Dust Tracks on a Road

In this chapter, Hurston describes her friendships with writer Fannie Hurst and singer/actress Ethel Waters. Hurston worked as Hurst’s secretary as a college student and found her moods to change frequently. Hurst was so childlike, for example, that Hurst once pretended to be her own guest at tea. Hurston posits that this kind of make-believe came from Hurst's childhood as a rich, lonely little girl with no playmates.

Hurston recounts several other Hurst stories. One snowy day, Hurst called to insist that Hurston bring her galoshes to her while Hurst was out. Hurston could not find Hurst on the street where she claimed to be located. She did, however, find Hurst at home when she gave up and returned. On another occasion, Hurst asked Hurston to drive her to Maine to see a friend. By the end of the trip, they had taken so many detours to see the sights that they ended up touring Canada for two weeks. Hurston closes her sketch of Hurst by noting that she knows how to dress to complement her "white skin, black hair, and sloe eyes” (197).

Hurston sought out a friendship with Ethel Waters after seeing her perform on the stage, but Waters initially ignored her.