The Beauty and the Wealth of a Land of Desolation

Teegate

Administrator
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Sep 17, 2002
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A very nice article Ben. His last sentence has come true, good or bad.

Perhaps some day, in some effective fashion, they will turn their attention from the salt sea of the east to the sandy sea at the west, and make it something more than the home of the huckleberry, the land of scrub timber, and the playground of forest fires.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Most of us don't speak Latin so it won't matter anyway :D

That actually was well written. I wish I could write like that. I don't even think that way.

Guy
 

Ben Ruset

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Oct 12, 2004
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www.benruset.com
I was describing that article to a friend who used to teach English at Rutgers. I called it "flowing prose" and he said I was crazy; that it was more like "meandering" prose. He has a point. It's very old, anachronistic, and likely confusing to 99% of today's readers who are used to the "short declarative sentences" of Strunk & White.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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There is a member of this site who writes like this, or at least in my opinion they do. I always find it interesting.
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,019
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Pestletown, N.J.
What a great find Ben. Very interesting and well written.
What impressed me the most was the level of detail the author portrayed in all of his observations.

My favorite line of all :

But with the same oars you vainly try to fathom the depths below, where silvery grasses wave and quartz pebbles glitter like snow, or glow blood red with the iron that impregnates these sands..
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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But with the same oars you vainly try to fathom the depths below, where silvery grasses wave and quartz pebbles glitter like snow, or glow blood red with the iron that impregnates these sands..


So true.
 

pineywoman

Explorer
Aug 24, 2012
427
48
Hey hey hey!! They mentioned my Irish lover, the Duke of Gloster (should be Gloucester) but hey that made me happy. I like the article and how it still translates to the Pine Barrens today. A truly untouched serene beauty. It is what I love most about NJ.
 

pineywoman

Explorer
Aug 24, 2012
427
48
Um, what didn't he do? In reference to the realm of the Duke of Gloster. He was the largest political power in NJ history and mostly South Jersey. He's the guy I've talked about prior on the Hessian burials. Jerseyman and I were discussing. He built the racetrack, boardwalks, and the largest pleasure resort in the world with amusement park attractions. The largest ferris wheel at the time and botanical gardens that were talked about all over the country. He even purchased ferries and fisheries. Masses like in the tens of thousands traveled to Gloucester daily.

I've been delving into more of his history lately. He died poor and desolate. His amusement park burned down twice and lost gambling rights to the horse track because his power was overthrown in government. In the article, you wrote about Thompson (The Duke of Gloucester) was at the height of his reign in South Jersey. Was nice to see him mentioned because no one knows who this guy is and the impact he had in South Jersey in general.
 
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