Re: a foreigner's view


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Posted by Eric Abraham on January 14, 2006 at 15:37:49 from 64.178.230.70 user EricAbraham.

In Reply to: a foreigner's view posted by Ed Kiser on January 14, 2006 at 11:53:06:

When I first read the series, in Enid, Oklahoma in 1949-50, I had just finshed "Treasure Island", most of the Mark Twain books and short stories (I had a giant Mark Twain anthology). I was just starting on A. Conan Doyle which is another group of pretty fantastic almost unbelievable tales! As a result of reading Mr. Ransome's books, I became an avid Anglophile. I sent off to the British tourist bureau and received for several years all kinds of PR for England - mostly about the Festival of Britain. I had a National Geographic map on my wall of the British Isles. I read everything at the time on English customs and history. We had a History of England in our Junior High library, which I read most of - it was very dry. The National Geographic filled out a lot of my needs. We also had a shortwave radio and listened to BBC foreign service. I finally got to London twice in June 1958 and February 1959 for about a week to ten days each time. Didn't have enough time or money to do the Lake District, but did go to Bournemouth, Penzance and Land's End. I enjoyed England immensely - two fantastic adventures. I found the people extremly pleasant and wonderful - absorbed everything I saw. This was all because of the efforts of Mr. Ransome.

I tend to like the more fantastic and non "real" world things, so Peter Duck and Missee Lee would appeal to me. After reading Missee Lee, I instigated a full fledged Dragon for the Boy Scout circus in Enid, Oklahoma in 1949. I became Roger, the Dragon Tamer dancing and leading the Dragon around the floor of the Convention Hall several times until all the Cub Scouts wore themselves out!

I have just put a new quote on the front window of my gallery -"Imagination is more important than Knowledge" Albert Einstein. (This quote, I have noticed, is also on the wall at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.)

Eric Abraham - Warm Central Kansas

PS - I was taking Latin at that time, also, so I had an insight into the use of Latin in Missee Lee.


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