Nearly a year ago, I dreamt about a family traveling west on the Oregon Trail. The dream seemed so real that I began writing a novel, Enchanted Journal, based on it.
The Oregon Trail, its end at Oregon City, and the characters in Enchanted Journal fascinated me. I almost immediately began writing a sequel, Pony Express, about settling into Oregon City that features Will Anderson, who was introduced towards the end of Enchanted Journal. Pony Express is nearly ready for publication.
[An excerpt from Chapter 1 “The Journal”, of “Enchanted Journal”, ; Copyright 2022, Gordon S. Buck.]
Chapter 1: The Journal – April 8, 1859, Friday
Abigail Roberts was picking berries—or rather searching for them on the Oregon Trail. After only a week on the dusty trail, Abigail already yearned for her Tennessee home. She could always find berries back home; here, she had to keep their covered wagon in sight and berries were few and far between. Still, she was not about to wander any farther, especially after Jeff Cromwell stared hungrily at her as she attempted to slip out of camp unseen. Her hand dropped for the comfort of the sharp patch knife hidden in her trousers. I’ve got to tell Papa that Jeff scares me.
Abigail pulled her felted hat lower in a futile attempt to block the sun’s glare. Yielding to a strange urge, she stepped out of the wagon wheel rut and turned to her left. What was behind those bushes? A book? The thin brown book lying in the sandy dust seemed to invite her and wait for her to pick it up. Abigail could almost hear it. “Read me. I can help you.”
Why would anyone throw a book away? Although some emigrants were already reducing their wagon loads by discarding heavy items, no one would toss a book at this stage. Books carried weight in entertainment and in silver.
Calling for closer examination, the brown leather journal was irresistible. How long had it been lying there? Abigail picked it up between her thumb and forefinger. It was not wet, rotten, or smelly—just dusty, like everything else on the trail. She gingerly placed it in her open palm, careful not to damage it, and thumbed through the still pliable pages. The first few pages contained writing, but the rest of the sheets were blank.
March 25,1843
This is my personal diary and stories from my adventure on the Oregon Trail beginning today.
It has begun! We left our home in Tennessee today and are on our way to Independence, Missouri, to join an Oregon Trail wagon train. This may well be the adventure of my life!
We sold everything and packed our wagon full of supplies and equipment. We will use our farm wagon and mules for now. Poppa says we will trade for oxen in Independence, but first, we must get to Memphis to catch a steamboat. I have never even seen a steamboat, but soon I will be on one!
Of course, Momma is worried. Truth be known, she would rather stay near family and friends, but Poppa is restless and excited to move to Oregon. He talks about our “Manifest Destiny” to make all North America part of the United States.
From Memphis, we go up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri, and then take the Missouri River to Independence. We will get more supplies in Independence for the long trail.
I can scarcely wait to be on the trail! What will I do? Who will I meet?
*****
After a few pages, the writing ceased and Abigail studied her surroundings. Abigail’s family was in the same location as Milli Madison’s family had stopped years ago. Poor thing, I bet she was sad to lose her journal. Looks like she only wrote in it for a few days. But I’ll take good care of it. I’ll read it tonight. It will become my journal.
On her way back to their encampment with half a handful of berries, Abigail considered her own situation. Almost exactly seventeen years after Milli Madison, she, too, left Tennessee on a similar mission and route, their prairie schooner loaded with much of the same equipment. However, whereas Milli was excited about her journey, Abigail was not. She wished they had not left Tennessee, but what else could she do? Like her brother and sister, and even her mother, she had to follow her father’s wishes.
Fifteen years old, Abigail Roberts was the oldest child of Michael and Alice Roberts. More than a tomboy, she was tall and slim, but strong and hardened by farm work. Abigail helped her mother in the kitchen, but also cooked entire meals on her own. Her mother and father taught her to manage the farm, farmhouse, and family. Abigail would make an excellent farm wife; however, none of the boys or young men in their small community attracted her.
With Milli’s journal in her hand, Abigail recalled the gleam in her father’s eyes when he bought Randolph Marcy’s book “Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions.” More than read, Michael studied the handbook late that night, his calloused hands turning pages forward and backward. All the next day, he talked about the wisdom of the handbook as they worked in the fields. After her father finished the handbook, he insisted Abigail read it. Then he read it again. At that point, Abigail knew they would head west, and she dreaded it.
Abigail sighed as she remembered her father’s decision and their preparations for the Oregon Trail.
Fair warning: This is a rant.
I had to stop all comments because a certain person continually entered fake comments just to promote his own websites. I don’t understand how or why this person does this, but the only way I could prevent it was to not allow comments on all my posts.
I’ll leave this post open to comments so I can test my latest options for preventing spam. If your website or email address uses words like ‘hairstyle’, ‘hair’, ‘style’, ‘hairstylevip’, etc. then you may not be able to comment – at least I hope so.
Of course, the spammer does not actually read my posts, so this message may go unnoticed, but I’ll leave this post up for a few days and see what happens.
I’m asking for favors. If you read and enjoyed one of my recently published novels: “Timepath,” or “Viking Princess” please go to the Amazon site and leave a rating and a review. Thanks in advance.
[An excerpt from Chapter 1 “Introductions”, “The Viking Princess”, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MYSS2T1. Copyright 2021, Gordon S. Buck.]
“No wonder they call you ‘The Viking Princess.’”
Fiona was leaning over the desk and reaching for a book on the top shelf, her long, wavy auburn hair falling off her shoulder and hanging to the desk when Mary came in.
Fiona’s welcoming smile disappeared. “I’m a Scot, no a Viking. Vikings disappeared centuries ago.”
The 1970 fall semester was into its third week at Mississippi University, and student routines were taking shape. Students re-acquainted themselves and made new friends in the process. Fiona was Mary’s newest friend; they roomed on the same floor of the dormitory and had met on the first day of the semester. A six feet one-inch tall beauty, Fiona towered over Mary, a short, plain brunette.
“You know you’re a Scot, but to most people, you’re a Viking.”
Fiona made no bones about it. She was exceedingly proud of her Scottish ancestry. Scottish landscapes, castles, and the poetry of Robert Burns adorned her dormitory room walls. She was raised in Aberdeen, where her late father had been an extremely successful business owner.
“Anyway, I think ‘Viking Princess’ is an excellent description. You certainly look the part, and I mean that in the most positive way.”
Fiona regained her smile. “Weel, if others see me that way, I suppose I must become a Viking Princess.”
“I wish I could get books off the top shelf.”
Fiona smiled and sat down, holding her book. Mary sat beside her in a frilly lace-covered guest chair.
As Mary expected, Fiona had been alone and deep in study at her desk. As far as Fiona was concerned, Sunday nights were for studying––as were all nights.
“What’s on your mind?” asked Fiona. Mary sensed Fiona wanted to return to her studies, but Mary had a discussion in mind.
“I want to introduce a friend of mine to you,” Mary began. “In fact, he’s my best friend. We were neighbors and grew up together.”
“He?” Fiona peeped up from her desk. “Is this the same boy ye wanted to introduce to me the day we met?”
“Well, yes, but then I wanted to show you off and watch his reaction.”
“Mary, I must concentrate on my studies and no on my social life. This is my first semester. That’s why I’m no getting out much. It may be next semester or even next year until I feel like circulating––much less dating. I dinna ken.”
Mary argued, “Now that I know you better, you definitely should meet Alexander. Believe me, you will like him. Besides, you need to overcome your shyness and do something other than study. He can help you.” She smiled.
My second novel, “The Viking Princess: College Romance in 1970,” has been published on Amazon, see https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MYSS2T1 . No, I didn’t crank it out in a couple of weeks. In 2021, I actually wrote two novels. Here’s the explanation.
In writing “Timepath: Nature Abhors a Paradox”, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LGV94RL, I needed lots of study and help and signed up for online classes. Then I needed a practice novel for the online classes, so I created “Viking Princess”—a ridiculous “Hallmark Movie” kind of novel in which anything is possible. “Viking Princess” soon turned into a romance novel and, rather than change its genre, I determined to take on the challenge and finish it.
“Viking Princess” was a lot of fun to write and I was encouraged to publish it. Why not? I hired an artist and described the characters and scenes. Seeing her illustrations convinced me to publish “Viking Princess.”
*****
Fiona is an auburn-haired Scottish orphan called ‘Viking Princess’ because of her height, beauty and regal bearing. She is a serious, but shy, fine art student and keeps to herself. Fiona stereotypes football players as dumb bullies. Her new friend, Mary, wants to introduce Fiona to her best friend, Alexander.
Alexander is the Big Man on Campus. A handsome engineering student and star football player, his ambition is to become an inventor. Everything is easy for Alexander. Mary describes Fiona as ‘having a good personality’—intentionally not mentioning her beauty — and Alexander reluctantly agrees to meet her.
As they become acquainted, Fiona and Alexander must overcome cultural differences, jealousy, punishment for PDA, harassment, and family.
A friend, knowing my interest in knives and growing interest in cooking, introduced me to the large “Serbian Chef Knife” via the AlmazanKitchen cooking channel on YouTube. Although the recipes and cooking were entertaining (it’s a popular channel), I was more intrigued by their very large chef’s knife which looks like a rounded off cleaver. Thinking to purchase one, I discovered that it carried a very expensive list price but was deeply “discounted”.
After reading up a bit on the knife, I’ve found quite a few copies being sold at a much lower price. Of course, some say the copies are no good and some say they are just as good. I decided to find out for myself. I first ordered an authentic Almazan Kitchen Original Knife; $147 without sheath. It looks nice and feels good but was very dull. Next I ordered the lowest priced look alike knife from Amazon: XYJ Full Tang Serbian Knife 3CR13 Stainless Steel Butcher Chef Knife for $16. It is slightly smaller and thinner than the Almazan Kitchen Original Knife but arrived quite sharp. I also ordered a Promithi Full Tang Forged Handmade Professional Kitchen Chef Knife from Amazon for $36. It has a slightly different shape from the Almazan Kitchen Original Knife but also arrived quite sharp. Finally, I ordered the 3/32” thick Almazan Chef Style Kitchen Knife from Spain in the optional Damascus metal.
Here are links to the knives I purchased:
The following knives look similar although some have a few more curves to the shape:
Almasi – $90; no sheath
VKY Knife- $58; with sheath
Ken Fuyuki Serbian Chef’s Knife – $70; no sheath
Promaja – $85; with sheath
Nakiri Knife – $48; no sheath
Jaka – $98; no sheath
Zeekka Serbian Meat Cleaver and Original Serbian Chef Knife – $130
Master Snazan Serbian Knife – $85; no sheath
Mr. Teuchi Serbian Knife – $90 no sheath.
A number of knife makers have made their own variations of the “Serbian Chef Knife”. Their starting point is often an old saw blade or leaf spring. Here are a few links to various DIY Serbian Chef Knives:
Almazan bıçağı – Knife Making – Serbian Chef Knife (Almazan)
CUTELO SKULL
Making Almazan damascus kitchen knife.
You can even purchase a blade blank and make your own!
I conducted tests on my knives and made a video describing the knives and tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKsq-teX0PM&t=18s
Some test results are summarized below:
Who invented or developed or even was first to use the Serbian Chef Knife is controversial. I suspect that the Almazan Kitchen Original Knife was first. The Almazan Kitchen Original Knife folks make a strong claim to have developed the Serbian Chef Knife and claim that all others are “fake”.
Almazan is the surname of Boki and Alex Almazan from Serbia. Their knife can only be ordered from them – there are no retailers. Their trademark application was entered on 2017-11-25 by Aleksandar Almazan. The mark consists of a shaded illustration of a tomato containing the wording “ALMAZAN KITCHEN” written in stylized text. The word mark is “Almazan Kitchen”.
The first time the Almazan Kitchen Original Knife was shown online was in their “How to Make Quesadilla…” video published on Feb 3, 2016. This video is no longer available on their YouTube channel. The knife used in the next several videos does not look like their Almazan Kitchen Original Knife. The Almazan Kitchen Original Knife appeared again on May 29, 2016 but there were no comments or sales pitch for the knife. It looks to me like by October 19, 2017 that the Almazan Kitchen Original Knife had taken shape and people were beginning to comment on it. The October 21, 2017 video is the “All Others are FAKE” video. Judging by the comments, knives had been available for purchase for several months before October 2017.
It turns out that there is a city in Spain named Almazan and that bladesmiths have been making knives there since 1985 using 18th century blacksmith techniques. However, I think that Almazan Spain did not begin making “Serbian Chef” knives until 2017.
As noted previously, there are now many “Serbian Chef Knives” for sale.
In a random survey of whoever was around, many people preferred knife #3, the Promithi, based on its look and feel but a few preferred knife #1, the Almazan Serbia, or #4, the Almazan Spain. Often people commented that knife #2, the TYJ, seemed a bit heavy.
Which knife do I use? If there is an audience, I’ll use knife #1, the Almazan Serbia, and tell the story of the outdoor chefs and their YouTube channel. Then I might drag out the Almazan Spain knife to show off the Damascus blade. If there’s no audience, then frankly, I’ll use my Wustoff Santoku knife – it just obviously cuts better.
For many years, I worked with a device called a “mechanical seal” – kind of a large and expensive version of the seal in your automobile water pump. I’ve been intrigued by these devices ever since I first saw one in the early 1970s. Some people have even said that mechanical seals were more like my hobby than my job.
In retirement (3 years now!), I’m still interested in mechanical seals and have put (much of) what I know on a web site: “SealFAQs”. Although my web site is not finished (and may never be), I’ve decided to announce it and open it to the public: SealFAQs.com .
Really, I’m just bragging but SealFAQs was a lot of work. If you happen to be or know someone who deals with centrifugal pumps or mechanical seals, please tell them to check out SealFAQs.com.
When I was a Junior in high school, my parents gave me a set of Craftsman tools. I still have them; in fact, I still have all of them. One day my dad put my young son up to asking me how many of those tools I had lost. I replied, “Well, none” and my dad just laughed – says something or other about me, I suppose. Until recently, I’d never lost a pocketknife either but that’s another story.
The story behind my Craftsman tools is that we had an old Chevy, my dad’s “work car” that needed an engine overhaul. When my dad was not using the car, I considered to be my car. Of course, my sister considered it her car but, again, another story.
With the new tools, my dad’s guidance and funding, my friend David Ayers and I went to work on the old Chevy. We didn’t have a garage so the overhaul was done in the front yard. We didn’t have a means for removing the engine so we removed the hood and left the engine in place. Our primary objective was to replace the piston rings and re-seat the valves. Soon the engine was completely disassembled – and that’s when the weather turned cold and the snow began to fall.
South Mississippi does not get much snow but David and I had the bad luck to schedule an outdoor overhaul during a record snowfall. The snowfall was 5 to 12 inches in South Mississippi and temperatures were in the low 20s.
My dad needed the car to return to work but, more importantly, David and I had arranged for a “double date”. We needed that car – and soon. My mother still laughs about the memory of David and I working in the snow for a while then coming into the house, standing over the floor furnace to warm up, drinking hot chocolate and then returning to the job. We did manage to get the car working in time for my dad to use it but without a car and with heavy snow on the ground the dates were cancelled.
That set of Craftsman tools is a box full of memories.
I worked for John Crane Inc. for 28 years and retired nearly two years ago. The “Great Flood of 2016” has affected a number of my previous co-workers but, fortunately, not me. A fund has been established to help the John Crane employees in the Baton Rouge office. Please consider contributing to the fund: https://www.gofundme.com/JCBatonRouge
