Plimoth

 

We started our sightseeing today at the Monument to the Forefathers, and it was worth the stop.  Impressive in size, it was a beautiful reminder of the principles on which this country was founded.  The carvings held much more detail and meaning than we could examine in the short time we were there.  Morality, liberty, law, and education were each given one of the four sides at the base of the statue.  

Our next stop was the Mayflower.  Not the actual ship of course but a replica.  It was shocking to see how small the vessel was that carried 102 brave souls to the New World.  Only two died on the journey, one sailor and one passenger.  But half of those remaining died in the first winter after reaching America.  Considering the conditions they endured, it’s a wonder anyone survived at all.

What induced anyone to risk their lives and that of their children by setting out on such a dangerous journey?  Well, it seems they were paid to do so.  Given money and their voyage paid for they were sent with a year’s supply of food.  They were to send back furs and any other valuables they were able to produce to pay back the “merchant adventurers” who had financed the venture.  Should they have second thoughts and return to Britain without paying back the cost of their journey they would be promptly arrested and sent to debtor’s prison.  Great motivation to stay put and make the best of it.  These were most likely people who had virtually no chance of success if they remained in Europe, eking  out a living in a place where they could not hope to own land or better themselves.  There were no bluebloods on the Mayflower.  Only desperate and brave people with nothing to lose.

We spent several hours at Plimoth Village, a remake of the first settlement by Europeans on these shores.  Actors in traditional dress answered questions and interacted with the tourists as we visited the roughly constructed houses that offered the barest protection in the way of shelter.  They would have been bitterly cold in winter and sweltering in summer.  There was barely room to move around the smaller-than-full-size bed that occupied a corner of each cabin.  A fireplace in some, a fire pit in others was prominently placed in each dwelling along with a table and several chairs.  The roofs were thatched and the two small windows that let in minimal light were luxurious compared to the thin walls and dirt floors.  The wind surely found its way freely through the cracks on frigid winter nights. The hardship these hearty, determined souls endured was unimaginable. 

Having arrived in November, the Pilgrims were forced to face the brutal weather without any time to prepare.  But a year later, thanks to the help they received from friendly Native Americans, they were able to share in a Thanksgiving feast without fearing starvation in the coming winter.  Each tiny house had a garden surrounded by a rickety fence, probably to guard against deer and other wildlife. The fish were so plentiful that each corn kernel had a fish planted with it for fertilizer.  Looking around each dwelling I could see plenty of ways that Paul would have made life easier for me if he had been there.  For one thing, he could not understand why they used thin wood boards to build their houses instead of logs.  It was a question he never had answered in the time we were strolling around the village.

We stopped in New Bedford at the whaling museum located in the historical section of town.  There were models of blue whale innards and Paul told me that the 8-10 beats per minute of its half ton heart flushed 58 gallons of blood through each time.  Hard to fathom. But I’m beginning to see how Jonah was able to hang out in there for three days.

I admit I enjoyed walking through the picturesque village more than studying whale intestines. The weather was perfect, the flowers perfusious (not a word but you know what I mean) and the cobblestone streets took me back a few hundred years to different times.

Our hotel was still so new that it smelled like fresh lumber.  It had all the conveniences including a kitchenette with stainless steel appliances and a bedroom with king-size bed.  I love visiting history but I really enjoy my modern conveniences when the day is done.