Im currently reading my 1878 printing of Johann David Wyss Swiss Family Robinson. Just a few pages at a time. Usually in the morning when the girls are still asleep. Its a great work of fiction. Shipwrecked on a remote island a family fights for survival. This particular copy was a gift to Lottie Schmidt Christmas 1878 as inscribed on the cover page. As I read I cant help but think about Ms. Schmidt. Who was she? Was she a child in 1878? A grown woman? Where did she live? What happened to her? As I slowly and carefully flip through the pages, all worn and yellowed and tattered, I imagine those many years ago her doing the same. I wonder how long she lived. Was she a child in 1878 and lived a long and happy life? Was she alive when I was born? Did our lives somehow overlap? I wonder how many others have read this copy. How many others have been carried away to an island far away and struggled to survive with the Robinsons. I think when I finish reading this book I will inscribe my name and the date on the cover page. Maybe some day years from now someone will step away from their computer and pick up this old book and wonder about me. Now I will do the same. A few more pages before work. And one more thing. Rest in peace Ms. Lottie. You are not forgotten.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 09:29:40 +0000
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