Mr. Washington to My Rescue!

These past four nights I have been overcome with sickness. A mere cold, but completely miserable nonetheless.

George has stayed by my side every minute and kept me comfortable through my misery, telling me stories, further allowing me to understand his life. He's brought me soothing black teas infused with orange rind, and rosehips, and attempted to revive my health with delicious soups and rosemary breads.

I asked if he would tell me of his life away from home, when he was but my age (perhaps a little older), and it seemed as if he had lots of adventures to share. He documented everything in his records. He did attend church at some points, though not as many times as I'm sure his wife would have liked. He did find time for the luxuries of the more artistic lifestyle, which meant that he found himself dancing the night away at three different balls in one year, as well as warming the seats of the theater as he was able to attend two plays during the year of 1768.

He asked if I'd ever been to the circus, and I replied that yes, I had indeed, however I was much younger and didn't remember it. His idea of a circus was being present not only for such silly things as puppet shows and cockfights, but also being the esteemed visitor of a lioness and tiger and elk (oh my!).

He of course didn't put too much stock in revelry, as for the fact that in 1776, his first battlefield victory with The Continental Army took place as he led 9,000 men across Manhattan and succeeded in driving the British back away from taking over the land during the Battle of Harlem Heights. Ironically enough, the word Harlem was actually synonymous with the idea of elegant living from thenceforth on into the early 19th century. How interesting that Harlem is now deeply associated with the lifestyle of crime and poverty.

I didn't realize the T.V. was droning on quietly in the background as we sat and talked - a blanket tucked in tightly around me, my box of tissues dwindling as more crumpled tissues gathered about my lap. George looked over at the T.V. in bemusement, and quickly turned to me with his eyes aglow. A smirk spread across his thin lips, his cheeks drawing higher and higher toward his temples, and his eyebrows arched a little as I knew he was about to tell me another one of his stories.

"What is this display of motion pictures on your screen?", he asked in an amused manner.
I replied: "Well, it's a sitcom, a sort of - um, parody of life, if you will. This particular show is called The Office - in a nutshell, it's a show about a paper manufacturer and the mundane, but humorous things that happen in their office every day."

Not knowing why this particular show managed to catch his attention, and stumbling through my explanation, not sure of how to explain the ins-and-outs of television to someone like George with just a few sentences, I started to open my mouth and trip through a deepened explanation, when he cut me off.

"I was curious because of the name of the company "Dunder Mifflin" in this show The Office - as you call it - I find it to bring back smiles. Did you know, a dear friend of mine, through politics and war, was Mr. Thomas Mifflin who did indeed, manage to do quite a bit of good for our government."

George did it again. He some how managed to tie our lives together. Here I am, with a sitcom on television that I find to be quite humorous, and here he is, linking this silly show back to someone whom he revered in friendship. Mr. Mifflin was one of George's first four advisers and together they created the Board of War to further solidify the ever changing congressional committees that supplied their armies with instruction and discipline. With this board, they established a uniform system of diligence among the soldiers, a required drill system, and the art of maneuvering through war.

Though I was enjoying the evening thoroughly, and begged him to stay a little longer, George tucked me into bed and bid me good night as he wished for me to get more rest to aid in a healthy recovery. I'm sure he'll visit again tomorrow and we'll have much to talk about.