[ARRY WOIWODE

l arrv woiwode (b r94r) grew uP

,. *nn Dakota and lllinois After

moving to New York CitY in his

t*enties, he began to Publish

ooems and stories in the New

i nrf r r, Atto ntir MonthlY' Ha r Per's'

and other Prestigious magazines'

o*on* his books are the highlY

,cctrli,ed novels Whot I'm Coing

lo-io, t rnint' (r969) and BeYond'in,

a,a'oo^ watt \t915)'tn918

he moved backto North Dakota'

*h"r. h. lives on a smallfarm

and continues to write'

Woiwode uses Precise obser-

vation and a sense of Place to

open uP his fictional worlds He

notes that there "seems to be a

oaradox in writingfiction For

lorn" r."rron the Purest and sim-

olart r"nt"nt"s Permit the most

m.rning to adhere to them ln

ottrer w-ords, ttre more sPecific a

,i*Pl. ,"nt"nte is about a Place

in North Dakota' let us saY' the

tor" ,orn"ont from outside that

r."nion ,aat' to read universalitY

inio it." Although "ode to an Or-

,ng"" to.,ttt on an object rather

tfra'n , Ptace' tf'e same PrinciPle

,oof '"t.

ln engagingly detailed

,"nt"n."', Woiwode remembers

,o".ific exPeriences but evokes

a universal romance with an

ideal orange This selection first

,pi.ur.a ltn

Paris Review in r985'

Ode to an OrangeLarry Woiwode

12 OBSERVING THE ORDINARY

r>e

OII. 1'H('}SE ()ItAN(iI]S AIIRIVINC; IN'THE MII)ST

the North l)akota witrters of the forties-the mere

color of thenr, calriecl thror,rgh the door in a net bag

or a cr.rtc ll'otr or,rt of the white winter landscape.-fhcir appearance was enough to set my brother and

nre to tl.rinking that it might be about time to develop

an illrrcss, rvl'rich wirs the sttrest way of receiving a

stcacly supply of tl-rer-r-r.

"Mon.t, we think rvc're getting a cold."" lVcl You me.lrt, yoll two wallt an orange?"-lhis was clifflcult firr us to answer or dispute; the

nrirtter seenrecl tlovecl beyotrd our mere wanting."lf you rvarrt au oratrge," she would say, "wl-ry don't

"

,vorr irsk lbr onc?""Wc rvant ittt oLitttge.""'Wc' again. 'Wc wnrrt trrt orartge."'

"May we' hirvc a.tr-t orartge, please."

"-fhat's tl-re rvay yott krtow I like you to ask for one'

Now, rvhy ckrn't cach of you ask for one in that san-re

rvay, but separately?""Mor.t.t . . ." AIrcl so on. There was no depth of ,'

degraclation thirt rve wouldrr't clescerld to in order toqet one. If the orrrrtges hacln't werlded their w;ry

nolthwarcl by -fhanksgiving, they were sure to arrive

bclirrc the (lhristrttas season, stacked first in crates at

thc clepot, frlling that n.tusty place, where pews sat

bircl< to back, r'vith a sprir.rgtin-re acidity, as if tl.re

bLrilcling l'racl been rinsed witl.r ar renewing elixir that

set it right firr yet another year. Then the crates would

rppcar at the l0cal grocery store, ofteu with the top

slats priecl back on a lew of them, so that we were

,rrvarc of rr rcsittt'rLts srttell of fresh wood in erddition

to the alreacly orangy atmosphere that foretold the

scilson r.nore explicitly thart any caleudar.

Ancl in tl.re bloken-open crates (as if burst by the

po.,ver of thc' orattges thentselves), one or two of the

Jovely spheres would lie tree of the tissue tl.rey came

rvlappecl in-alrvays prr,rrplc tissue, as if that were the

only color that coulcl contain the populations of thenl

in thcir nestlccl positions. The crates bore paper labels

at one encl-of atr oratrgc' asainst a blue background,

or of a blue goose agairtst .rn orange background-signifying the colorfirl otherworld (unlike or"rr wintry

one) that these phenor-rterrir had errisen fiotll. Eacl't

orange, stripped of its protective wrappring, as vivid

ir-r your vision as a pebbled slln, encouragcd you tir

picture a whole pyramid of then-r in a btlwl orl yotll'

dining room table, glowing in the light, rs if givirrg

off the warmth that came through the r'vitlclows fronl

the real winter sun. And all of then-r caltle staulpecl

with a blue-purple name as fcrreign as the otherivorld

that you might in'ragine as their place of origin, scr

that on Christmas day you would flnd yourself clig-

ging past everything c'lse ir.r your Christmirs stocking,

as if tunnelir.rg dowr.r to the country of China, in

order to reach the rouncled bulge at thc tip ofthe toe

which meat-rt that yor'r hacl received a personal re-

minder of another state of existence, wl"rolly separate

from your own.

The packed heft and textlrre, finally, of arr orirnge

ir.r your l.rand-this is it!-ancl the erttptiotr of snrell

and the watery fireworks as a knif'e, in the hand of

someone skilled, Iike our mother, goes slicing

through the skin so perf-ect for slicing. 'II.ris grtseotrs

spray can fbrrn a rnist like sntoke, which can thcrl be

lit with a n-ratch to create acttttrl firervot'ks if there is rr

chance to hide alone with a match (nlatcl.res bcins

lbrbidden) and the peel fror.r.r onc. liputtery icnitions

can also be producecl by sclueezing a peel Ilear a catl-

clle (at least one candle is generally alrvays going at

Christmastime), and the lefiover peels are sct otr thc

stove top to scent the house.

Ar-rd tl-re ir-rgenious way in which orarlges collle

packed into their globes! The greer.r nib at thc top'

like a detonator, can be bitten off, as if clisarr.r.ring tl.re

orange, in order to clear a place fbr you to sillk a

tooth under the peel. This is the bcst rvay to slart. Ifyou bite at the peel too uruch, your h'ont tceth will

feel scraped, like dry bone, ancl yor.rr lips r'vill lregin to

burn from the bitter oil. Bettc'r to sirlk rt tooth itlttr

this greenish or creamy depression, irtlcl then pick at

that poir.rt with the nail of your thun'rb' removins a

little piece of the peel irt a tir"tte. Latcr, you might

want to practice to see holv large a piece yott carl

refirove intact. The peel can also be undtllle irl otle

contir-tuotts ribbon, a feat which nlaybe yottr fitthel is

\\'oirrrrclt' I ()tlt to ,ttt ()rtttgt' t3

able to perform, so that after the orange is freed'

ioof.ing yellowish, the peel' rewound' will stand in its

original shaPe, although emPtY'"-ift" yaf"*ish whole of the orange can now be

divided into sections, usually about a dozen' by be-

,t""t", with a division down the middle; after this'

!u.n ,i,ion, enclosed in its papery skin' will be able

i. U" ttfr.a and torn loose more easily' There is a

,l- "n the center of the sections like a mushroom

,tuff., U,rt tougher; this can be eaten' A special variety

of orange, without any pits, has an extra qoylh' ot

,rr.rUUi.,] tite half of a tiny orange' tucked into its

bouort. This nubbin is nearly as bitter as the peel'

but it can be eaten, too; don't worry' Some- of the

,".tio.r, will have miniature sections embedded in

aft.- .ta clinging as if for life' giving the impression

it "i

u"u*t u." uti"g hatched' and should you hap-

f.r, to nna some of these you've found the sweetest

morsels of anY'- If you prefer to have your orange lU:9

t: half' as ",o.n. p.opl. do, the edges of the peel will abrade the

.o.n.r, oiyor.t, mouth' making them feel raw' as you

.ut dorarn into the white of the rind (which is the only

*"1, ,. do it) until you can see daylight through the

orangy bubbles composing its outside' Your eyes

migh-iburu there is no proper way to eat an orange'

tf it... are pits, they fan get in the waY'-and the

slower you eat an orange' the more you'll.find your

fingers sticking together' And no matter how care-

fully you eat one, or bite into a quarter' )urce can

"i*"y, ny or slip from a corner of your mouth; this

14 OBSERVING THE ORDINARY

happens to everyone' Close your eyes to be. olthe

,uf. ,id., ar.rd fot the eruption in your mouth of the

slivers of watery lreat' which should be broken and

rolled fir-re over your tollgue for the esseuce of or-

.#. o.o if indeed you have sensed yourself coming

doi"n *ith a coid, there is ar chance that you will feel

n drru.n from your head-your uose and sinuses

,"JO."tt opening-in the n.ridst of the scent of a peel

and eating an orange'

e.ta or"urlg.s can also be eaten whole-rolled into

a spongy rnis u'.td punctured with a pencil (if you

l"t', n]ta this offer.rsive) or a knife' and then sucked

"p... fn..' once the juice is gole' you can disem-

bowel the orange as you wish and eat away its pulpy

remains, and eat once more into the whitish interior

ofthe peel, which scours the coating from your teeth

und ,rruk", your r.run.rbing lips and tip of your,tongue

,i".a," tingle and swell up from behind' until' ir.r the

light fromlhe windows (shining through an empty

glass bowl), you see orange again trom.the inside'

6n, orur-,r.r, solid o's' light from afar in the.midst of

the freeze' and not unlike that unspherical fruit

which first went from Eve to Adam ar.rd from there

(to abbreviate matters) to my brother and me'

"Mom, we think we're getting a cold"'

"You mean, You want an orange?"

This is difficult to answer or dispute or even to ac-

knowledge, finally, with the fullness that the subject

deserves' and that each orange bears' within its own

-ut ".,p, into this hard-edged yet insubstantiaf in-

comPlete, cold, wintrY world' o