Nick is studying the Revolutionary War. I just happen to be reading '1776' by David McCullough. I'm finding it to be a slow read, yet I really like how McCullough personifies the military leaders in this book. I almost didn't get through the first 100 pages because he didn't start by telling what precipitated the war. He just dropped the reader into the middle of a Battle in Boston, after the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party sometime in 1775. The only reason I know that much about what started the war is that Nick brought home a USA Studies Weekly, a kid's newspaper, that described the causes of the Revolutionary War.
I did keep reading '1776,' though, and now General Washington has brought his troops down to New York and is trying to defend it against the British. In time, we are squarely in the 1776, so at least the title is descriptive. I suppose I should look at a timeline because the war is waging and it's past the signing of the Declaration of Independence and July 4th. When you're a kid, it seems like the war must have been won on that important holiday or why else are we blowing off fake artillery and singing the national anthem? The Fourth wasn't the beginning of the war either. So am I right, thinking that it was then that the impetus of the war changed and Americans no longer considered themselves British citizens trying to iron out a sticky problem with their king?
McCullough's book misses some battles entirely and sticks with General George Washington from Boston onward. I guess it's a sign of a good book to incite questions and drive a reader to further research, but maybe it's just a sign of disorganization here. I am still reading though, and I like McCullough's characterization of George Washington, often in his own words. I had no idea how precarious was the situation with our troops. I find it fascinating that part of winning the battle in Boston involved deceiving almost everyone about how few American soldiers were prepared for war. The book describes the rags that some of the soldiers wore and the squalid conditions in camp very clearly.
I figured that Nick might benefit from the timing of our mutual reading and I asked him about this newspaper that he had in his backpack. My first question was whether he needed it at school or was this to bring home. I'm still the primary person organizing his backpack. Then, after I was certain he hadn't missed any homework, I started asking him about his newspaper and about the book I'm reading. I told him it didn't tell me what instigated the war. He got excited and told me about the stamp act, that any printed documents were taxed. In the same breath, Nick assured me that he only needed to read that one article.
"Honey," I said, "I thought you liked history."
"I do," he said, a little defensively.
I started in about getting out what you put into something, but stopped. It was a tired discussion between us.
"You know, your Great Grandpa Paul loved history," I said. "He didn't even have a high school diploma, but he was one of the most educated people I know. Grandpa liked reading and talking about history."
"Did I know him?" he asked.
"No, honey, he died years before you were ever born. Did you know that he came home one day and told my sister that he had to drive all the way over to the library in Washington. He said he had read every decent book in the library in town."
You know, I believe that story. I can imagine him in a mild huff about having to drive the extra twenty minutes to get there. I can picture him sitting in his chair by the kitchen with a thick hardback book in his lap. Grandpa was always reading something, usually something nonfiction. As a kid, I never understood that. I liked stories. I just had no idea that real life could be as interesting or more interesting than what people made up. Now, I would love to sit down to a conversation with my grandpa, to talk about McCullough's book. I'd love to talk politics with him, to debate the merits of freedom versus protection in light of our more recent history. Oh, Grandpa and I would have a lot to talk about and we'd read each other's books. My grandpa was very interested in my education, my real education, not just the classes I took or the grades I received. I believe he was proud of my curiosity more than anything else.
Here's the thing, without a single lecture, he would have been able to get Nick, a boy who loves history and battles, to talk and to read about the Revolutionary War. There wouldn't be a defensive word regarding what was assigned and what wasn't. I loved that about my grandpa.
Thank you for listening, jb
I did keep reading '1776,' though, and now General Washington has brought his troops down to New York and is trying to defend it against the British. In time, we are squarely in the 1776, so at least the title is descriptive. I suppose I should look at a timeline because the war is waging and it's past the signing of the Declaration of Independence and July 4th. When you're a kid, it seems like the war must have been won on that important holiday or why else are we blowing off fake artillery and singing the national anthem? The Fourth wasn't the beginning of the war either. So am I right, thinking that it was then that the impetus of the war changed and Americans no longer considered themselves British citizens trying to iron out a sticky problem with their king?
McCullough's book misses some battles entirely and sticks with General George Washington from Boston onward. I guess it's a sign of a good book to incite questions and drive a reader to further research, but maybe it's just a sign of disorganization here. I am still reading though, and I like McCullough's characterization of George Washington, often in his own words. I had no idea how precarious was the situation with our troops. I find it fascinating that part of winning the battle in Boston involved deceiving almost everyone about how few American soldiers were prepared for war. The book describes the rags that some of the soldiers wore and the squalid conditions in camp very clearly.
I figured that Nick might benefit from the timing of our mutual reading and I asked him about this newspaper that he had in his backpack. My first question was whether he needed it at school or was this to bring home. I'm still the primary person organizing his backpack. Then, after I was certain he hadn't missed any homework, I started asking him about his newspaper and about the book I'm reading. I told him it didn't tell me what instigated the war. He got excited and told me about the stamp act, that any printed documents were taxed. In the same breath, Nick assured me that he only needed to read that one article.
"Honey," I said, "I thought you liked history."
"I do," he said, a little defensively.
I started in about getting out what you put into something, but stopped. It was a tired discussion between us.
"You know, your Great Grandpa Paul loved history," I said. "He didn't even have a high school diploma, but he was one of the most educated people I know. Grandpa liked reading and talking about history."
"Did I know him?" he asked.
"No, honey, he died years before you were ever born. Did you know that he came home one day and told my sister that he had to drive all the way over to the library in Washington. He said he had read every decent book in the library in town."
You know, I believe that story. I can imagine him in a mild huff about having to drive the extra twenty minutes to get there. I can picture him sitting in his chair by the kitchen with a thick hardback book in his lap. Grandpa was always reading something, usually something nonfiction. As a kid, I never understood that. I liked stories. I just had no idea that real life could be as interesting or more interesting than what people made up. Now, I would love to sit down to a conversation with my grandpa, to talk about McCullough's book. I'd love to talk politics with him, to debate the merits of freedom versus protection in light of our more recent history. Oh, Grandpa and I would have a lot to talk about and we'd read each other's books. My grandpa was very interested in my education, my real education, not just the classes I took or the grades I received. I believe he was proud of my curiosity more than anything else.
Here's the thing, without a single lecture, he would have been able to get Nick, a boy who loves history and battles, to talk and to read about the Revolutionary War. There wouldn't be a defensive word regarding what was assigned and what wasn't. I loved that about my grandpa.
Thank you for listening, jb
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