Mary and her Pa

They share a birthday, these two, bless 'em, and bless Mary's kid sister for summoning up the discipline to write one book after another, telling us about them. Charismatic, restless, fiddle-playing Charles Ingalls, born on the 10th of January, way back in another election year. I think Martin Van Buren won. His - Charles, not Martin - & Caroline's eldest, Mary Amelia, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, smart, & astonishingly patient, doncha think? Was she that silent, that uncomplaining in life, about being irretrievably blinded? Maybe so. She came into an entirely different world than yours & mine. Born 'bout 3 months before Lincoln was assassinated.

Ah well. 'The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.' Still, I'd be willing to bet that not everyone's upper lip was as stiff as Mary Ingalls. Not sightless eye was dry. And by the way, why didn't Pa teach her & her sisters how to play that violin?

Meanwhile, folks are lining up at the polls in New Hampshire as I type this, casting their votes for one Republican or another. Me, I'm signing off now. Gotta get back to work on my coloring book. Five dwgs to go! I'll have a juicy episode of American Experience [Check out your local listings! Support Public TV! www.pbs.org] to keep me company while I work [that and a plastic can of storebought chocolate frosting]. All about that wild child, Billy the Kid.

What was that guy's story anyway? Reckon I'll find out.