No Sign Of Mel.

         SUNDAY, MARCH 16TH

   We stepped back in history yesterday.
   Bacon was frying in a pan set up over
hot coals while corn beef and split pea
soup was being readied to be cooked in
a pot over an open hearth.
    We found a woman weaving in a
nearby cabin and baby lambs in the field.
    The slave quarters were empty. Very
empty. Just wood floors, a fireplace, and
brick walls.
    There was cotton in the Gin House.
    But where was Mel?
    I was sure I had seen him here. Perhaps
in the main house?
    It looked all so familiar. I remember
him being here.
   Oh wait....that was in a movie...wasn't it?
   How neat it was to visit the Bratton house
in historic Brattonsville, South Carolina
where many scenes from the Mel Gibson
movie "The Patriot" were filmed in 1999.
    I could almost hear the "Red Coats"
fighting the Militia somewhere off in the
woods beyond this plantation.
    I admire a place like this where our
history, some of it good, some of it not so
good, is preserved and taught by
costumed interpreters.
    We tried to sign up for part time jobs
when we learned the food prepared on site
is only served to staff. My wife knows how
to spin wool and I......well.....I can....that is,
my wife knows how to spin wool!
    Maybe if I can learn to pick cotton I'll
go back. Who knows,? Maybe Mel will be
back by then!
     Hope you're tending your fire and that
all your NEWS is good!