal with problems as they came up. Under his uncertain leadership the framework sprouted quickly around us. The younger children swarmed over it, some helping to tie members into place and others just having fun.
After Alerick had declared the frame finished, it was time to raise the stone into place. This time everybody pulled as one, straining as it slowly tipped into the pit, then slid into place with a solid thump. There was a smattering of cheering that was quickly shushed. Alerick, now stumbling a bit from exhaustion, went up to the stone with a plumb line. Minor errors could be fixed, but if it was too far off the only thing to do was pull it down and start again. The crowd waited silently as he measured the stone's alignment and position within the circle.
Alerick looked up and started to say something, but his smile gave it away. Another cheer broke out, this time long and sustained. The cheering had barely died down when the food and drink started to be brought out from the house. I barely had time to take over his first mug of ale before he was lost in the congratulatory mob.
It was an excellent feast that lasted late into the night. Poor Alerick could hardly stand by the end of it, but he saw everyone to the door. We all collapsed immediately, to get what sleep we could. I don't think anyone awoke at the first cock crow, but eventually we all managed to stumble out of bed with time remaining. No one felt like food yet, so we went straight out to the circle to wait.
As the sun rose that day, 16 years after his birth, we hugged our son. We watched a new shadow take form, reaching toward the center of the circle. There it touched, in perfect alignment, the column Anne and I had raised 27 years ago on our wedding.
Our henge was finally complete.
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*chuckle*
Your story in its entirety makes for good reading... but that one line made me laugh out loud. :)