Plots abound in those yellowing documents! The provincial records are rife with drama and intrigue. I suppose it’s not a time period many writers consider, though I’m not sure why. There are few novels set to the backdrop of the French and Indian War. I did, and I fell in love with our resolute forefathers. To know them means researching the world in which they lived. Like so many “Scotch-Irish,” their origins have been lost to time. I suppose finding my 18th century ancestors living in Pennsylvania, past the official British boundary, had something to do with that. Nothing fires me up quite like the French and Indian War period. “You’re studying the French and Indian War? Breeches and muskets and tricorns, oh my!” I wanted to squeal like a Beatles groupie, then throw myself on the floor and roll around like a dog on something stinky. “Yeah,” my nephew replied, his chin resting on his hands. “Some guy named Braddock,” my niece replied. I met them at Grandma’s house, where the little darlings dragged their workbooks to the table like condemned murderers heading for the gallows. Me (doing a fangirl hand flutter and fighting the urge to race around my yard): “History? Are you kidding me? I would love to!” Sister: “Dude, I know you’re busy, but I am so far behind.

The conversation with my sister went something like this: Recently, I volunteered to help my homeschooled niece and nephew with their history lessons. Thanks to Roxanne for allowing me a little space to ramble on her blog today.

Scattered Seeds by Julie Doherty