Chapter 1

Just thinking about North Carolina history was enough to give Sam Jackson a  stomach ache.

 "It's nothing but boring stories about boring people doing boring things," Sam told his best friend and next-door neighbor, Kate Gonzales. Kate nodded.

"Yeah, and we've got nine whole weeks of it," she said

 She caught an acorn on the tip of her shoe and kicked it up in the air. It bounced on a car parked next to the curb and then hit the sidewalk.

"Uh, oh, you hit Mr. Dreamer's car," Sam said as he squinted at the parked car. "Can't tell if it's damaged."

 "Oh, you can't hurt that old thing," Mr. Dreamer said. The retired principal was working in his yard.

"Gosh Mr. Dreamer, I'm sorry," Kate said.

 Mr. Dreamer leaned on his rake. "No harm done, child. But – tell me – what's this I hear about you two not liking history?"

 Sam made a face. "I hate it worse than my sister's dance recital," he said glumly.

 "You know I used to hate history myself. 'Course, that was before…."

 "Before what?" Sam asked.

"Before I found out how much fun history can be," Mr. Dreamer said. "Some things you've just got to develop a taste for. Tell you what – you two come look in my garage. I'll show you what helped change my mind."

 The kids were skeptical as they followed Mr. Dreamer, especially when he showed them an old door standing upright in the middle of the floor.

  "Uh, I hate to be the one to tell you, but that door doesn't go anywhere," Kate said.

 The door in question was set in a regular door frame, but the frame wasn't in the wall. Kate walked around it, looking at the door from both sides. It was a brilliant deep crimson, with little cracks in the paint. The hinges and doorknob were tarnished, and it had an old-fashioned keyhole. Sam turned the knob.

"Locked," he said. "Boy, that's really dumb. Why'd anybody lock a door that doesn't even go anywhere?"

 "Are you sure of that, Sam? You know, things aren't always as they appear," Mr. Dreamer said.

 "Is there a key that fits it, Mr. Dreamer?" Kate asked.

Mr. Dreamer pointed to a key on a piece of yellow yarn, hung by the door, then looked at his watch.

"Oops. It's getting late. Time for you two to head home," he said. He doused the lights as they left the garage.

  * * *

 Sam looked at the clock. It was nearly ten and he couldn't sleep for thinking about the door. Finally, he climbed quietly out of bed and dressed. Kate was already waiting for him.

 "I couldn't sleep, either," she admitted.

 It wasn't planned but they somehow ended up in Mr. Dreamer's garage, where Sam removed the key from it's nail and unlocked the door. It swung open with a loud creak. But all the kids saw was the other side of the garage.

 "Can't hurt to walk through it," Sam said, pulling the yarn over his head and placing the key beneath his shirt. Then the two friends crossed through the portal.

* * *

 It was day time and a baby was crying. An oddly-dressed woman carrying a crude dish rushed past the two kids. A man called to her.

"Mistress Margery, have they a name for the babe?" the man asked. The woman nodded.

 "Yes," she said. "They will call her Virginia Dare."

Where did Mr. Dreamer's strange door go?  Why was the woman dressed so strangely?  And what was it that the door had led Kate & Sam to?!     Go to Chapter 2 to find out!!

Vocabulary Words:

principal -- The main or chief one, or the head of a public school.

principle -- A basic truth or rule.

skeptical -- The act of doubting that something is true.

brilliant -- Brightly shining or very smart or splendid.

portal -- A door or entrance.

 

Something To Talk About:

What did Mr. Dreamer mean when he said that "Things aren't always as they appear?"

Discuss the following examples:

Have you ever seen someone "crying tears of joy?"

Koalas are cute and cuddly looking, but they are wild animals with sharp claws. Is their appearance deceiving?

What about someone who tries to convince you to do something you know is wrong by making it appear fun – such as steal or lie or disobey your parents? Isn't that something that's not what it appears to be?

Did You Know?

Archaeologists have found locking doors on the ancient Egyptian temples at Karnac? This same type of lock has been used in Egypt for 40 centuries.

Locked doors and their keys were also mentioned in a famous story called "The Odyssey," which was written by a Greek named Homer. In it, Homer says a character named Penelope uses a copper and ivory key in which to open a locked storeroom.

But keys have changed a great deal over the centuries. According to historians, some ancient Roman keys were shaped like sickles and were so large they had to be carried in bunches over one's shoulder. Can you imagine having a key that big?

Parents & Teachers:

This is what a sickle looks like.

"Time On Their Hands" is a 9-part series written by Carole Moore and edited for historical accuracy by Jackson Marshall for the Newspapers in Education. It is based on North Carolina state history and The North Carolina Character Education Program. 

Written in cooperation with The North Carolina Museum of History, Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources

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