All for one, one for all

When I was in third grade, I read the entire unabridged novel, The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. I had found the book during one of the many book sales that my mother frequented, where she would buy books by the armful for practically nothing, and she always let me find a few gems of my own. The book sale had table after table of cast off books, dogeared, water damaged, brand new, musty, dusty and waiting to be loved books of all kind; beckoning and waiting for me to pet them and take them home.

This particular edition of the tale had a few illustrations in it, but it was a hefty, large tome, that felt right at home in my hands when I first opened it. I am not sure if my mother thought that I really would read the novel, but being an avid reader herself, I don't think she would have said no to me for wanting a 25 cent book as badly as I wanted this one. When we returned home, I opened up a new world that I have never forgotten, the world of France at war with England, of men who swore to protect their king, not matter what, with swords and wit, and of women who loved, left and longed for the swashbuckling hero who had just left their beds...I had no idea why so many people kept having "sleepovers" in the same bed, but it was pretty clear to me that Athos, Porthos, Aremis and d'Artagen liked their lives, and had a great deal of fun to boot!

I am sure that I didn't understand all of what was happening in the novel, but I spent an entire summer reading the story, and asking my mother a million questions about the action taking place, the history being told, the words I couldn't (still cannot) pronounce. My mother answered all of my inquires (she probably read the novel while I was sleeping) as best she could. She was my personal version of Wiipedia or Google back then! I had no idea how impressed she and my father were with my reading ability until a year or two later, when I overheard her talking to one of her friends about my voracious appetite to reading, and how she couldn't get enough books in my hands fast enough.

Soon enough, a new movie version appeared in the theaters, with Michael York and Rachel Welch potraying d'Artangen and Constance. Faye Dunaway as Milady, Christopher Lee and Cardinal Richelou...the movie was fun, campy, and not true to the true, but I loved it! My mother made sure I went to see the film, even though it was designed for an older audience (it was the early 1970's...way before PG 13!)

My love of reading, and for understanding history, has never gone away. I plan on posting all kinds of observations about my life, through what I have read, and am currrently reading. Join me on my adventure....through the pages I have turned, earmarked, and held onto.