I have finally completed Cross Creek. I wanted it to never end. The life that Marjorie Kinann Rawlings lived is not for the faint hearted and certainly not for the materialistic. Her depiction of rural Florida life is truly enrapturing, though it is far from being P.C. and some of the backwards and old school ways of life are so appalling today (thank god for the Civil Rights Movement!!). I think that this book is a gem for capturing a time in our history so honestly and purely. Though I don't doubt that M.K.R. has romanticized life at the creek, she certainly doesn't leave out details of hardship in 1930's Central Florida. After reading this book, I aspire to be as hardworking and as great a person as Mrs. Rawlings. She loved her life and she loved those that made it possible for her live the way she did, aka her full-time workers. For those parts, she certainly lived a cushy life- but in a modern world- her life hardly seems luxurious!!
Right now, her home is my dream and visualizing every detail isn't enough! Luckily for you and for me- my sister, my sister in law, and my mother took a trip to Cross Creek a few weeks ago and they have been kind enough to share the tour with us via pictures. Thank you Afton, for the photography.
xo
P.S. Every bit of this Florida sunshine makes me yearn for home! It is truly beautiful.
5 comments:
i want to read this so badly! i even went to the barnes and noble to pick up a copy(out of stock, boo). i love you and i am going to miss you so much. i want to read this and think of my favorite florida baby.
天生我材必有用，千金散盡還復來。 ..................................................
I love this book. A women who lives across the street from me grew up in that area and her mother and aunt personally knew and liked MKR! She said a lot of women gossiped about her but that her mother admired her spunk.
Another book you might enjoy reading is, "The Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest," by Wylie Blanchet. This widowed mother of 5 spent 3-4 months every summer (1920-30s) cruising the coast with her 5 kids and a Gordan setter in their 23foot boat! I checked it out at the library but ordered 2 copies from Amazon (used, it's out of print) as gifts for friends.
That is the cutest little place!
Crystorama lighting
oh Haylie! sigh.
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