About The Deep Cut

A teenager's struggle for his father's approval leads to unimagined heroism.
Accelerated Reader level 5.2, 7 points

When I was a child, my uncle, John MacNair Rosson, often told family stories around the dinner table during holiday gatherings. It was on one of those occasions that I first heard about Mariah's poisoned biscuits, the inspiration for my fictional story, THE DEEP CUT.

As I researched in Culpeper, Virginia, where my ancestors lived, I discovered all sorts of things I hadn't known before. Mariah had a nephew named Alonzo, who, in the 1860 census, was noted as being an "invalid." In those days, "invalid" sometimes meant "mentally challenged." I was intrigued as a new story unfolded in my mind. Could a boy with numerous disabilities find a way to make his mark?

The photograph to the right, taken in 1860, may include the real "Lonzo" amidst other family members in front of the house on East Street in Culpeper.

And now, here's a spooky, spooky thing thing that just happened recently: A teacher new to Virginia had assigned her rising fifth-graders THE DEEP CUT as required reading, and was planning a field trip to some of the places in the book. She talks about looking for Lonzo's headstone in the cemetery:

20,000 graves!!!!!! My husband and I spent an hour walking and looking for Lonzo's grave. We spoke with the caretaker who told us to go to the Town Offices where it is all recorded and to a nice old gentleman who said he only knew "where his loved ones was." After an hour of walking, my husband insisted we leave and went to get the car which was up at the caretaking shed. I went for a last walk among the graves and said out loud.(This is true.) "Come on, Lonzo, speak to me. Let me know where you are. (I was out of ear shot of anyone.) I walked up behind a thin stone, laid my hand on the top, and said (out loud, again) "You were a sort of inconsequential sort of guy, historically speaking. This is the type of stone I think you would have." I then went around the front of the stone --- and it was his!!!! It was very exciting.

How is that for creepy? If you and your class take a field trip to see the real places in THE DEEP CUT, be sure to let me know if Lonzo speaks to you!