Part Two: Pages 101 through 125 Summary and Analysis

Anne recalls a tornado coming through her neighborhood. Her mother had tried to gather up the children and keep them away from windows for their safety, but Anne was too curious and wanted to watch the tornado. The storm did not damage her house directly, but a power line nearby was knocked down and she and her father went out afterward to watch the loose wire shoot out sparks and melt the pavement below it.

Streetcars, large rail-bound vehicles for public transportation, were a prominent feature of Pittsburgh urban life at the time. For Anne, their most obvious effect on her were their tracks, which made the already bumpy cobblestone sidewalk even more dangerous. Cars sometimes obstructed their way and the streetcar, unable to travel anywhere its rail did not run, could do nothing but...