Remembering a Great and Peaceful Man

REMEMBERING a Great and Peaceful Man

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in
moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. —Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr received the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent Civil Rights activism in the USA. In 1968 he was assassinated. A tragic loss.

Learn more about him and his life and his Dream.

Do something today to demonstrate that his Dream is yours also.

Be non-violent.

Historical Romance Novel

Romance Novels I generally avoid. But the one I read this weekend had some good history about a place and time of interest to me.


I had agreed to stay off the computer during most of the NEW YEARS weekend, so when a friend suggested this novel I took a look at it.


Joanna is a Scholastic Book in the Sunfire Series. It was written by Jane Claypool Miner and published in 1987. It is written in the overly dramatic style of most romance novels.


Think.

What emotions are likely to be part of the life of a 15 year old girl away from home for the first time?

Go ahead the think for a moment. I will doodle while you make your list.


Now. Think 1835.

What changes in your list?

Certainly communication with the family is a bit more challenging. Patience is needed while you WAIT for a possible response to a letter.

What about transportation?
What else is happening in the US in this time period before the Civil War? Before the National Road was built across the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio Valley was still considered western frontier?

That helps put the story in perspective.

Now. Think Lowell, Massachusetts.
Do you remember what is there?
It is now Lowell National Historic Site.
But do you remember why? Look here to gain that perspective.


Proceeding with the basic story... Joanna is a country girl who goes to Lowell bystagecoach to find a job at the textile mills. She will live at a boarding housewith about a dozen other Lowell girls who also work at the mills. There are interpersonal mini-dramas with the other boarders throughout. The social and political issues of the time regarding Irish immigrants and early union organizing provide interesting subplots.
Of course there are two love interests for Joanna: The boy back home who wentoff to the adventures of life at sea and the son of the mill owner with his promising college education and career. She experiences just about every emotion you can imagine that a 15 year old is likely to encounter and then some.
The tension of making all these decisions is a lot for a teenager to carry then and now.
The book gave some personality to the Lowell Massachusets scene which I have long wanted to visit.
Though it was entertaining,and historically sound,I doubt if I will read another romance for a long while.