Looking Past the Coming Winter
Now that plans have been made it seems there is nothing left to do but wait. Verily we have much to do; supplies to procure, purchases to be made, and things to be sold, but with the onset of winter, much must be left until warmer weather arrives. And so, for now, life continues as it has. I am, for the first time, glad to be short of business, allowing me to spend much of the day working on our own wagons, and making many valuable tools that we will need. We must also give some attention to the Christmas holiday which is swiftly approaching. Despite the need to save money for the trip ahead of us, Abigail and I would like to give the children a happy Christmas.
Perhaps, considering there is not much to be told now, this may be a good time to fully introduce the other families that will be traveling the trail with us.
Henry Plimpton, as I have said before works in the post office in our town. He and his wife Catherine moved here from Virginia almost 12 years ago. They have two children. James Stewart is 13, and Narcissa is 10. They also have a dog named Beck.
Sylvester Sidcott was elected just this past year as the county coroner. I have noticed him at church, but until now have never really made his acquaintance. His wife Dorcas is a charming woman. Both seem very Godly and more than able to make this trip. Their son Ben, who is 16, I feel will be a great asset on our journey. Their two daughters Beth and Ruth, who are 14 and 12 respectively, are very well mannered young ladies.
I still do not know much about Fisher Jones. As I have mentioned before, he and his wife Lem, which we are told is short for Lementine, moved to our town roughly 6 months ago. We have not yet dined with the Joneses, and all I know is what I have learned from Fisher and Henry, who seems to know more about him than I do. He has nine children; 4 boys and 5 girls. In all honesty, I am ratherish anxious about the prospect of having nine extra mouths to feed. I have no doubt the boys are strapping lads, but the girls make me hesitant. This journey will be long and difficult, not to mention dangerous. Despite my doubtfulness I must have faith that the Lord will see us through.
I am encouraged in a way by the Joneses. They too have an unfortunate offspring. Their son Martin it seems, believes he has no legs.* Fisher says he never sleeps more than a few hours and staggers here and there believing he can fly, telling whomever will listen how he lost his legs. Me and Abigail think it will be very beneficial to Isaac-Albert to have someone of his own kind to relate to. Ironically, the Jones's middle daughter Emiline lost her left hand in what Fisher called "an unfortunate boating mishap". It seems that she carries on very well and that Mrs. Jones has crafted for her a makeshift hand of an old hickory log and 3 pairs of shears. It seems to be a great source of pride for Mr. Jones to have a daughter with six fingers.
The Jones children are from eldest to youngest: Charles, Avery, Susanna, Rosanne, Mary, Martin, Emiline, Joanna, and Fisher Jr.
In all truthfulness, in my brief dealings with Mr. Jones he strikes me as rather queer. But as the Good Book says, 'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged'.
* This condition will later be named Cotard's Syndrome after the French psychiatrist Jules Cotard who first noted it in 1882. It is a dilusional nihilism in which the patient believes they have lost possessions, a part of the body, or that they have died. Other versions cause the patient to deny the existence of people or things around them. It is often seen in manic-depressives.
Perhaps, considering there is not much to be told now, this may be a good time to fully introduce the other families that will be traveling the trail with us.
Henry Plimpton, as I have said before works in the post office in our town. He and his wife Catherine moved here from Virginia almost 12 years ago. They have two children. James Stewart is 13, and Narcissa is 10. They also have a dog named Beck.
Sylvester Sidcott was elected just this past year as the county coroner. I have noticed him at church, but until now have never really made his acquaintance. His wife Dorcas is a charming woman. Both seem very Godly and more than able to make this trip. Their son Ben, who is 16, I feel will be a great asset on our journey. Their two daughters Beth and Ruth, who are 14 and 12 respectively, are very well mannered young ladies.
I still do not know much about Fisher Jones. As I have mentioned before, he and his wife Lem, which we are told is short for Lementine, moved to our town roughly 6 months ago. We have not yet dined with the Joneses, and all I know is what I have learned from Fisher and Henry, who seems to know more about him than I do. He has nine children; 4 boys and 5 girls. In all honesty, I am ratherish anxious about the prospect of having nine extra mouths to feed. I have no doubt the boys are strapping lads, but the girls make me hesitant. This journey will be long and difficult, not to mention dangerous. Despite my doubtfulness I must have faith that the Lord will see us through.
I am encouraged in a way by the Joneses. They too have an unfortunate offspring. Their son Martin it seems, believes he has no legs.* Fisher says he never sleeps more than a few hours and staggers here and there believing he can fly, telling whomever will listen how he lost his legs. Me and Abigail think it will be very beneficial to Isaac-Albert to have someone of his own kind to relate to. Ironically, the Jones's middle daughter Emiline lost her left hand in what Fisher called "an unfortunate boating mishap". It seems that she carries on very well and that Mrs. Jones has crafted for her a makeshift hand of an old hickory log and 3 pairs of shears. It seems to be a great source of pride for Mr. Jones to have a daughter with six fingers.
The Jones children are from eldest to youngest: Charles, Avery, Susanna, Rosanne, Mary, Martin, Emiline, Joanna, and Fisher Jr.
In all truthfulness, in my brief dealings with Mr. Jones he strikes me as rather queer. But as the Good Book says, 'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged'.
* This condition will later be named Cotard's Syndrome after the French psychiatrist Jules Cotard who first noted it in 1882. It is a dilusional nihilism in which the patient believes they have lost possessions, a part of the body, or that they have died. Other versions cause the patient to deny the existence of people or things around them. It is often seen in manic-depressives.
posted by Nathaniel David at 2:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home