A new Marine

Tom just called from Richmond. He's signed all the papers and now is a Marine! He's excited and so happy. We'll see how he is after OCS. It will be physically demanding, and he'll be learning lots of new things. I hope he'll keep his enthusiasm and optimism.

I finished Sackett's Land and Ginger Pye yesterday. Sackett's Land is the first of the Sackett books by L'Amour. It begins in England, where Barnabas Sackett lives until he sails on a ship to America to begin fur-trading. There are some bad guys, some sword and dagger fights, some skirmishes with Indians, and a very slight love-interest. Basically the story appears to set the stage for the next Sackett book. I'd classify it as historical fiction - definitely not a western.

Ginger Pye is delightful as a children and pet story. I think I must have read it a decade ago, because it was very familiar, but that could be because it's set in Cranbury, the hometown of the Moffats, and Rachel Pye reminded me a lot of Jane Moffat. (Wow! Can I use any more commas in a sentence?!)