Monthly Archives: January 2020

We Still Miss Those Who Flew on the Challenger

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On this day 34 days ago many of us gathered around a television set to watch a horrific event. That morning the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch and all seven astronauts died. That day we lost:

At the time I was the Director of Religious Education at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, Virginia. It was ordinary morning until my secretary Edye McIntyre (1928-2008) got a call and expressed her grief. When I heard the news my first reaction was: “Oh no, not with the teacher.” It was a hard day.

We humans have always felt the need to explore. What’s over those mountains? What’s across that sea? Can we reach the moon? Can we reach other planets or galaxies? Let’s try.

All attempts put us in danger but we explore nonetheless.

Thirty four years later let us honor these brave Americans whose sacrifice made our exploration better. And let us honor the teacher, and all those teachers who have inspired us.

Auschwitz, 75 Years Later

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Today, January 27th, we commemorate the day in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated the most famous of the Nazi’s concentration camps, Auschwitz. From 1940 to 1945, 1,100,000 men, women, and children were murdered. Most were Jews, but the Nazi’s also murdered Roma (Gypsies), political prisoners, and gays. It’s important to remember them too.

Seventy five years out it’s easy to parrot the phrase “Never again” but that’s not enough. This genocide didn’t begin with the opening of Auschwitz, it began much earlier and “never again” commands that we challenge and call out antisemitism before it becomes the norm, before it becomes acceptable.

Germany after World War I was a mess. Not only did they lose the war, but they were forced into poverty by England and France who demanded crushing reparations.

A few years into this an Austrian who fought for Germany as a lance corporal saw an opportunity. His name was Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). He decided that the real source of German suffering wasn’t the Treaty of Versailles but the Jews.

He was a brilliant communicator and was able to convince much of his adopted country that if they could only get rid of the Jews their future would be bright. He was raised Catholic and used a longstanding myth that the Jews killed Jesus Christ to make antisemitism reasonable to Christians. It worked.

Seventy five years ago, when we learned the horrors of the Holocaust, antisemitism became unacceptable in most quarters. But every year since then we’ve seen antisemitism become more and more acceptable. In August of 2017, at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, we heard, to our horror, the phrase: “The Jews Will Not Replace Us.”

This was part of a larger campaign called “Unite the Right.” Our President, when asked about this campaign, claimed that there were “very fine people on both sides.”

He’s wrong. Fine people aren’t white supremacists. Fine people aren’t anti-Semites.

If we want to ensure there will never be another Auschwitz we need to call out antisemitism when it begins, not when it becomes deadly.

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Reflections on Yosemite and birthdays

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I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Alas, when I retire I can give more content.

Nancy and I just returned from our annual pilgrimage to Yosemite National Park. Twenty years ago we learned of a program called Chefs’ Holidays and we’ve been attending ever since.

There’s much to enjoy there: it’s a beautiful park with incredible views and it’s cold enough to see snow. The elevation of Yosemite Valley (4000 feet) gives us a taste of true winter and hiking on the valley floor can’t be replicated at home.

Oh yes, and then there’s the food. Yosemite invites famous chefs to cook and teach. Nancy loves the cooking demonstrations and often brings home recipes that we enjoy at home. The last night of our stay we attend a 5 course dinner (with wine). Normally we’re seated at a table with four other couples and we enjoy meeting new people. This year we sat at a table of four with just one other couple.

It was magical. The other couple (Chris Kenward and Steve Sosnowski) made us laugh and enjoy the meal better than we expected. We hope to see more of them.

We also got to share breakfast and lunch with our niece Katie and her boyfriend Nate.

The only thing we missed was the birthday of Nancy’s dad. Last year we celebrated his 100th birthday recognizing that none of us is promised our next. I’m pleased to report that on the 23rd he celebrated his 101st.

The next day he was invited to St. James Academy, the catholic school attached to his parish. The students not only celebrated his birthday, they all wrote notes to him to thank him for his support of their school.

We don’t know how much longer God will allow us to enjoy him, but in the years and decades after he is gone his support will continue to bear fruit.

It might be selfish to ask for a 102nd but count me selfish.