by Leslie Cox; Sunday; October 8, 2017

For as far back as I can remember as a child growing up, the following poem was recited as grace before each evening meal…not just at Thanksgiving.

Some hae meat and canna eat, –
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

~ Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)

Maternal history on my father’s side lays claim to publishing a centennial printing of Robbie Burns’ first book of poems titled Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. The original volume, often referred to as the Kilmarnock volume or Kilmarnock edition, was published on July 31, 1786 by a printer named John Wilson. My grandmother’s grandfather, David Brown (1831 – 1893), and great-grandfather, also David Brown (1782 – 1857), were both printers in Kilmarnock, Scotland.