Skip to main content

For a Visit with Thomas Paine






No matter where I go I try to fit in something that I can cross of my to-do list. I like to merge my two worlds as it were. My “real” life is going to my day job and completing my obligations to family and friends. My “second” world is this blog and all the things I want to do and see. Since timing is always an issue and I never seem to have enough of it, maximizing locations is the only way I can function at all. This is especially true if I am in an area I am not likely to go back to soon.

Recently I was in New Rochelle and in between running errands there, I had a window of opportunity: one whole hour to myself. I decided to use that time to swing by Thomas Paine’s Cottage. It’s what you would do, right?

Actually it is a place I have known about for some time and only recently made a mental note to get there. I love all historical places, even if the person isn’t buried in their backyard, although if he were buried there that would have been a definitely plus for me. In the interest of full disclosure he was buried there at one time until his remains were moved and/or stolen.






Even though I am not as obsessed with Thomas Paine as I am with the Founding Fathers; a famous house is a famous house. I am in awe all of places where I can stand in the past.

The cottage is small as one would expect a house would be from 1793. According to the website: “The Thomas Paine Cottage contains a few of the artifacts still in existence that were once owned by Thomas Paine: a simple chair and a cast iron Franklin Stove given to Paine by Benjamin Franklin himself.”  Those simple artifacts were enough reason to visit. In 1972, this cottage was designated a National Historic Landmark; the decisive reason to visit.






On the afternoon I arrived, I was the only one visiting at that time. Despite that there wasn’t much to see that actually belonged to Thomas Paine, it was still a great experience. I loved seeing the house and getting a feel for what that area must have been like in his time. It is so hard to picture it without all the traffic and houses. But that’s always what I love.

My tour-guide was so knowledgeable and his obvious love for his work was contagious. It is always nice to see someone with a passion working at these sites. It is so important to preserve the past for the future. This can only be done with enthusiastic and educated employees. Hey, I can’t be everywhere!

Thomas Paine was a scholar who wrote such influential works as “Common Sense”, which urged separation from Britain prior to the Revolutionary War. I read a lot of his material in college and graduate school.  All of that work forged my connection to Thomas Paine. Since his work has been in my house, now at least I can say I’ve been in his.

For information on Thomas Paine:

For information on Thomas Paine’s Cottage:
http://www.thomaspainecottage.org/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth

For a Doughnut Worthy of Food Network Glory: “Dun-Well Doughnuts”

All because I wanted a Boston creme doughnut. That is how this blog truly began. It was Father’s Day weekend and although I was initially thinking of myself, I knew my father wouldn’t mind having a sweet treat for dessert. Brooklyn is synonymous with great pizza, bread, and of course bagels. But it also has many great bakeries producing some of the most delicious doughnuts you have ever tasted. Just to name a few, there is: Doughnut Plant , Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Dough .   On the day of my craving, I did what any of us do countless times a day - I opened Google. When I Googled “best Boston creme doughnuts in Brooklyn” Dun-Well Doughnuts appeared high on that list. Intrigued I researched it further and learned that it had won the Canadian  Food Network’s contest called “Donut Showdown” in 2013. That was enough information for me to decide to visit the very next day.  Dun-Well Doughnuts was opened by Dan Dunbar and Christopher Hollowell in December 2011. Despite