A History Lesson

JVM-So far our travels have taken us over the surface of many roads through many historical places. From Pennsylvania through New York and Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Maryland and finally back here to D.C. All of which have taught me alot about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and for that I'm grateful. Those battles were important to the founding and steadying of our country, however they always seemed very far removed from my own history. Being a first generation American, my forefathers were not a part of any of that history since they were still in the Netherlands. So today as we toured the Holocaust Museum the road travelled was one below the surface. As I watched the very first presentation I was struck with the reality of it. It was moving. It was sickening. It was sad. How could anyone muster that kind of hate toward another human. It was hard to see and hear about for many reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that my dad was on one of those trains. He only told the story to me once because it gave him terrible nightmares, but had that train taken a right at the fork instead of a left, I might not be writing this right now. The lefthand turn, you see, meant he went to a work camp(from which he escaped) instead of a death camp. The word 'blessed' means more to me today than it did yesterday.