photo credit
A few years ago, Hannah and I were discussing some of the terrible events of World War II. We spoke of great evil, and great heroism.
I was surprised at her depth of understanding when she told me something along the lines of: “Mom, I hate that Hitler and the people that believed in him did all those terrible things. He hurt people and that makes me really sad. But because of him people like Corey Ten Boom and Winston Churchill did great things to really help people. And because of them, I want to help people too.”
At only nine years old, but with innocent wisdom, she taught me something important. In times of great darkness, there will be many that choose to turn up the light.
There is goodness and beauty in this world, even in the face of evil. Sometimes especially in the face of evil.
The acts of bravery, heroism, and kindness that were committed in Boston yesterday are an inspiration to me. They are the bright, shining lights in the darkness, and the things I am trying to hold to.
“And because of them, I want to help people too.”
Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?
— J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird
Boston Marathon – Eyewitness Account
Bravery in Boston: Heroes, helpers and Hope
Boston Marathon Explosions: The Heroes Who Responded to the Blasts
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Can you believe we drove a straight 3500 miles last month? All the way across America. 3500 miles with no incidents other than a dead battery and a defective cargo carrier.
And then in the last week I’ve been in two car accidents!
Well, one car accident and one car incident.
Yes, just this evening while pulling out of a parking spot at Wal-Mart (oh, how I hate that store!) I failed to notice the woman pulling out behind me. And she failed to notice me. We tapped bumpers. (I’m fine.)
Yes, I was driving the rental car given to me while my car is being repaired. So there’s that added layer of embarrassment and paperwork. Ugh.
As a result, I have decided to retreat back into the relative safety of that 3500 miles and post a bit more about it.
Why? Because you, oh surfers of the internet, have asked for it.
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Contemplating a long drive? My family and I have driven all the way across America. Twice. For travel tips, click here.
Mileage: 353
Total mileage: 3048
Today’s time in car: 6 hours 40 minutes
Starting from: Salt Lake City, Utah
Ending in: Boise, Idaho
States visited: Utah, Idaho
Today’s boredom buster:
room service
Mood: reminiscent
Today we ended our tour of Mormon history with visits to the Museum of Mormon History and Art and Temple Square.
On our walk to the museum we saw people setting up for an Easter egg hunt in front of the Salt Lake Art Museum. I felt a bit sad that we would be traveling on Easter. I had arranged for the Easter Bunny to pay a visit to our house before we moved. And tomorrow we will attend church. We will also spend some time talking about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Maybe even listen to Handel’s Messiah in the car, but I felt like we would be mostly ignoring the holiday this year.
So I was delighted when a woman with a box full of plastic eggs noticed us and insisted we come join in the hunt. She even went so far as to find a bag for Abby to put her eggs in.
Abby was thrilled.
When we resumed our walk to the Mormon history Museum, Abby was clutching a plastic bag full of Easter cheer.
Thank you, kind lady!
After our brief morning in Salt Lake, we drove north to visit my brother and his family. We enjoyed a couple of hours of good conversation with Bart, his wife Gwen, and their teenage son, Derek who Abby may or may not have developed a crush on.
We left, supplied with Uncrustables, Girl Scout Cookies, Twinkies, Orange soda and plans for a reunion this summer. I’m already looking forward to it.
Before leaving Utah, we stopped by the little house my Grandmother had lived in for all of her adult life (pictured above). I felt as though I could run up to the door and announce “Grandma, we’re here!” like so many times before, but I know the house is empty. Instead I took a few pictures and remembered her.
Then we turned west again and drove on.
Tomorrow: Oregon
Contemplating a long drive? My family and I have driven all the way across America. Twice. For travel tips, click here.
We are on day two of our 3000 mile trek back to Oregon.
As we do not intend to drive all the way across the US again, ever, we decided to plan many of our stops around places of historic interest, even if they take us a bit out of the way.
The first part of our journey will be focused on early Mormon history.
I’ll post whenever I can get a good connection. Please don’t expect much out of Wyoming.
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