a bit o' rambling

Yesterday I had a great post all thought out, complete with a song that really went with it--not just tacked on the end, because I like music...  I knew just what I wanted to say and how to say it.  Then I sat down... and my mind went as blank as the screen in front of me. 

I sat and stared and sat and tried to remember what in the world it was I was so happy to be writing about.  When nothing came to mind, I tried to recall the song that went so perfectly with it.  Again, nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I have no idea where my thoughts went.

The more I tried to recall what it was I wanted to write the more I thought about the book I am reading to my boys:  Freckles, by Gene Stratton-Porter.

Copyright, 1904, by

Doubleday, Page & Company

TO

ALL GOOD IRISHMEN

IN GENERAL

AND ONE

CHARLES DARWIN PORTER

IN PARTICULAR

Anybody who knows me knows that Gene Stratton-Porter is one of my all time favorite authors.  I find her ability to tell a story  incredible.  Freckles was perhaps the first love story I ever heard.  My mom read it to us when I was in the fourth grade, and it instantly became my favorite book.  At the time, I hardly understood what the story was about.  The descriptions of the forest, the birds and flowers were enough to set my imagination afire and send me longing for a beautiful bit of nature... plus there was that great fight scene, where the one-handed Freckles beats the day-lights out of his opponent.

Years later, I bought a copy  of the book and read it again.  That time the love story stood out very vividly to me.  This time through, the character of the boy, Freckles, has completely grabbed my attention.  It makes me wonder what type of man her husband was, since the book is obviously dedicated to him.

I love how Freckle's heart is still soft and giving, despite what he has been through.  And his boss--it never before hit me what the man was doing in adopting Freckles or naming him after his father, and how much that meant to Freckles.  How much it would mean to anyone craving love.


I'm loving watching my boys react to the story.  One is fascinated by the snakes.  One by the guns, and another is dreaming of finding his own Angel.