The Place Where We Were Born

First Time, Legend of Garrison Fitch by Samuel B. White

What a ride!  And I don't mean in a DeLorean.  This first in a series is one of my favorite time traveling books.  Interestingly enough I stumbled upon it because I was looking for a book to discuss during a sailing ministry at church.  


You know that I have pretty strong feelings about Christian Fiction.  I have been delighted by some but worry when people try to box God into a single genre.  It can  feel forced or caned. How dare one dictate where the sacred can be found.  So I googled "The Best Christian Fiction"  (because who wouldn't want that?) and a review of  "Lost Time" came up. It was the third book in a trilogy so I immediately ordered the first in the series which was appropriately named "First Time, The Legend of Garrison Fitch"




Mr. White has woven a fascinating tale of Garrison Fitch a scientist who grew up geographically in what we know as the United States but it is Soviet ruled. The United States as we know it only lasted for a few years in the 1700s. But then, through a time traveling experiment/accident he winds up back in the 1700s. When he returns it is to a United States that has been altered to what we know as reality today.  Should he stay?  Should he go back?


All time travel authors need to make decisions about time travel.  
1.  Do the travelers need some sort of device to travel or is it spontaneous.  
2.  Can they control the travel
3.  Can they alter the future by traveling to the past


White chooses vehicular, quasi controlled travel with obvious alterations, and that's where the fun begins.  This is such a great choice for book clubs because there is so much to discuss.  I would happily provide a brief discussion guide upon request but don't want to include any spoilers here.




Sam White is a minister, writer and cartoonist living in the Texas panhandle. He is married, has two teenage boys, as well as a cat and a dog, and prompted me to get about my blogging!

Getting Ready For 1,000 White Women

The Cheyenne Indians- Tribe of Algonkian linguistic stock, whose name means "red talker", or "people of a different speech", lived, and hunted on the hills and prairies alongside the Missouri and Red rivers.

The Cheyenne were commonly known as the Indians of the Great Plains. They once lived primarily in what is known now as Missouri but later became nomadic, moving from place to place usually following the herd of buffalo they were hunting along what is now Minnesota and South Dakota. They continued to be an agricultural people, though, planting mainly corn and beans. 

In the 1700s, after acquiring horses from the Spanish like the Comanche before them, the once sedentary Cheyenne became expert buffalo hunters. The tribe usually moved their encampments according to the location of the buffalo herd they were following.  Like other plains Indians, The Cheyenne had become very dependent on the buffalo for food, clothing, and other other items such as tools and jewelry.  

Cheyenne culture was one of ritual and nature. They recognized the "Wise One Above" and also believed in a god beneath the ground. Their ritual dances and practices centered around the battle and the hunt, the two primary focuses of the Cheyenne after they were oppressed by foreign settlers.
One of the most prominent objects they carried was called a sacred bundle. It contained a hat  made from the buffalo and four arrows. Two of the arrows were painted for hunting and two were painted for battle. This bundle was carried into war and the hunt to ensure success.

About 1825, when they were at peace with the Sioux, and making war upon the Pawnees, Kansas, and other tribes, a feud occurred in the family. A part of them remained with the Sioux, and the others went south to the Arkansas River and joined the Arapahoes. Many treaties were made with them by agents of the United States, but broken; and, finally, losing all confidence in the honor of the white race, they began hostilities in 1861. This was the first time that the Cheyennes were at war with the white people. While negotiations for peace and friendship were in progress, Colonel Chivington, of Colorado, fell upon a Cheyenne village (Nov. 29, 1864) and massacred about 100 men, women, and children. The whole tribe was fired with a desire for revenge, and a fierce war ensued, in which the United States lost many soldiers and spent between $30,000,000 and $40,000,000. 

The ill-feeling of the Indians towards the white people remained unabated. Some treaties were made and imperfectly carried out; and, after General Hancock burned one of their villages in 1867, they again made war, and slew 300 United States soldiers and settlers. General Custer defeated them on the Washita, killing their chief, thirty-seven warriors, and two-thirds of their women and children. The northern band of the Cheyennes remained peaceable, refusing to join the Sioux in 1865.

The Cheyenne creation myth is also interesting, as it offers a story similar to Christianity's Old Testament and God's creation of Adam and Eve, in which we are told that Haemmawihio had created man from his  right rib, and woman from his left.  After Heammawehio had created man and woman, he placed the woman in the north to control of Hoimaha, who in turn controlled storms, snow, and cold, and was also responsible for illness and death.  Heammawehio placed the man in the south to control the heat, and the thunder.  Twice a year, the two battle for control of the earth, creating the seasons.  Another important figure in Cheyenne mythology is that of Sweet Medicine, a deity responsible for giving the Cheyenne four arrows, two bestowing them with power over men, two giving them power over the buffalo.

Jim Fergus, One Thousand White Women, and More!

There are mixed reviews on One Thousand White Women, while one critic says: The best writing transports readers to another time and place, so that when they reluctantly close the book, they are astonished to find themselves returned to their everyday lives.One Thousand White Women is such a book. Jim Fergus so skillfully envelops us in the heart and mind of his main character, May Dodd, that we weep when she mourns, we shake our fist at anyone who tries to sway her course, and our hearts pound when she is in danger.Colorado Springs Gazett, other critics say it reads like May Dodd was a mom transported from 1990 to the old west and totally unbelievable.  I loved it!  It is a good addition in what's shaping up to be our year of, "not so proud moments in USA history."

If you enjoyed One Thousand White Women, You might want to read  Fergus' other novel, "The Wild Girl" already being made into a Hallmark film. Clip below:

When Ned Giles is orphaned as a teenager, he heads West hoping to leave his troubles behind. He joins the 1932 Great Apache Expedition on their search for a young boy, the son of a wealthy Mexican landowner, who was kidnapped by wild Apaches. But the expedition's goal is complicated when they encounter a wild Apache girl in a Mexican jail cell, victim of a Mexican massacre of her tribe that has left her orphaned and unwilling to eat or speak. As he and the expedition make their way through the rugged Sierra Madre mountains, Ned's growing feelings for the troubled girl soon force him to choose allegiances and make a decision that will haunt him forever. 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

I loved this book.  It is one of those that was indeed bittersweet.  I felt like crying through much of it.  I suppose it was the shame of remembering a time that was not our finest hour; the sadness that I feel when I think of all war and how it tears families apart; how hard it is for young men to grow up; and how cruel kids can be to one another.  This beautifully written story was a love story, told with honor and intrigue.  Buoyed with a smokey jazz undercurrent that made it even richer.  I loved it!  If you missed book cub, here's the clip Sue showed us 

The Help and The Cabin

What could be better than a great book, great friends, and bringing both together at a gorgeous setting.  Thanks again Cindy.  Pictures attached!

Also from Kathryn Stockett's web page,    click here for link     for the never fail Creamy Caramel Icing Recipe.

Never Fail Creamy Caramel Icing

2 1/2 c. sugar
1 slightly beaten egg
1 stick of butter
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla

Melt 1/2 cup of sugar in iron skillet slowly, until brown and runny. Mix egg, butter, remaining sugar, and milk in a saucepan and cook over a low flame until butter melts. Turn the heat up to medium and add the browned sugar. Cook until it reaches the soft ball stage or until mixture leaves sides of pan. This takes about 10 minutes. Remove from fire, let cool slightly, and add vanilla. Beat until right consistency to spread. If it gets too thick add a little cream. This will ice a 2 layer cake.

Reprinted by permission from The Junior League of Memphis, Inc. from “The Memphis Cookbook” © 1952; recipe submitted by Mrs. Phil Thornton, Jr.

As a Yorkist myself...I concur!

As many of you know, "The Sunne in Splendour" is on my top 10 list of all time favorite books.  As much as I love the Bard (and I do truly love Shakespeare) he, out of necessity, wrote with a Lancasterian bent and maligned  our poor King Richard III.  I have long held this belief and the Sunne in Splendour is a glorious work which happens to bolster my humble opinion so what's not to love about that!  Now my fellowChapter Chatters, and  fans everywhere, she has done it again! Philippa Gregory has written two novels which she dubs "The cousin's war" which the rest of know as..."The War of the Roses"  Here you will discover the mighty Duke of York who did more than march his men up and down and half way up hills!  You will meet the Plantagenets, and learn the difference between red and white roses!  Ooooh I can't wait to dive in!