In this psychologically gripping memoir, Blake Allmendinger returns to his childhood home after a forty-year absence. His homecoming to the struggling farming community of Rocky Ford, Colorado, formerly known as the Melon Capital of the World, forces the author to confront his own sad and disturbing history, one that parallels his hometown’s decline. Allmendinger’s family was dominated by his emotionally and mentally unstable mother, who became depressed while living in Rocky Ford as a young woman. For the rest of her life she abused the members of her family, creating tensions that remained unresolved until the end of the author’s visit, when his mother died suddenly, a family member committed suicide, and a secret diary was discovered. The Melon Capital of the World is a remarkable blend of personal narrative, memoir, and Allmendinger’s interviews with people who knew his mother and her family. His story is a gritty but compassionate, and at times humorous, portrait of a family trying to survive in the rapidly disappearing rural American West. “ The Melon Capital of the World is a very important book. . . . Allmendinger’s voice is unique and profound, making an excellent read.”—Margaret Randall, author of More Than Things Published On: 2014-02-27 “This story provides a therapeutic framework for envisioning hope in dark moments as well as being very connectable, readable, and enjoyable. . . . It’s a fun and provocative ride.”—Mark Spitzer, author of Season of the Gar Published On: 2014-02-27 Blake Allmendinger is a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Imagining the African American West (Nebraska, 2005) and other books. His work on western writers and literature has been featured in the Los Angeles Times . The Melon Capital of the World A Memoir By Blake Allmendinger UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS Copyright © 2015 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8032-5540-1 Contents List of Illustrations, 1. The Melon Capital of the World, 2. TJ Is a Wonderful Boy, 3. I Met a Traveler from an Antique Land, 4. Bad Day for a Black Brother, 5. Remember Me, 6. A Bump in the Road, 7. The Diary, About Blake Allmendinger, CHAPTER 1 The Melon Capital of the World My mother entered a beauty pageant when she was a sophomore in college. Knowing the winner would be chosen by members of the audience, she invited my father and his fraternity buddies. They stopped at a bar on the night of the contest, and when they arrived at Mom's sorority, the winner had already been crowned. Mom lost by a single vote. The woman who beat her advanced in the competition and defeated other campus sorority queens for the title of Miss Colorado A&M. She lost the Miss Colorado pageant to a rival from another state university. The winner, Marilyn Van Derbur, was ultimately awarded the national crown. For the rest of her life Mom blamed Dad for spoiling her chance to become Miss America. Later in her autobiography Van Derbur admitted her father had molested her. A reporter announced the news on TV. My mother picked up the clicker and said with satisfaction as the screen faded to black, "Everything evens out in the end." Mom's dream of stardom was thwarted by circumstances beyond her control. Her only consolation was taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others. My mother was raised in a farming community on the plains of southeastern Colorado. She was president of her 4-H club, a trick rider, the lead twirler with the marching band, valedictorian of her high school class, and the youngest contestant ever to win the title of Miss Rocky Ford. Mom turned down the opportunity to go to Cornell University when her father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She enrolled at Colorado A&M and came home on weekends to help nurse her father until he died. My grandfather expressed concerns about the family's finances in a letter he wrote to my mother. "Dear Rosie How are you I am Sick a Bed.... Car Business Pretty Slow can't Make any Money any more guess I will Take Old Age Pension and Retire," he joked. He advised Mom to avoid romantic entanglements. "Be Careful about those Steady Boy Friends they are Dangerous." My grandfather drew a box around the final word. He asked my mother in another letter, "How is that Old Buck Friend of yours you know you want to watch your step those Boys Get you In Trouble the majority of them Don't have a heart So Be Cautious good Luck Your Pop." The boyfriend wasn't my father. "Your Letter sounds good about Tom But as you know a Touch of Love makes you go Blind use your eyes in the Back of your Head as well as your front ones I Hope He is as you think he is But Be Careful I am not saying Don't But Just Be Careful." Mom took her father's advice. She dated Dad after she broke up with Tom but seemed reluctant to commit to another relationship. My mother had a hope chest filled