An American Tall Tale - A.Taylor Call - “Evenin’, ladies and gentlemen”

Oct 13, 2026

A.Taylor Call’s “An American Tall Tale” frames American history as a romantic ideal whose loss threatens a nation’s future and soul. The narrator, McClure “Tobacco Barn” Post, introduces himself from Rocky Mount, Virginia, and defines “the American West” not as a fixed location but as a state of mind and an ever-arriving force. Through vivid geographic contrasts and frontier imagery, he leads into the story of Jane Bligh, tying heritage to meaning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages72

Reading Time1 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

An American Tall Tale

The romantic ideal and the meaning of history

McClure “Tobacco Barn” Post introduces himself

Defining the American West as a state of mind

Where the American West “starts” in everyday life

The westward force flowing through America

Transition to Jane Bligh’s story

JANE BLIGHAn American Tall Tale A.Taylor Call pril 20 Jane Bligh: # An American Tall Tale hwih ond ane Beet winhm Stefan A.Taylor Call When a country loses its romantic ideal of its history,land,and great people,that country forfeits its future andloses its soul.The tall tale is an expression of theromantic ideal of a country.This story is a new Americantall tale.It is the hope of its author that there will berekindled a passion for the history,heritage,and meaningof the United States of America,the great and tall land. --A.Taylor Call Evenin’,ladies and gentlemen.My name isMcClure “Tobacco Barn”Post.I was born and raised inRocky Mount,Virginia.Folks know me as"TobaccoBarn”because I practiced law out of the old tobacco barnon my property in Rocky Mount.For two score and tenyears I served as a lawyer in Rocky Mount.Rocky Mountis the county seat of Franklin County,Virginia,and is oneof the important gateways to the unique and grand oldfrontier known as the American West.Telling storiesabout Franklin County makes old Tobacco Barn as happyas an orphan prospector who found his mother lode.I amold now,and I guess you could say my present line ofwork is making sure folks know about the great and tallland.What is the great and tall land,you say?Why—theUnited States of America,of course!When God wove thequilt of the great and tall American homeland,He stitched the Atlantic Plain together with the AppalachianMountains at Rocky Mount,Virginia.And a marvelous patchwork and weavin'He made of it!Praise God forFranklin County! What is the American West,you say?Now,folks,listen close,because old Tobacco Barn intends to informeach and every last one of you.What must be understoodgood and well at first is that the American West is notprincipally a place.Nooo,sir.The American West isprincipally a state of mind.The American West is moreof a condition than a place,one might even say.TheAmerican West does not begin at the Atlantic Plain,where Jamestown and Plymouth were settled long ago,and where the cotton and tobacco grow in the tidewater.The American West does not begin at the AppalachianMountains,where the Blue Ridge and the Great Valleyroll down the east side of America,and where the fogloiters by the shootin'creeks.The American West doesn'tstart at the Illinois prairies,where the cattle trains,grainelevators,and coal tipples are tall silhouettes against the pumpkin dusk horizon.The American West doesn't beginat the Great Lakes,where ships shoulder lavender heapsof Wisconsin and Minnesota iron ore,and where theChicago Union Stockyards furnish pork and beef to thewhole country.No,ma'am.The American West does notget started up at the Mississippi River,where theriverboats barrel through St.Louis,St.Paul,Cairo, Natchez,and New Orleans.And our friend the AmericanWest doesn't start up at the Great Plains,where cyclones,cattle ranches,and Conestogas criss-cross prairies that arespeckled with windswept wildflowers.The AmericanWest doesn't begin at the Rocky Mountains,where veinsof gold and silver form metal roots through the peaks.Nooo,sir.The American West doesn't start at the NorthAmerican Desert,where painted monoliths and tumbleweeds run from Oregon to deep into the Mexicaninterior.No,ma'am.And the American West doesn't commence at the Sierra Nevada Mountains,where 5 goldmine flumes and groves of Redwood grace the grandmountain terrain.The American West doesn't start at theCascade Mountains,where the white snow drifts veil thecombustible volcanic tops of the United States of America.And that old American West doesn't start up atthe Pacific Valleys,where huge harvests spring forth thatcould nourish a nation.The American West doesn't startat the Pacific Coast Range Mountains,where cliffstumble to the sea.And ladies and gentlemen,theAmerican West doesn't start up at the Pacific Ocean,where the cold currents flow.No,ma'am.And finally,the American West doesn't start at the North AmericanArctic,where g

FAQs

What does the tall tale argue about America’s history and future?

It argues that when a country loses its romantic ideal of its history, land, and great people, it forfeits its future and loses its soul.

How is “the American West” defined in the story?

It is not treated as a single place; it is a state of mind and more of a condition than a location.

Where does the American West “start” according to Tobacco Barn Post?

It can start by the fireplace at home, wherever frontier church cemeteries are built, and wherever frontier people form their departing thoughts and wild apples grow.

Oct 13, 2026

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