A Little Plymouth History

I just finished reading The Times of Their Lives, by James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz. The subtitle of this book is Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony. The details that the authors provide are both fascinating and insightful.

Taking information from court cases, probate lists and archaeological digs, they piece together what daily life may have been like in Plymouth Colony.

James Deetz was an archaeologist and his love for his subject shows when he writes about what various digs have uncovered in the Plymouth area. I find archaeology fascinating and very mysterious, this book helped me to understand the subject a bit more.

For eleven years James Deetz was the Assistant Director of the museum at Plimouth Plantation, and he includes a chapter on that living history museum.

I've long been interested in seeing Plimouth Plantation (for historical as well as personal reasons - while I didn't have any ancestors on the Mayflower, I did have one on the Fortune - the second ship to come to Plymouth Colony) and now it's getting pushed to the top of the list of vacation possibilities for this year.

The Literary DTs

I've never seen any one go through severe withdrawal from a controlled substance. But after telling Harry he had to stop reading the 3rd Harry Potter book before he finished it last night (because it was 10:30 and he is 6) I think I have a vague inkling of what it might be like.

He had convinced himself that he had to finish reading the book in January. So the simple suggestion of finish it in the morning was not good enough.

At first he just tried to be sneaky. We took the book away. He got it and sat back down to read. He even came in my room where I was trying to read and hid under MY covers with his book (hiding from his father, you understand, who obviously was going to find him there!).

Then we put the book out of reach.

The boy developed super human strength. He was hysterical and I couldn't contain him.

He announced his whole body was insisting that he read the book.

He was going to be sick if he didn't read the rest of the book.

We were firm in our "No" - after all - it was approaching 11 PM - and the boy is SIX!

Then he started bargaining.

He would go to sleep, if we just let him read to the next chapter.

Just four pages.

And then he would go to sleep.

No. (because of course: 11 PM and six years old)

I sat with him, I sang to him, I prayed with him. He calmed down.

I promised him, I'd return the book to him after he was asleep, so he could read it when he woke up in the morning.

He finally fell asleep.

I put the book near his bed.

First thing this morning - he started using the typewriter and working on the story he's writing.

Ummm - what about the hysteria, the book that needed to be finished?

I guess the pangs of detox were over, and he could finish it at his leisure now.

Sigh.

Journey to Pern

I've recently found myself re-immersed in the land of Pern. It all started innocently enough when, looking for a new book to read, I discovered that there was a new Pern book that I hadn't read yet.

So, of course I read it. And then I discovered that while Anne McCaffrey had collaborated with her son on two novels about Pern, he'd also written one himself. And of course I had to read that.

And then Pippi was looking for a fantasy to read - so I handed her my copy of Dragonsong.

And while I was downstairs looking at our books, and had Pern on my mind, I started pulling my old copies off the shelf. So far, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong (snitched from my daughter and read when she was doing other things), Dragonsinger and now the White Dragon. I think I'm going to stop after this one - and move on to other things.

But there's something very satisfying about simply losing yourself in another world.

And of course, just as when I first read these books many years ago (won't say how many), I do kind of wish I had a fire lizard, or could see a dragon soaring over head.