I have discovered as an adult that I love history. I think it’s amazing to think that I may have walked in the same footsteps as people like Eleanor Roosevelt at Valkill, where my husband and I lived before it became a historic site. I am as thrilled to think about this connection with Washington Irving, author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” For my second book’s research, I returned to his home, Sunnyside, and enjoyed a spirited and fact-filled tour from a young guide named Tess. I also visited the Irving Family plot in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery for the first time. For the first time? What was I doing in my eighteen years there before leaving for college? I guess I was too busy with school and activities and crushing on boys. (I did a lot of that!) I did stop crushing long enough to shake Bobby Kennedy’s hand when he was running to be a New York Senator. I never realized, growing up in the towns, how close I was to history. I feel so fortunate to enjoy it now.
“Til next time,
Barbara
