One week at a time: Week 55 - Sesquicentennial

For those people who know me very well, you should expect based on the title that this blog post will be about the Civil War. But for your sake, I will keep it short. I'm a publicly confessed history buff and I even used my electives in college to take history classes for the fun of it. Hell, if I'd have thought I could get a job with a B.A. in History, I probably would have done it. But I know that my love of the books and the pivotal moments in the course of time would have to take a sideshow to my desire to work, and so history and all it encompasses are just a piece of what makes me an interesting person instead of defining my whole life. Probably for the better because those people that are obsessed with history don't tend to make any lasting positive effect on the current global issues anyway. But I ramble...

This post will serve as the finale to our Labor Day weekend trip, especially since not much of substance has happened at work (just meeting to get parts fixed and ready to start experiments again) and we spent the latter half of the week just putting the house back in shape from the summer (task not yet completed).

Over the past couple of years and for the next couple of years, the historical societies all over the U.S. have been celebrating the sesquicentennial (150 years) of the American Civil War. It's hard for us to imagine a war that terrible happening in our country now, but states fighting each other for the right to control their own legislation instead of the feds is certainly not a stale topic. What is unbelievable to me is the absurd loss of life associated with the war, the dedication that these people had to the struggle, and the ends that we had to go to in order to end it. I won't go so far as to say that the war was about every man being treated right - that was what the 1960s were about (100 years later). No, many people were probably treated worse because of the end of slavery and the poor leadership in the years that followed Lincoln's assassination. But this was a huge turning point in our country as far as both slavery and federal government assertion, the lasting effects of which are prevalent today. And it's a shame that the South let fears about slavery ending get in the way, because that made it so much easier to brand them as the bad guys, even though I often think many of their views on states' rights would have been much more appealing to us today.

But enough debate, what is not debatable is the sacrifice of Americans for this cause, on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. And the battlefield of Gettysburg is a great place to consider all of the turmoil, suffering, and sacrifice in preservation and definition of this great nation, and the ideals of democracy which survived the fires. I am so grateful to my wife for helping to make this side-trip to Gettysburg possible. She knew that I wanted to go, and we hadn't been able to because of the birth of our daughter and the busyness of my experiment. I was so happy we could make it. This is the first time I have not been sick or in a total rush when I have been there, and I just want to share a few pictures from that day.

This is the North Carolina monument, looking out towards the Union lines on day 3. T

A close-up of the North Carolina monument.

This is the view out across the area which became known as Pickett's Charge. It is incredible to think of people who had that much courage, to charge (walk) across a mile of open ground, into cannon and musket barrage, in the hopes that your near-certain death or manglement might bring about a better country for your children.

The Virginian demi-god, Robert E. Lee, atop the Virginia memorial. Lee gave everything he had in defense of his home.

Interesting...

Monument for some guys tucked way down in the slope on Little Round Top.

20th Maine Regiment memorial.

Maine "castle" on Little Round Top.

A view down across the battlefield from the height of the Little Round Top. Its prominence was a critical spot of conflict.

More view around from the top.

Well, after the long weekend, we finally had to come home - my least favorite part. The drive was hard, and devious through the hills and we were all pretty tired by the time we got back and found my car once again dead in the driveway. Battery replacement was something that must happen this week. And I took care of it the following day, thanks to the great guys at Advance Auto Parts. I was able to get a good, cheap battery, got some help putting it in (not that I couldn't, but 2 makes it faster) and was on the road to work as if it were any other late morning.

Our little girl was happy to be home again, too.

The rest of the week flew by as we got into a 4 day work week and caught up around the house. Football was in full swing and we made it down over the weekend to see Mirror Lake, laugh at the similarities between baby Hannah's hair and the crazy fuzzy duck that is always there. Everywhere we go with her, she steals the show with her adorable face and her smiles and laughter. New skill for the week (besides the fact that she traveled awesomely) is that I have been training her to hold her own bottle. It's not that I'm in a huge rush for this, but it definitely helps when I'm trying to get a few things done on the computer as she takes her jolly good time to eat.