An Unsafe Life
Anticipating rain, I wear my enormous rain boots out onto the Gettysburg battlefields. I won’t dread the rain or flooding today! But it doesn’t rain; it’s sunny and hot, and I find myself disappointed. I’m actually looking for deep puddles, sloshy ruts of mud, and soupy earth I might sink my boots into. I march […]
In Great Deeds Something Abides
I’m walking on the battlefields today. I’m deeply moved by Chamberlain’s words spoken at the dedication of the Monument to the 20th Maine on October 3, 1889, Gettysburg, PA. He says, “In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the […]
The Irony
I stand in a museum in Gettysburg. As I enter the room called, “The Gettysburg Address,” I feel more solemn than I expect. A simple room–nothing elaborate or majestic–painted in muted browns displays the words of that historic address. 10 sentences, less than 250 words. I examine Lincoln’s handwriting, noting his style. How could so […]