I restarted the Monday after school got out. Three days after my youngest son graduated from high school. Every day I set my alarm and got up like I was still teaching, and started writing again on this story that I think I first began in 1998 or 1999.
Today I finished the second draft of the novel. I am so pleased with it, and I hope that you will com to love it also.
Subject: The past and present meet on the Oregon trail when two girls travel the same trail with the same lap desk 152 years apart. Sometimes they open the desk and find the other girl's things including a diary.
Rationale or
takeaway point: the fact that
while modern conveniences have made daily travels and chores easier, people
haven’t changed enough to lose the sense of hope and fear and the dream of a
better life at the cost of the old security. The blindness of prejudice can be overcome with trust and
familiarity.
I have decided to share the 4th of July Chapter to celebrate.CHAPTER 14 – Della
“Dear
Journal,
“The
wagon train has stopped for a time to rest the animals and allow for
the hunting of fresh meat. Fresh meat! My mouth waters simply from
writing the words. While we are stopped, there is less of the endless
dust to breath, but even so, when I blow my nose – it covers my
pocket rag with clay. I guess I should be glad I am not using the
embroidered hankies with Mother’s careful tatting on the borders.
“The
mention of dirty hankies and the bloody fingerprints on this page
should let you know which task the women are employed at during the
lull in this endless trail.
“We
made camp beside enough clean water to do laundry, and the cold water
rinse, the boiling water wash, and the lye soap have removed skin
from our hands as they removed dirt and grease from our clothing and
bedding. If lugging the water and armloads of cloth doesn’t put a
permanent stoop in my back, hunching over the rocks to pound the
clothing will. At last the prairie around the camp is white with
cloth spread out to dry and bleach in the sun and for a moment I had
time to write.
“Now
I must find Orville and . . . well, he comes at a run even now –
shouting that the men are returning. Here we can see Independence
Rock and tomorrow we shall celebrate the birthday of this nation. We
shall celebrate even more if they have managed to bring us fresh
meat, and there were a lot of buffalo nearby so the hope is strong.
Della”
Della
tucked the desk into place in the wagon and hurried to join her
brother. When she saw the men were indeed returning, and that eight
groups of them were leading horses, dragging large buffalo quarters,
she called to the women. They quickly assembled a group to help carve
and share out the steaks and roasts and begin cooking a feast.
Along
with the buffalo they had sagehen and antelope. There were bottles
of pickles to be opened and shared out and the water could be
flavored to make a “lemonade” using sugar, citric acid and a few
precious drops of essence of lemon.
Today,
they would also bake pies in their Dutch ovens with glowing coals
both beneath and on the lids of those essential kettles. While the
women worked at cooking, the men helped serve out the leftover bacon
and cornbread from the morning meal to the hungry children, and in a
burst of good spirits, they organized some races and contests of
sharpshooting and axe throwing.
Mother
insisted on helping, but stopped often to straighten and press a fist
to her lower back when she thought no one was looking. Finally, the
meal was cooking and the other women encouraged her to go sit in the
shade and watch the games.
Nobody
slept in the next morning, even though they would not be traveling.
The ones who wanted to were planning on going to the giant, turtle
shaped hill and climbing up to the top or reading the names of the
many who had been there before them. They had waited until today so
that when they carved their names in the sandstone, or painted them
on in axle grease, they could proudly add the date July 4, 1850.
Being
at Independence Rock on Independence Day made them all very much
aware of their place in the history of the birth of a great nation.
Della had prepared her students for the day by gathering scraps of
red, white and blue cloth and helping them sew a flag, complete with
30 stars although when they left back East there was rumor that
California would soon add the 31st star too the flag.
The
children walked together and sang the songs that they had been
working on; songs like “The Star Spangled Banner” which they sang
loudly and badly, and “Yankee Doodle” which had them laughing and
joyful, songs of America to stir the pride and blood of all of them
as their little parade crossed the grassy flat lands and the enormous
rock loomed ever larger. Their song paused and then resumed even
louder as they realized it was being joined by other groups as
overlanders converged upon the landmark for the holiday.
That
evening they dressed in costumes and had a contest to see which
children could recite the most from “The declaration of
Independence.” They gave three cheers for America and danced until
long after dark.
