Bybank Research Paper

Bybanks “I have lived most of my thirteen years in Bybanks, Kentucky, which is not much more than a caboodle of houses roosting in a green spot alongside the Ohio River” (Creech 1). Bybanks, Kentucky is a very special place to Salamanca Tree Hiddle. Bybanks is where Sal has lived most of her thirteen years and is where many special memories have occurred. It is also where her mother was before she left. Sal made many happy and sad memories in Bybanks. Just like Sal, I also have many places that are special to me. One of Sal’s most special places in Bybanks is an aspen tree she calls “the singing tree.” “When I was younger, I heard the most beautiful birdsong coming from the top of that tree” (Creech 97). The singing tree was a special memory to Sal because when she was younger she would walk by the tree and sometimes it would sing a beautiful birdsong. “Every time I passed that tree, I listened. Sometimes it sang, sometimes it did not, but from then on I always called it the singing tree” (Creech 98). The singing tree comforted and soothed Sal. When Sal’s father, John Hiddle, found out that Sal’s mother …show more content…
One of those memories is what Sal calls “the blackberry kiss.” “One morning when I awoke very early, I saw my mother walking up the hill to the barn,” (Creech 116). After Sal’s mother walked to the barn she picked a few blackberries from the bush and put them in her mouth. “As she approached the corner of the barn where the sugar maple stands, she plucked a few blackberries from a stray bush and popped them into her mouth,” (Creech 117). She took a few steps to the trunk of the maple and threw her arms around it and kissed it. “I faced that tree squarely and kissed it firmly” (Creech 117). Since then Sal has kissed many different kinds of trees: maples, oaks, birches, and elms. They all had a different flavor all its own. In each tree’s flavor was a hint of