J
It’s a
catch-all for useful things like tools and tape, garden gloves, and – a nutcracker?
It’s a quick place to stash stuff, as evidenced by the matchbox car and green
plastic army guy. It’s the last place you look and the first place you’ll find
nearly any missing item. The other day I found not one, but three tape measures! I call it the Junk
drawer.
To say that
the group of 104 Englishmen commissioned by King
James I in 1607 was a hardy lot is an
understatement. The conspicuously all-male
consortium who
arrived on the swampy shores of the James River that summer was right from the
start besieged by devastating hardships including, famine, disease, and violent
encounters with territorial Natives. They were ill-prepared to have arrived on
foreign land in the middle of a climate change (Little Ice-age; lasting 250
years), and, at first, had no idea how to purify swamp water for safe drinking.
Soon after establishing Jamestown, the men began to perish. Aware, even then, of appearances, the dead
were buried in unmarked graves. By January 1608, only 38 colonists remained. Not entirely undaunted, the settlers
persevered, and by August 1609, 470 new settlers had arrived. None, however,
were women, for they’d heard horror stories of Jamestown and refused to cross
the pond. But the worst was yet to come.
Although Captain John Smith had
negotiated positive relations with the natives, Chief Powhatan called for an
ambush of Jamestown once Captain Smith returned to England. Surrounded by
warriors and literally trapped inside Fort James,
food, supplies, and a bit of human decency dwindled. Incredibly, by spring of
1610, there were still surviving colonists to greet arriving supply ships
carrying new settlers, provisions – and women!
John
Hancock was the first
man to sign the declaration of Independence in 1776. Knowing that signing the
document could cost his life or possible imprisonment, he wrote his name in
large letters and boldly announced: “There, I think King George should be able
to read this.”
John
Henry is a cowboy slang
for “signature.”
Happy blogging!
Hi, diedre!
ReplyDeleteEvery home has a junk drawer. Ours has several of them. :) When you pack to move, as Mrs. Shady and I did recently, you find things in junk drawers that you forgot you owned, sometimes in multiples. You regret having wasted money buying the same item over and over again when, all the while, several were hidden at the bottom of that disorganized drawer.
Thanks for the history lesson about King James, Fort James, Jamestown and John Smith. Knowing that women were finally on the way after a three year wait would be enough incentive to keep me alive through those various hardships. :) I appreciated learning about The Little Ice Age which some experts say began in 1300 and lasted until 1850, while others narrow the span, asserting that it extended from the 16th to 19th centuries.
It was fascinating to trace John Hancock to Western folk hero John Henry and learn about John Henryism, a strategy of using superhuman performance to cope with long term stress and discrimination with resulting serious health consequences.
Have a safe and happy day, dear friend diedre!
Hi Shady!
DeleteI guess we should always check the junk drawer before replacing a lost item. That, or return things to their proper place - instead of the junk drawer.
History can be humbling in reminding us that others have survived the hardships we face.
Thank you for expanding my knowledge of John Henryism! I appreciate you joining me today ;-)
I asked a boss for his John Hancock. He looked at me like that was the weirdest thing he ever heard and said, "I'll use my name". I guess I should have said John Henry.
ReplyDeleteThose early settlers were determined. I remember a speaker saying that Americans should not consider themselves European in that we are descended from malcontents and religious fanatics. I enjoy doing genealogy. If my records are correct both of my parents are descended from William Bennett of Jamestown. You never really know. So many people could have been named Bennett and confused with the other.
Hi Ann!
ReplyDeleteHa! Your boss had a sense of humor (?)
Genealogy does provide some amazing discoveries. I've never tracked mine, but I think about possible relatives of yore.
Thanks for visiting!
We have junk drawers and closets throughout our house now that all the kids are gone. Probably means we have a lot of stuff that we should get rid of.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up my mother always had a junk drawer in the kitchen that she would let me scavenge through to look for loose change that had been tossed in. That was back when a handful of loose change could actually buy something like a candy bar or something.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Hi Lee!
DeleteJunk drawers throughout the house sounds hauntingly familiar - ha! We have them too.
You never know the treasures you'll find. We had a Yard/Estate sale after grandma's passing and one man was so excited about her (2) junk drawers that we had to remind him that the drawers themselves were not for sale but he could buy the stuff inside ;-)
Thanks for visiting!