A History For Today

In the city centre of Amsterdam there is a building I hope to visit one day. For now though, I have dedicated this, 2015, as the year of Anne Frank on The Insightful Wanderer and Her Headache. When I learned traveling exhibits of Anne Frank and of Holocaust remembrance would be coming to Kitchener and Stratford, Ontario, (being that this year is the celebration of seventy years of the end of World War II, starting with the discovery and liberation of Auschwitz and the liberation of the people of the Netherlands, of which Anne, sadly, was not one of them.) I knew I had to get involved. If only she had held on just a few months more, her camp too was found and American and other forces would appear to save all who remained imprisoned within. Canadian soldiers were liberating her country that very spring. I can get angry, that she and her family couldn’t hold on, but that is how it was for so many others. Otto, the father was the only one to survive from those that hid in that small collection of rooms in that unassuming building back in Amsterdam. I have known the history of World War II for a long time. I wanted to learn all I could from my own family, but it wasn’t always easy to get the facts from my grandmother. HEr accent mixed with her broken up stories, made it difficult. I don’t know what she held back, but she was happy that her children and us grandchildren were born into a time and place: Canada and peace. That’s it really, as simple as that. You can’t choose when or where you are born. You can not pick which time in history you come into the story. Wars happen and those unlucky enough to find themselves tangled up in conflicts they don’t understand are often helpless pons. There is so much I could say about my insightful experience with this traveling exhibit. I know anne’s story very well. I very nearly don’t know where to begin or where to stop myself. I want to cry. I want to scream. I want to help. It’s more than seventy years too late, but I can write about it. I can keep talking about it because it’s important that I do so. A History For Today sums it up perfectly. Why did I want to get involved, in some small way? ** Well, I am a human being, first of all. It isn’t difficult for me to empathize and to feel a connection to these events. ** I can relate, in my own way, to the perils of discrimination and prejudice and…

Water Is…

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.” —Margaret Atwood It’s my favourite thing to drink. My favourite animals are anything that lives in it. Most of this planet is covered in it. The human body is made up of mostly this one thing. In 1993 the UN established World Water Day. The theme of this day for 2015 is Sustainable Development. I am one of the lucky ones. I have never gone without it. I can go to any of multiple taps in my home, turn one on, and out it comes. I can stand under a hot stream of it, shower or bathe when I choose to. I can buy it in a store. So many now do this. So many others must think us crazy. I have stood and watched thousands of gallons of water crash over Niagara Falls. I have swam in all my country’s Great Lakes and gone on a boat ride down a river in Germany. I have stood at the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland, Florida, Cuba, and New York. I have crossed bridges: separating Windsor in Canada and Detroit in the US. I’ve watched fireworks displays above it. I have stood on the rocks and watched whales surface on the St. Lawrence. I have stood on a beach, in California, driving in a car along the famous PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). I have flown over the Atlantic Ocean more than once; all that water and its vast expanse down below. Standing on a frozen pond in winter, I marvel at how what once was water is now frozen solid, abel to support my weight as I stand and barely skate; not for lack of trying though. I may one day get over my fear of it, but probably not. It sustains me, us all, but its fury and power frightens me. At the same time, its beauty provides me with endless inspiration for my writing, for my imagination, and my travel goals. The sound of the waves is my ultimate peace. The tides and the currents that mold and have shaped our planet are beyond my ability to grasp. I take it for granted. I know I do. I heard a program on television last weekend about the lack…

I’ll Be Back

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” -Nelson Mandela I was asked to participate in a travel blog hop of sorts by a travel blogger and here is her post: 5 PLACES I NEED TO RETURN. I am new to this travel blogging world and I thought this would be a good way to get involved and to share some other traveler’s stories and memories as well as my own. I had done a literary blog hop before, Here, but this is all about the Five Places I Would Return on my future travels, if I ever do get the chance again. *** 1. The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland: Dingle, A Visitor’s Guide. I discovered this place, strictly by accident, on my dream trip to Ireland a few years back. Our bus stopped in a pretty, charming little town on one of the final days of the tour. The name Dingle immediately drew me in and I did not want to leave. To top it all off this place is located in County Kerry. I fit right in. My name is spelled exactly the same way. Whether it was passing the home of Dolores O’Riordan from one of my favourite bands The Cranberries – Ode To My Family, the lovely shops and pubs, or the mascot dolphin Funjie who calls the bay his home; I was hooked. I stood there on a rock, overlooking the water, and I did not want to leave. Funjie On Facebook. 2. Belfast, Ireland: Visit Belfast. I had to choose two places in Ireland because I can not choose just one. Impossible! I only spent one night, less than twenty-four hours there, but Belfast intrigued me and I wished I had more time to explore the history, the culture, and the places. There is still a lot of turmoil and bad blood between the citizens, even after the difficult past events. It has improved, but I felt a sense of tension in the streets as I learned about all that had taken place between Protestants and Catholics. Naively, I wanted to make it all okay for everyone. I know there is a lot more there to explore. It is said that: “Titanic Belfast isn’t a museum. It’s an experience.” and I missed it by less than a year. Titanic Belfast. I must see this place. 3. The Maritimes, Canada: Maritimes, Wikipedia. Okay, so I was only two at the time, but I did make the trip out east, here in Canada, to visit almost all of the eastern provinces with my family. We were in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince…

A GREAT Summer Adventure

A GREAT Summer Adventure The idea came to us as we bobbed in the warm calm waters of Lake Erie. It was the first long weekend of the season, the holiday weekend at the end of May although technically still not officially summer. We only planned to spend the afternoon at the beach and then suddenly it became more, a plan the two of us cooked up together. The two of us, alone in a car for an entire week would be an interesting test of our developing relationship. Six months into this budding relationship would test us and teach us, a once-in-a-lifetime idea to swim in all five of the Great Lakes by summer’s end. Three of the five: Michigan, Superior, Huron (over seven days), capping it off with Ontario. *** We cross over the border and a charming little Michigan town is our first stop: Main Street; ice cream parlours and boardwalks; and a fireworks display; driving the road until we find our own private spot in between sand dunes. The water is so clear to the sandy bottom. The clean clear view of and in those waters and the couple celebrating an anniversary on their favourite spot. Would that be us one day? Another drive, back in Canada once more, and onto Superior. The day is cloudy and the water she is wavy and rough. I voice my fear of undertows dragging me down and away and he swears he won’t let me go. I respect the power she shows us today of which we aren’t really in control of much. It is she who has that. We are allowed to be here together in her water. The stunning view of sunset over Lake Huron from the upper deck of a family cottage as the road separates us and then rough shore and jagged rocks sticking out above the surface, unforgettable with him. We find a spot fit to wade and I take his hand as we are permitted to walk for what seems like ever in the shallows. The water is still here and small boats are anchored and float as we pass. We made it through the week, he and I in that car. Our love has grown and our trust and memories have grown too. The awe I feel at the hugeness of the five Great Lakes and this experience with him takes my breath away to recall. We finish off the fifth lake and our summer goal is complete. Ontario has a rocky bottom and the beach is busy with families. August is waning now and summer coming to a close. *** Each time we entered a lake on our journey he…