This awkward looking title stands for a book, movie and author that have been in my heart since childhood. Both of my parents, and most of the country, were reading and discussing a book about Georgia by an unknown Georgia author. “Gone With the Wind” quickly became number one on all best sellers list and remained there for many years. During this time, I was longing to get my hands on my mother’s copy of the book. Eavesdropping was how I learned my mother’s reasoning. The book was inappropriate for a young lady to read because of the last sentence in the book. I found a way to sneak some reading while she was at work. I did not find the sentence of Rhett to Scarlett at all astonishing. I wondered if my mother thought this to be the worst word I would ever read. Margaret Mitchell became my heroine. Through the years, I have reread GWTW many times and seen the movies at every chance. A week ago, I had another chance, and for almost four hours (with a short intermission), I was as emotionally involved as my first time of seeing the devastation of my beloved Atlanta and the burning and destruction as Sherman swept through my home state. The war ended in 1866. We lost…but the reconstruction was needlessly cruel. This shameful time was 159 years ago, but in my ancestry, it was only three generations. In the Proctor plot in the Swainsboro city cemetery is a small monument for Amos Moses Proctor. This was given by the family in memory of the sacrifice of a nineteen-year-old boy from Canoochee who served in the 28th regiment of Georgia volunteers. I feel sure that he did not understand the politics of this war but only wanted to support Georgia and Canoochee. One of the legends I have heard was that he survived the war and walked home from where he had last served. Amos Moses was my great-grandfather. Have you ever heard of a little Georgia boy bearing the name Sherman? Write to Shirley at sptwiss@gmail.com.
