Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings | A Florida Legend

   

    My mother introduced me to Cross Creek, the movie. She was curious about the Florida author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and with her background in teaching, she hoped we'd catch her enthusiasm. Unfortunately, my sister and I were too young and accustomed to shinier entertainment. We found the movie a bore. 

    Time has a funny way of changing us, where we stare less at the sky above and begin examining our roots beneath. When I re-watched Cross Creek a few weeks ago, I found myself pausing, rewinding, and soaking up the Florida beauty. 

    I read The Yearling, for the first time, as an adult. It's the kind of story where you journey with the characters at their pace, which in this case is Florida in the 1870s. It feels slow, yet immersive. Award-winning author, Lauren Groff puts it this way:

"The Yearling is a magnificent, transparent, slow-moving river. Its style is direct and free of fireworks, its subjects planted at the beginnings of the sentences, solid as potatoes." 

- Lauren groff

     In The Yearling Marjorie writes of Slewfoot the bear antagonist terrorizing the pioneers, a deadly rattlesnake bite, pioneer drama, and the harsh living conditions. Woven through this tapestry of story we witness the love of a boy for his pet deer.    

    It was a full circle moment when I dragged my own children to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings historic home last week, with promises of a restaurant lunch to follow. They gave their best effort to humor me, despite not sharing my passion for all things Florida history. 

 

    The tour guide led us around the grounds and through the home providing anecdotes like a wily raccoon in the ice box and historical accounts of celebrity visitors and her "Yankee Dining Room". The experience only fueled my curiosity with this legend among authors. 

    I admire the way Marjorie embraced the backwoods of Florida. She learned to live among her neighbors, then crafted stories about their lifestyle, mostly unknown to the world at that time. 

   

    We completed our trip with lunch at The Yearling Restaurant where we shared plates of alligator, frog legs, catfish, hushpuppies, and grits. If you visit, be sure to check out the back room where they sell historic books and have a museum-like display of Florida wildlife.

Frog Legs De Jour

   

    There is a rugged beauty to this land I call home, and one that grows more fascinating the longer I study it. Here's to adventures, both on and off the page.