AND THEY KEPT
COMING
Written
by Luz Leigh - 17 November 2007
Thanksgiving Day
will be here in a few days. This day will mark the
celebration that began back in 1621, less than a
year after the Pilgrims arrived in the New
World. The lived through a dreadful first winter
here, a time when almost half of the members of
their colony died. They were a hardy bunch,
determined to make a go of it in their new home.
When the summer
arrived and they had a good corn crop, the
Governor proclaimed that a three-day feast would
be held. Thank goodness they invited the Indians
who had taught them many valuable lessons about
survival because the Indians brought the
turkeys. Now what would Thanksgiving be with
turkey?
Recently I
attended a patriotic performance at my grandson’s
school. The children were all dressed in
costumes…..Balboa, Christopher Columbus, Chloe (an
Indian maiden), Pilgrims, William Bradford, John
Winthrop, etc. Most of the sixty-plus students had
speaking parts. Except for John Winthrop, of
course, who was played by my grandson, none spoke
the truth more clearly than Chloe who continued to
repeat her line, “And they kept coming”. I’m only
kidding about the importance of John Winthrop’s
lines; just wanted to interject something about my
grandson. LOL
As the story in
the play unfolded about the arrival of the
Pilgrims, the settlement of the country, the
expansion toward the west and the heartbreaking
story of the War between the States, Chloe’s words
kept echoing throughout the play…..”And they kept
coming.” As one watched Chloe make her way to the
center of the stage, dressed in what we think of
as the attire of an Indian maiden, her long hair
plaited, we began to think her words even before
she spoke them ….”And they kept coming.” Except
today, our thoughts are “and they still keep
coming.”
How long before
we legal citizens, who have ancestral roots going
back generations, will be pushed out just as
Chloe’s people were?
“And they
kept coming.” Chloe’s words echo hauntingly in our
collective minds.
