Shiloh was written by Bobbie Ann Mason and published in 1982. This particular story modeled her surroundings as a younger child. She grew up on a farm near a small city. The setting of Shiloh is in a town of eleven thousand, five hundred people around 1950. Leroy, a truck driver who was recently involved in an accident and hurt his leg, realizes that his wife doesn't feel for him anymore throughout the course of the story.
The story begins with Norma Jean, Leroy's wife, lifting weights while Leroy is watching her. He is no longer on the road due to fear of having another accident. While he is at home he notices thing about Norma that he never noticed while he was on the road. When he would come home after being on the road she would cook for him and they would lie in bed watching TV and playing cards.
Bobbie Ann Mason (song)
English: Norma Jean on Warped Tour 2008. Photo by ...
Norma Jean (album)However now he finds himself home alone most of the time, and when she is there her mother, Mabel, usually is as well. To keep himself occupied he starts creating things. His dream is to build the house he had promised Norma. He tells her that he wants to build a log house for them but she is skeptical about the whole thing. One day when Leroy is out, Mabel comes in and catches Norma smoking marijuana in their house. Later Leroy is speaking to Mabel about what's wrong with Norma because she is being very distant toward him. Mabel tells him that she is very confused and insists that she needs a change. For years Mabel has tried to get them to go to Shiloh just to see the Civil War battleground there. Mabel went there on her honeymoon with her late husband Jet. Norma finally agrees...