So, a couple years ago I picked up a really old book of poetry from a used book store in Texas. I like poetry, I like old books. And this one was about two dollars. How could I pass it up? (and this is pretty old. Copyrighted in 1920).
On the inside cover was written a name and an address:
Robert L. Gilbert
1632 Ky. St.
Lawrence, Kan.
and at the bottom of that page was written: Beirut, Syria.
Naturally I became curious, started to do a google search. And on a Kansas territorial history website I found several documents that belonged to this very man. Apparently he was English studying in Yoxford Academy (i'm still trying to figure out if that is a typo or not). There is a copy of a letter he wrote his parents about how school was going. Apparently Geometry is an amusing science. The next year he immigrated to the USA and settled down in Kansas, volunteered for the state militia and defended the Kansas territories only weeks after arriving.
I'm somewhat fascinated by this man and wished there was a way I could learn more about him.
And my next goal is to figure out what he has to do with Beirut, Syria.
This really goes to show that everyone has their own story. The people around us are not blank faces in our world. The are the center of their own fascinating world, with just as much life and love as we have.
All this from a book of poems that somehow ended up in Texas.
Oh, in case anyone else is interested, the website is:
http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=keyword&submit=&search=&startsearchat=0&searchfor=&printerfriendly=&county_id=&topic_id=&document_id=101591&selected_keyword=Gilbert,%20Robert%20L.
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