Martinus Schryver (1753 - 1836)

The evening begged for an end-of-holiday walk in Rhinebeck, New York, an American Revolutionary village in the Hudson Valley with tree-lined streets and sidewalks cracked by gnarled roots.  A fat tabby caught our attention.  With a lion's confidence, the cat eyed the two pedestrians who stood at the end of his driveway, decided we weren't worth the effort, and turned to the adjacent cemetery, as if to say hello.  My husband and I exchanged smiles, then stepped into the open cemetery to meet his friends.

Two headstones, each leaning against the other, as if in time's embrace, beckoned us closer.  A bronze marker identified two of the tabby's friends as Eva Burger Schryver (1730-1817) and Martinus Schryver (1753-1836).  Martinus Schryver had fought in the American Revolutionary War, also called the War for Independence (1775-1783).  We bowed our heads in silent prayer and thanksgiving.

Martinus Schryver was courageous beyond what war involves.  At the time of the American Revolution, historians say one-third of the population wanted to remain a British colony, one-third didn't care either way, and one-third wanted independence from Great Britain.  Belief in a deeper cause meant resisting hostile or lackadaisical peer pressure.

Upon our return home, I decided to learn more about Martinus Schryver.  I can't say exactly why, except that on this Memorial Day Weekend, when we honor those who have served -- and are serving -- our country, I felt a sense a gratitude and wanted to feel our country's birth.

I learned that Martinus and Eva Schryver had eleven children.  A couple of sources said he was a colonel in the American Revolution.  (His graveside plaque hadn't identified his rank.)  Various sites listed him as either a fisherman from nearby Kingston, New York, or owning a tavern.  Perhaps he was both as it appears he was a man of some wealth for the times.

Links to Martinus Schryver broadened my curiosity.  In 1806, John Neeley bought a flock of sheep that included a slave, Isabella Baumfree, from Colonel Charles Hardenbeigh for $100.00.  Isabella was about nine years old.  Her parents were from Ghana.

In 1808, John Neeley sold Isabella Baumfree to Martinus Schryver for $108.00.

In 1810, Martinus Schryver sold Isabella to John Dumont for $175.00.  According to Wikipedia and other sources, this owner was "more kindly disposed" to Isabella and the beatings she had suffered lessened, even if Mrs. Dumont taunted Isabella for falling in love with a slave on another farm.

In 1826, Isabella, along with her infant daughter, gained their freedom through a law New York state had passed in 1799 that gradually abolished slavery.  (However, Isabella had to leave behind older children who were mandated to work as indentured servants until their twenties.)  She changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became an abolitionist who achieved significant firsts, one of which was a successful lawsuit against a white man.  In 1850, supporters published her book, The Narrative of Sojouiner Truth: A Northern Slave.  Of her many speeches, "Ain't I a Woman?" is among our history's greats.

In April, 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled a statue of Sojourner Truth in the United States Capitol, the first African-American woman to be honored so.

This Memorial Day, as with others, I am deeply grateful for the sacrifices made and being made by so many to ensure, preserve, and protect our democracy.  I am also deeply grateful our Constitution has the flexibility to realize a wrong too many considered right at the time, that numbers don't make what's wrong right, and recognizes that an individual's freedom does not include the freedom to own another human being, that all of us embrace each other and that we have a sober responsibility to separate the good-that-was from the bad-that-was and move forward with the ". . . Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . . "so eloquently stated in our Declaration of Independence.

I pray that the polarization destroying us internally -- doing what no enemy could ever do -- will be relegated to the-era-that-was.

Off to Vermont

Vermont's on my mind, our destination before Memorial Day Weekend kicks in.  We're leaving at 0:Dark Thirty for Rhinebeck, New York, where we'll stay at the Beekman Arms Inn one night going up and coming back (returning here Saturday evening).  It's the oldest continuously operated Inn in the States.  We've tried to stay there before, but this is the first time we've had any luck.

Then, it's on to the Vermont Culinary Resort.  It's in Essex, Vermont, a stone's throw from Burlington, where we went last fall.  Burlington hugs Lake Champlain and what we want to see more off.  It's an amazing, pristine area that tugs at one's imagination.

We made reservations some time ago and were lucky to get rooms.  The New England corridor seems to be jam-packed, like it was in the fall.  Then, again, New Orleans was booked solid a couple of weeks ago with the Jazz Festival.

Sorry this is such a rushed post, but I got hung up with my WIP's second draft and probably pushed my luck with the ticking clock.  It may be for the best my NetBook sacrificed for the cause and the trip will be minus a computer.  OMG, do gadgets have so much power I have to think of being without them?  Hmm, thoughts for another day.  We've got an early way-up.

Hope you have a great Memorial Day Weekend.  See you next week.  Love ya!  Kittie

"The Power of Positive Thinking"

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) had it right in his best-selling book, "The Power of Positive Thinking."  It works.  What with your insight into the situation with the book about my family, hub's in-put, and my decision to get out of my funk (for it was self-inflicted, as most are) and think positive, I actually feel stronger, more empowered to get on with the book. Every day can't be opening night; life's like that. So I'm very grateful for your words of wisdom and emotional support and thank you from the heart.

I would also like to thank followers I met through the A-Z Challenge for joining me. I'm purring over new themes to explore and all there is to learn.  Blogville is an amazing, wonderful place that never ceases to delight. However, by now, I should have been by to visit you.  If not, er, there's a slight problem:  I can't link to you.  Please check your avatar to see if it links to your blog.  Sometimes I can find a blog by Googling, but if the photo isn't precise and multiple names pop up, I'm at a loss.  It's very frustrating! *sighs*

And thank you and hugs to Caron Rider, Author (she's a sweetie) for the

Yep, the award brought a smile.  I'm supposed to pass the award on to five people (along with some questions).  I kid you not, this was difficult so decided to go with the last five blogs I opened.  If you've got a sec, please drop by Caron Rider (link above image) and those below.  You won't be disappointed.

Nancy Thompson

Joylene Nowell Butler

Thyra

Vagablonde

Muses and Meringues

Now, I'm supposed to answer some questions:

1. Who are your favorite authors and what is it that strikes you about their work?

There are so many, but Alexander McCall Smith tops the list.  He's a philosopher, actually, who knows how to tell a layered story.  I like a little meat on the bone when I snuggle up with a book.

2. If you were stranded on a deserted island, and were allowed to bring 3 items with you, what would they be? A short wave radio, flares, and an umbrella lined with Diet Pepsi.  (Oh, but I don't like being in the sun!)

3. Where do you see yourself in five (5) years?

Owning a hotel on said island above.

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Right here in the U.S.A.  Ain't no place like home sweet home.

5. Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

It depends on where I'll read the book.  I buy all three. 

6. If you could be any character (male or female) from your book who would you pick? And why?

Madeleine. She's got 'it' - whatever 'it' is.

7. Where and/or how did you get your inspiration to write "Remy Broussard's Christmas?"

I'm not going to say where this happened, but not that long ago, I was waiting for a connecting flight near the boarding gate when a very old African-American lady sat next to me and asked if I would tell her when the flight was called (as this was her first time to fly and she was nervous).  Of course, I agreed. The three white women (two across, one to my right) stared at each other, glared at me, and got up and moved to a different section of the seating arrangement. One whispered something ugly to me when I boarded the plane.  I thought, "Oh, no, here we go again" and decided if I ever wrote a book it would involve a certain era in our history. Hence, "Remy Broussard's Christmas" opened the era's door with the unspeakable poverty that existed that led to much. My present WIP involves the KKK. And I'm not mincing words.  (BTW, Remy's available for now (but not forever) for 99 cents as commissions will be donated to the Wounded Warrior's Foundation (but commissions still donated to the Foundation when price goes up). If you can, shake that piggy bank and click Remy's highlighted link!)

8. What were the best parts about writing this book?

Quiet reflections about being a part of a larger whole. 

9. Do you manage to write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Oh, heavens, no -- gotta live to write and not often with writer's block. 

10. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks? :)

Well, I like a tidy house and well-balanced meals so keep busy on that front, but more to the spiritual point, I've got to get out and smell the roses.  Years ago, I read, "If the ball doesn't go round, it won't bounce." That suited me. I like life with a little bounce to it.

Unusual News; Job Links; A-Z Reflection

After my last post, I was busy as a bee visiting around when the phone rang.  About an hour later, I flopped on the sofa, deflated.  A reporter from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area had called.  It wasn't that he was going to write a book with one-third of it about my family's history, it was that he was writing a book about such.Yes, there's a lot there about a family that first came to what is now Louisiana if 1679 if one looks for it.

Even as I type this, I don't know how to process what he's doing. One part of me feels a sense of pride, but, to be honest, a larger part of me feels creeped out.  While I was getting on with my life - didn't even know this person existed - he had been doing an enormous amount of research.  He quoted articles on what was then called the 'Society Page' about my grandmother hosting ladies' socials, a cousin who had done This, a family I was related to by another cousin's marriage, and so on.  Nothing bad, all good.

He wanted my in-put for his book.  When I said I was writing a book about my family (hint! hint!), he froze, defrosted, and charged on.  I provided a few historical tid-bits I knew research would reveal, and we shared a few laughs about common knowledge. Then I put on the brakes.  Enough.

Anyway, I've been in rather a funk.  I'm not an Olympic athlete (or an athlete, to be honest; I kinda hang in there to get to the finish line).  I can't sing.  My fifth grade teacher asked me to mouth the words to Jingle Bells (when I thought I was doing great).

But I've got this curiosity about what's behind the next mountain, love to travel, love spending hours in dusty markets, and wherever I go, I've got this suitcase of family stories to bolster me when I need a kick in the butt not to give up.  As such, there's a certain joy in knowing it's my suitcase.

I lived a lot of what he'd write about.  Will the reporter know about wiggling one's toes in a freshly furrowed row? or running across stickers? or how clabber dripped above the sink? or about the bird in the China Ball tree?

I could tell him, pull the stories out of my suitcase, but he's an old-school reporter: just the facts, ma'am.  He's got a contract. The book's going to happen. The excitement of the early bird getting the worm won't be there for a China Ball tree without the bird. Like I said, I'm in a funk.

* * * * *
Anyway, I googled "Oil Rig Employment Opportunities" as so many who commented/sent e-mails said they knew of someone who might be interested.  I was blown away by collective opportunities in Louisiana, North Dakota, and world-wide.  Here are a few links that may be of interest:

oilcareers.com

oil-rig-job.com

rigzone.com (Site has amazing links from menu at top.)

jobnd.com (Opportunities in North Dakota.)

* * * * *

Today's post is supposed to provide feedback on the A-Z Challenge.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Challenge, meeting new bloggers, and learning from their great posts.  Those behind the scenes did a great job of preparing us for what lurked ahead, commenting on our posts, and keeping us motivated.  Considering the number of participants and the time zones involved, the Challenge was a massive undertaking that went very smoothly.

The only question I have is, Why April?  It's a jam-packed seasonal change month, with kids involved in school activities, various graduations ahead, families visiting and so on.  Perhaps February would be a blander month to dive in.  The Challenge shouldn't feel, at times, like another job one squeezes in around home and hearth.

I think I would have been able to visit more blogs if there had been a some very general categories.

Would I do it again?  Ask me next month!

A Bit of Sharing

It's a nice feeling, accomplishing a goal.  But those who worked non-stop behind the scenes provided a smooth platform for a great A-Z Challenge to unfold.  Comments from Followers definitely spurred me on.  Meeting so many new bloggers ignited curiosities about blogs yet to be read, things to be learned.

I'm slowly making the rounds to catch up on missed posts and to thank each person who dropped by during the Challenge (because I'm very grateful).  Yep, I'm a bit tired, but nicely so.  (The dust bunnies under the bed will live another day. Hmm, should I charge them rent?)

However, I'd like to share that while my husband and I were in South Louisiana we saw numerous 'Now Hiring' signs in the corridor between Lafayette and just outside Avery Island (home of Tabasco sauce).  Companies that service the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico fill these buildings.  They need workers with skill sets (computers, etc.) and desire (gotta wanna do hard work).

Entry level pay is around $75,000 (with full benefits) and climbs dramatically, depending on skill sets.  Petroleum engineer friends who work in the area say many of these jobs go begging and companies are desperate.  While the higher the education the higher the pay, many, many jobs are muscle jobs with pay that can't be beaten elsewhere.

In many respects, it's a young person's game, but a career ladder definitely exists.  If I were a young guy who needed some loot fast to get on with my life's goals, I'd work the rigs for a summer.  If I were a college grad with an ouchie student loan, I'd suck it in and work the rigs for a year.  Opportunities to pull ahead are amazing!

If you know people who'd like to take advantage of these opportunities, please ask them to Google jobs in Lafayette, Louisiana.  I'm not going to kid you, oil rig work is demanding work, both mentally and physically.  However, my first cousin, always on the lazy side, survived a summer as a flip-a-burger cook, saved his pay, and moved on quite nicely.  So, I thought I'd share this job info.  If it helps one person, then this post is well worth it.