Summary

In Section 1, the town of Neawanaka, Oregon is described as a typical small town. The narrator describes as an eagle flies over the grocery store and grabs a piece of flying cardboard. The eagle flies over the elementary school where Daniel with his three braids is riding his bike, Grace is cutting open a car with a blowtorch, No Horses studies a piece of oak and Owen Cooney is in his shop. The narrator describes how the stories of these residents of the town, as well as the others, meld together. The eagle flies over two old men sharing a bottle of beer and salmonberries. The men are best friends and are the employees of the town’s public works department. They have been working on an oral history project. They discuss their self-given jobs of healing things. Billy, however, suggests they...