On Men's diaries...

So several years ago at a Flea Market in Cullman, Alabama I found a diary of a Mr. Charles Moon from Ohio.

Its dated 1870. 

I felt terrible for the poor journal. 

Relegated to spending its life in a flea market. 

A flea market in Cullman, no less.

How in the world did it get there?

So I bought it. 

For the most part its just about what you would expect a man to write down.

'Going to Town' Lists:

"Ella's shoes" appears several times in the diary.

As does: 

"Lace for Ella"

"Muslin for Ella"

and even "a book for Ella"

I think I would have liked this Ella character.

Of course, Mr. Moon being a man, we know nothing about her. 

We do know that Mr. Moon bought the occasional bottle of "Wiskey."

When he does journal its mostly about work he needs to do or work he hasn't done yet:

In case you can't read it it says:

"I helped Tom half a day and half a day done my choring. 

Burning brick at night and more choring after burning brick. 

Husking corn for hogs"

Every few pages he records that he "husked corn."

And what is 'burning brick?"

It's a mystery.

The next page goes on about needing to fix the floor in the school house.

 And agreeing to let the iugiqwdihu meet in the Meeting House. 

Its not a typo. 

Anywhere he used pencil instead of ink it's very hard to read. 

So I'm not sure who was going to meet in the Meeting House but they were. 

Apparently John Carey owed him some money:

Don't worry. 

He paid it off with a bushel of tomatoes and a load of wood. 

Why didn't Ella have her own tomatoes?

Why didn't he have his own wood?

Probably too busy husking corn for the hogs. 

Men...

Round about the same time I bought this journal I bought another one from the 1890's. 

It was a five year diary and the man wrote in it EVERY SINGLE DAY for 5 years. 

I found it on Ebay. 

It was the same type thing though - not much information.

I promise this was one of the weeks:

Mar 3

Pulled in extra stores from cellar

Mar 4

Went to church in wagon

Mar 5

Chopped wood

Mar 6

Daddy died.

Mar 7

Sold pig

Mar 8

Hauled trees

SAY WHAT!?

"Daddy died?!"

That's it? 

Just like it was one more fact of life. 

Sorry I can't show you pictures of it. 

I sold it on Ebay again last year. 

Its kind of a burden owning other people's diaries. 

One of my own little men likes to keep a diary. 

I think the whole "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" phenomenon has helped.

Here is the kind of stuff I see in his diary:

my name is James. 

I am 8. 

My favrot movie is Lord of the rings 2 the two towers. 

I am a snow boreder. 

I can't do triks But I can sred.

Sadly, it's written in pencil so it's not going to last.

Charles Moon wrote his diary in 1870 and its 2011 now so thats 141 years ago. 

If someone finds James' diary in the year 2152 they probably will have a tough time reading it too. 

So...

The moral of the story is to write your diaries in ink...

At least I think thats the moral. 

It could be something else entirely...

And if you are one of Charles Moon's ancestors I have a diary you can have...