On This Day in History...

Oct 11, 1899: The Boer War began in South Africa.

Now, why, you might ask, would the Captain give a fig about a war that started 110 years ago in another country? Well, let me tell you...

In the farmhouse where I grew up, we actually had one room known as the library, where literally hundreds of books sat on floor-to-ceiling bookselves my Dad made. And, as a matter of fact, at one point, my brother Carl arranged them all according to the Dewey Decimal system! Naturally, I grew up to be a voracious reader.

One of the books that fascinated me was called "Scouting on Two Continents" by Major Fredrick Russell Burnham. The copyright is 1926, BTW. Its an autobiography of a man who grew up in Arizona in the 1800's and learned to track (both people and animals).

He, like many others in America, got caught up in the drama of the Boer war and went overseas to help. So, its a mix of his life in the old west and then his life in the war in South Africa. I loved it as a kid and really wanted to be him!

As you probably know, my mother eventually moved to a house in New Baltimore. They did build her bookshelves in her guest room, but all the books she had collected over the years couldn't possibly fit. So, she passed out a lot of them. I am happy to report that Scouting on Two Continents now sits in the barrister bookcase (that was my Grandmother's, "Mama Rene")in my living room. And, that I still re-read it every now and then. In fact, thinking about it, I pulled it out when I was writing this entry.

As soon as I am finished with the James Ellroy novel I am working on, it will be my next read.