History
The Call: Remembering Souls — Cheryl
The study of history fascinates me, but it’s not the big events, the legendary battles or significant court cases that capture my attention. The individuals who, while simply living their lives, dared to stand up for justice or freedom or someone who just needed help; found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time; helped build something much bigger than themselves; or used their talents to leave behind masterpieces of art or music — they are the aspect of history that captivates me.
When my kids and I study history, we seldom turn to a textbook. None of us wants facts and dates. We want stories about real people, stories about real events and the people who might have influenced those events. Biographies, historical fiction, field trips to museums or historically significant places help us remember that real people — not schoolbook editors and publishers — created history, and are still doing it, each and every day.
The Response: Cockpit of the Enola Gay — Jessica
The best part about living in Washington D.C. is how close we are to so many important historical places and items. It does eventually become old-hat. After all civil war battle cannons do all look alike. But every now and then something will break through and really catch your attention.
Today we took the younger kids and my mother-in-law to the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Museum near Dulles Airport. It’s loaded with lots of famous planes: the stealth bomber, Discovery space shuttle, one of the last concords to fly across the Atlantic. But the most famous, or infamous, is the Enola Gay.
As you walk up to the plane, all you really see is the polished shiny silver exterior. You can see the name “Enola Gay” in big black block letters. But you have to go up to the second floor and across a bridge/walkway to be able to see inside the cockpit. And it’s there that you can imagine the events that occurred on August 6, 1945. And that is when the reality of what you are seeing causes chills.
It’s the details that bring history home.
Yes, I agree with you Cheryl. It is the details and the people that are the most fascinating aspect of “history.” : )