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p5
[We were all barefoot - end p.4] and walked through the dewy grass; the grass was cold, but the sun shone so strongly
that all we felt was its heat.
When we swam at the sluices [or locks] out into a deeper {kulka}, then we could feel that the water was as cold as ice.
After our swim we caught sight of old Muizarajss fishing baskets and pulled out a few modest pike; I don't remember who the
clever fellow was who took the lead in this. We carried the fish home, but we had been seen in the act. I don't remember how
it ended-- whether anyone was spanked, or what became of the fish. If I had been spanked, or if the pike had tasted good,
then I'm sure I would have remembered.
6. My playmates
At that time they were Marija, Adolfs and Karlis Muizarajs-- the last was the youngest and always was tagging along and
being a bother-- as well as Fricis Kikurs. When the new schoolteacher, Pantelovics, came, then Silis soon had to leave Sili,
for the new teacher took over playing the organ, directing the choir, and accompanying at funerals-- in short, he became the
new sexton. With that, my playmate Oskars left Sili as well. I didn't feel the loss then, since the others lived much nearer
by.
This would be the place to describe my childhood playmates, but first I should talk about 'old Kikurs'. Earlier he had
been the master of the Kikuru house, renting from Manteuffel, the baron at Kazdanga (I should say some things about him too,
later on). The house was at the end of the lake, very close by the Kikuru tavern. There the master of the house [saimnieks-needs
a better translation] was in the habit of sitting with a glass or bottle of beer, and if an acquaintance came by, to toss
back a 'strong one' [sivo] as well.
Once it happened that Kikuris-- and that was his own last name-- encountered the baron's carriage, and his hot-headedness
got the best of his ability to make sensible decisions . Somehow he didn't turn aside (pagriezt celu) and, when the carriage
went by, he spurred [? -- piesavis] his horse and raced past the estate's big bay horses. For this Kikuris lost the house
he was renting and went to live with his brother-in-law, the head of the Muizaraju household. Next to the granary at the edge
of the garden he set up a carpentry and wheel-making workshop, and there the new craftsman turned wheels, {ratu ules = ?},
made {riten'u dangas = ?} and sleigh runners, and other things necessary for farming. So in this workshop I spent many an
hour, and never got tired of watching how the { ule }, spokes, { dangas }, and the entire wheel was made; likewise with the
{ratu plaukti}, swingle-trees [-? dict. trans. of zvengeles] and shafts. He made ridges [- ? taisija kori klat] for some,
while others {pameta besa}. I also watched how sleigh or sled runners were bent, pulling (or clamping) and soaking them until
they were curved to the degree needed. At other times he made beer [barrels? -verpeles], watching closely to be sure the oak
wood had properly dried and [nokriedis = ?] and the bottom of the keg [pareiza liekuma ar jo ruupiigi grieztaam kimeneem].
Such a beer keg might have to withstand a great pressure, in the event the beer [miestins] hadn't finished fermenting before
the barrel was filled. Sometimes I was allowed to take the long wood shavings made by the plane and play with them. Kikuris
wasn't stingy about taking time to talk with a little boy, especially when he had to smoke his pipe.
But the other things he made were kokles {zither-like instruments}, and he not only made them but played them as well.
I never grew tired of listening to his picking (or strumming) --the sounds seemed to vibrate in my bones. When there was a
birthday somewhere, Kikuris and I took the player and some records to the celebrant's house. We let a record play outside
at a window until someone got up and invited us inside, for a glass for Kikuris and a piece of cake [kringelis] or pie [rausis].
We were both glad and the celebrant was honored.
Since the Kalnieki household was rented out to Muizarajs, Kikuris and his family moved in, so that they had one small
room; an attached chamber; space in the granary; and room in the animal barn for a cow and two sheep. Below the attached chamber
was a cellar. The living house-- I don't know when it was built-- had stone foundations, log walls, and a straw roof with
an open loft where extra things were stored (of which there were none, other than a broken wheel). It was arranged with a
living space on the northwest [ziemeluritiem] side and the 'center of the farm' [setas vidus] with the building's facade (this
sounds too proud [lepni]) on the south side, facing the granary. I can't remember any more how Kikuris, his daughter Julija,
and sons Andrejs, Kristaps, and Fricis managed to situate themselves there, but somehow they got by until they were able to
move over to the 'big room' which had been occupied by the renter {i.e. Muizarajs}.
But now, quickly, to get back to my playmates. We got together whenever we had a chance, and never got bored in winter
or summer. Whether it was racing hoops in the lane [gatuve ], baking mud pies, running races, or running to a storage barn
[or shed -skunis] to jump on a hay bale or hide in a cave made from hay bales [go back to this line:he adds 'tagad pantaa'--also,
not completely sure 'salma benkis' is a hay bale]. The days were much too short to be able to do all of our activities! Unnoticed,
like a dark shadow, the days of school and herding were approaching! [end p5]
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