place I Ching
(a personal daily reading of the twitter feed of Vanessa Place)

MT @VanessaPlace And she had had a few unpleasant experiences with the Freedmen's Bureau.
24 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace I couldn't find out.
23 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace She stared at him inquiringly.
22 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace "Don't spoil it," he said quietly.
21 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace And I think I'll do it.
19 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace She did her share of the work uncomplainingly but she was always ailing.
18 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace Suellen would be especially grieved at this.
17 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace He was not of the planter class at all, though he was not poor white.
17 Jun (of Jun 16 postings)

MT @VanessaPlace He did them silently, patiently and competently.
15 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace She could tell Will anything
14 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace She would sit beside him through the long hot afternoons, fanning him and saying nothing.
11 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace But this knowledge did not keep them from laboring to save him.
10 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace Each sick man meant another mouth to feed.
9 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace They can stand it.
8 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace Soldiers came singly and in pairs and dozens and they were always hungry.
5 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace Uncle Peter's voice came as from a far distance, plaintive, placating.
3 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace His protruding underlip retreated to normal as swiftly as a turtle withdraws its head beneath its shell.
2 Jun

MT @VanessaPlace She say fer me ter tell y'all plain as Ah knows how dat she jes' kain unnerstan' y'all desertin' her in her hour of need.
31 May

MT @VanessaPlace Later it would be different.
25 May

MT @VanessaPlace I guess I've got you on my neck for the rest of my life.
24 May

MT @VanessaPlace There was a glow, an exaltation in her eyes.
20 May

MT @VanessaPlace Once was certainly enough.
19 May

MT @VanessaPlace We can make out somehow.
18 May

MT @VanessaPlace "I think it's lovely," she whispered pointing to the first stone.
17 May

MT @VanessaPlace They went down the path through the garden and Scarlett saw they were going toward the burying ground.
15 May

MT @VanessaPlace Mules are misbegotten, unnatural critters and it ought to be illegal to breed them.
14 May

MT @VanessaPlace Got it from sleeping so much in the rain.
11 May

MT @VanessaPlace Then she had been pale and sad but there had been a buoyancy about her.
10 May

MT @VanessaPlace On Sundays he had earned the right to graze in the pasture and rest.
9 May

MT @VanessaPlace But the days passed into weeks and there was no news from Ashley.
8 May

MT @VanessaPlace Now her worst nightmare would never come true.
6 May

MT @VanessaPlace "Nothing but rabbit tobacco. Pa smokes it in a corn cob."
4 May

MT @VanessaPlace "What a pity he can't marry her now," she thought. "That would be one less mouth to feed."
2 May

MT @VanessaPlace The war can't go on much longer.
30 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace He clawed at them absently and cleared his throat in an annoying way before he spoke.
28 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace But as they all passed from the room, Frank hung back, tugging at Scarlett's sleeve.
27 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace They're a long way off from here, and furthermore they're making good soldiers.
25 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace "I'm like Atlanta," she thought. "It takes more than Yankees or a burning to keep me down."
24 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace And then it's about the last house on the north end of town and the fire wasn't so bad over that way.
22 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace And, above the ruined town, the buzzards splotched the wintry sky with graceful, sinister bodies.
22 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace The sight of that cemetery still gave Frank nightmares.
21 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace He tried to look cheerful, for he did not believe in upsetting ladies.
21 Apr (of 20 Apr postings)

MT @VanessaPlace When Sherman took the town the houses and stores were standing there as pretty as you please.
19 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace The girls were hungry for news.
18 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Moreover she was far from well.
15 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace "It's almost like the old days when we had house parties, isn't it?"
14 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Could she reach it before the hands clutched her and dragged her down into the quicksands?
12 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Now life was so amazingly simple.
10 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'
9 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Sometimes he returned with game, sometimes with a few ears of corn, a bag of dried peas.
8 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace She knew that she should kill one of the shoats but she put it off from day to day, hoping to raise them to maturity.
7 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Cold weather set in abruptly with a killing frost.
6 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace I came back as soon as I got the stock safe in the woods.
5 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Because, my darling, your back was on fire.
4 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Then the door swung open and the sucking draft flung the flames higher.
3 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace Back she rushed to the dining room and snatched a rag rug from the floor, spilling two chairs with a crash.
2 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace There was nothing she could do about it either, except watch.
1 Apr

MT @VanessaPlace They had said nothing about burning the house.
1 Apr (of 31 Mar postings)

MT @VanessaPlace Wade was very proud of it and often climbed upon the table beneath where it hung to pat it.
29 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace "Oh, I'll take your word," said the sergeant good-naturedly, spitting again as he turned away.
28 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace "Lemme have what you got in yore hand, lady."
27 Mar

MT @vanessaplace Behind him lay the smoking ruins of Atlanta to which the torch had been set as the blue army tramped out.
26 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace "Now," she thought, drawing a deep breath, "now for the swamp!"
23 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace Even in her frenzy she thought what the sight of bluecoats might do to Gerald's wavering mind.
20 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace Eye met eye for a dreadful second around the table before chairs were pushed back and everyone leaped up.
18 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace There was hope now. The war couldn't last forever.
17 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace After that she worked a little better, taking care to stay far from her mother's reach.
15 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace She simply could not comprehend what had happened & she went about Tara like a sleepwalker, doing exactly what she was told
15 Mar (of 14 Mar postings)

MT @VanessaPlace Sometimes they squealed so loudly no one in the house could talk but it was a pleasant sound.
11 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace The worst was over.
10 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace That's where I met Dr. Fontaine.
9 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace Now, let's have it.
8 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace It was a relief to hear the truth put so baldly.
7 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace The Yankees cleaned us out like a swarm of locusts.
5 Mar

MT @VanessaPlace "That was so long ago, a different day entirely, and times have changed."
29 Feb

MT @vanessaplace I've hoed my row and I've picked my cotton and I can do it again if I have to. And it looks like I'll have to.
28 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Not that they wouldn't need a rest, after the fight we gave them.
27 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace We don't know a thing except that Sherman finally got the town.
26 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace The Yankees had not reached Mimosa because it was far off the main road.
25 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace "I've done murder and so I can surely do this."
24 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace "I won't think about it any more," she decided.
23 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace "You'll be dead if you don't. I'll clean up the mess after I've buried him."
22 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace "If he bleeds across the yard, we can't hide it," she gasped.
21 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace The trouser pockets yielded nothing except a candle end, a jackknife, a plug of tobacco and a bit of twine.
19 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace He might have something to eat.
18 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Even if he is alone, no one must know about it.
17 Feb

MT @vanessaplace "Don't be scared, chickens!" came her voice with teasing gaiety.
16 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace She thought dully.
15 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Yes, he was dead. Undoubtedly. She had killed a man.
14 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace She slipped it into place with a hand that did not shake.
13 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace It was a horse--the Tarletons, the Fontaines!
12 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Crying was so useless now.
9 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Life would go on and so would appetites.
8 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace The cow and the calf had made no sound for hours.
7 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Bitter as life was now, she had no desire to leave it.
6 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace No one was going to set her and her people adrift on the charity of relatives.
5 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace Rhett was wrong when he said men fought wars for money.
4 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace And she looked as if she took a pleasure in saying such awful things.
2 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace "Be kind to the afflicted," said Ellen. "Show tenderness to those in sorrow and in trouble."
1 Feb

MT @VanessaPlace She was not blind to the fact that her personality was changing.
30 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace Until the thunders of the siege began, he had never known anything but a happy, placid, quiet life.
28 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace But the vermifuge only made the child look paler.
28 Jan

MT @vanessaplace How careless they had been of food then, what prodigal waste!
26 Jan

MT @vanessaplace Beyond Tara was the war and the world.
25 Jan

MT @vanessaplace I'm going to live through this, and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again.
24 Jan

MT @vanessaplace There was no going back and she was going forward.
23 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace She sat down in the furrows and dug into the earth with hands that shook, filling her basket slowly.
17 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace Scarlett sat down on the column, too sick at the sight to go on.
16 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace She crossed it cautiously and trudged uphill the hot half-mile to Twelve Oaks.
15 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace What was she doing here?
14 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace The road down to the river lay red and scorching between the ruined cotton fields.
13 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace "Well, I won't think of that either," she told herself.
12 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace All right, go on.
11 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace What will I do if he doesn't?--I won't think about it now.
10 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace "Whether you are there or not," she murmured sleepily, "good night-- and thank you."
9 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace All had suffered crushing misfortunes and had not been crushed.
8 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace Tomorrow she would fit the yoke about her neck.
7 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace She was no longer plastic clay, yielding imprint to each new experience.
5 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace There was some whisky left in the bottom, how much she could not tell in the uncertain light.
4 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace No turning or twisting would avoid this dead end to which she had come.
3 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace The sojers rolls it out of the shed into the back yard and hollers, 'Here the bigges' bonfiah in Georgia,' and tech it off.
2 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace An' Miss Ellen eat lak a bird anyways.
1 Jan

MT @VanessaPlace "No matter, 'twill never be light"--she took the words to her tired mind.
31 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace The slightest sounds roared in her ears.
29 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace So many things to unravel--to decide.
28 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace But she could not ever do that again.
27 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace And again, they loomed large, rushing at her with lightning speed.
27 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace You need sleep and Katie Scarlett is here, so you need not worry about anything.
26 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace The hot liquid burned down her throat to her stomach, choking her and bringing tears to her eyes.
25 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace "I know no lady drinks spirits," she said briefly. "But today I'm no lady, Pa, and there is work to do tonight."
23 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace So they were gone.
22 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace He was as kind as he knew how.
21 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace That night there were a thousand campfires.
21 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace And I said that they would be burning it over my head.
20 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace That must come later, when she could stand it.
19 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace I can't help it, she thought, and then, aloud: "Well, hurry and get the whisky, quickly. We'll take it neat."
18 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace A memory stirred.
17 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace She knew she must keep her voice steady.
16 Dec

RT @VanessaPlace Her father's arm still lay in the crook of hers, helpless, appealing, trusting, as only the hands of the very young and the very old can be.
15 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace She could not, could not force it to her lips.
14 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace Tell her I want her.
13 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace He was only a little old man and broken.
12 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace The roof seemed to be intact.
11 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace "Just a few more steps," hummed her brain, over and over, "just a few more steps for to tote the weary load."
11 Dec (actual log date, logged in the morning for Dec 10)

MT @VanessaPlace Get out before I pull you out!
9 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace Either carry him or make him walk.
8 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace She clutched the side of the wagon to keep from falling.
7 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace She gnawed furiously, tore with both hands and the petticoat lay in strips in her hands.
6 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace "Sit up, you fool," she said, "before I wear this out on you."
5 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace "It's only a cow," said Scarlett, her voice rough with fright.
4 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace Tara lay only half a mile away, on the same road, right in the path of the army.
3 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace Thousands had died in the fighting near Jonesboro.
1 Dec

MT @VanessaPlace They had not seen a living human being or animal since the night before.
30 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace It'll keep the sun out of her eyes.
29 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace While Rhett was stealing a horse, why couldn't he have stolen a good one?
28 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Soldiers had been there before her and there was none on the trees.
27 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Well, some water would help him too.
26 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace They must be starting on toward home again.
25 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace And no soldiers in sight anywhere.
24 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace And then she had lost her way in the darkness and sobbed when she could not find the little wagon path she knew so well.
23 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Their hiding place had not been discovered in the night.
22 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Then she remembered everything.
22 Nov

MT @vanessaplace She knew he had turned and was facing her but she did not speak.
21 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace He bent her body backward and his lips traveled down her throat to where the cameo fastened her basque.
19 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace The still hot darkness wrapped her like a dream.
17 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace With a tight grip on her he dragged her several paces away from the wagon.
16 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace She stared at him.
16 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace "I am going, dear girl, with the army."
15 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace You can't follow the train tracks.
14 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace The dim shapes of houses grew farther and farther apart and unbroken woods loomed wall-like on either side.
13 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace But he did not speak.
12 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace His face looked set and absent, as though he had forgotten where he was.
12 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Then, stooping, he jerked the boy to his shoulders with an ease that looked like sleight of hand.
11 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Many were barefooted and here and there a dirty bandage wrapped a head or arm.
10 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace "Hurry!" It was the only word in her mind.
9 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace But from Melanie there was no sound.
8 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace "Must--must we go through the fire?" Scarlett quavered.
7 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace He took the lamp from her and set it on the ground.
6 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace The wagon was very small and the boards about the sides very low.
5 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace "Please," Melanie whispered again, "the sword."
4 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace She tried to smile weakly but the smile died before it reached the corners of her mouth.
3 Nov

MT @VanessaPlace Even if you got there, you'd probably find it burned down.
1 Nov