Posted by Ed Kiser on April 24, 2009 at 16:24:49 user Kisered.
In Reply to: Re: Charcoal burning in the US ? posted by Peter Ceresole on April 24, 2009 at 15:19:48:
"...they must meet uncle Arthur. I wonder what they'll make of it?"
This thought of anticipating the next generation becoming involved with these adventures reminded me of a previous posting to TarBoard I made some years ago, and thought I'd repeat it here, with apologies to those with long memories.
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It was MANY years after starting my love for all things Ransome,
that I had the pleasure of discovering one more Ransome story that somehow had escaped my notice. It was "Great Northern?" No longer a child by any stretch of the imagination, yet I dived into that with an excitement that is hard to describe. Another story with my favorite playmates of my childhood!
Then I discovered that there was another, called "Coots in the North", and eagerly dived into it, only to suddenly find, much to my shock, that it was not a completed story. I did not know that when I began. It really upset me to have it there in my hands, and yet somehow snatched away from me at the last possible moment. The story was the continuation to the Picts and Martyrs, when the Callum parents were at last to come into view as the D's take on the job of teaching their own parents to sail - but it never happened. I felt so cheated to be so near, yet so far.
It is hard to accept that I was at the end of that adventure. From here on, it was to be only "reruns." It had all come to an end.
But has it? Not hardly, for now there are the younger generations that
somehow have to be led into this wonderful comradeship. The joy of newness is still mine, even though I have to see it in the eyes of my grandchildren. So the joy is still there, in the sharing with those that as yet do not know what is in store for them.
It was this that Ransome himself was talking about when he said:
"It's not sad that there are no more books," he said. "There are always
more children for whom the old books become new again."
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But in my own case, somehow I failed to capture that fascination and show it to not only my children, but also to my grandchildren. They felt the Ransome stories (what few they were exposed to) were boring. There was no magic, no Wizards, no "spells" - just gathering firewood and going somewhere to pick up the daily milk so they could make tea. Apparently they have grown up in an environment of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and now, Harry Potter, and have certain expectations. All is not lost however as there are, by the current account, four great-grandchildren, who hopefully can come to feel the "magic" that Ransome has woven for us all.
Ed Kiser, Kentucky