Ever wonder about how big the Mayflower was for 130 people or how Trinity View compared with 120?

The comparisons are striking. Those numbers include the crew of the Mayflower, about 30, and the staff of our residence here, about 40.

The Mayflower was about 100 by 25 or 2500 square feet on the main deck. Each of the six main hallways of our quarters here are 24 by 210 or 5040 square feet, that is, twice the sleeping space of the boat. The passengers slept in shifts. Here we get to leave our spacious halls and sleep in our rooms and complain about the noise.

Hang on, there are a number of interesting comparisons even if you don’t want to envision sleeping habits in small quarters.

The Puritans wanted to set sail for America, but there weren’t enough of them to finance a vessel, so they hired a wheeler-dealer, we would call them marketing, to engage others to join the trip. In addition to 40 some Separatists, as they were also called, there were 14 indentured servants, and 31 “Strangers”, and the crew. Trinity View’s residents are a mixed bag, but mainly older folks who have found a pleasant place to stay, no longer strangers. And there is more room. Tell your friends to check with “marketing”.

At Plymouth the seafarers met an Indian who spoke good English. Squanto had been captured, brought to Europe as a slave and was taught English. Trinity View has one resident who jumped out of an airplane shot down over North Korea and walked back to safety, but I’m not sure Bob Devereaux learned any Korean.

Like others here at Trinity View, Faye Doell and Dorothy Covucci being two, they tried similar local settlements and found themselves fortunate to land here. Stephen Hopkins landed earlier at Jamestown in Virginia, but returned to England, married and caught a ride on the Mayflower. He was the only one able to compare experiences.

But all is not perfect; one John Billington who arrived on the Mayflower was hanged in 1630 for killing a colonist from a later voyage. There was a lot of contention here during the recent elections but only rarely did anyone resort to violence.

The Plymouth settlement, despite its Separatists origins was relatively tolerant of dissent, ignoring Mr. Billlington, of course. The tradition continues here at Trinity View with a wide variety of theological leanings, or lack thereof.

I’ve also read that the passengers on the Mayflower bided there sixty-six day seafaring playing games and cards and drinking from the well-supplied alcohol. Not to disparage any Puritans, but I should point out that liquids for drinking are at a premium on salt water.

How about you Trinity Viewers? Enjoy playing games? Enjoy your Thanksgiving! And be thankful for Trinity View!

Katie Scarvey

Author Katie Scarvey

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