Thursday, June 5, 2008

Remembring the Longest Day during my longest night

Well, though it was 64 years ago, the actions that took place on June 6, 1944 and the following weeks have been on my mind a lot lately. Since I've been reading so many World War II history books while down on the Ice, the trials and tribulations of the people that face the horrors of that conflict have been a focus of many a long hour's contemplation. I have also been think a lot about how lucky I have been to have had the opportunities to go travel to so many of these places (including the Normandy beaches) that I have studied about so much. Actually going to a place and experiencing it first-hand really makes all the difference in getting a handle on all that you might have read or seen on TV or in movies. Real travel, not tourism, is an act of self-education, rather than simple diversion. I definitely look forward eagerly to whatever chances I will have to travel before my next job after this experience on the Ice comes to a conclusion, whatever they may be. Hopefully the next job and travel will be synonymous. I reflect on all the opportunities that I have, and all the opportunities that so many were denied by world conflicts and economics, and I feel very, very lucky to have landed on planet Earth as I did in the late 1970s.

I'd pour a libation to the fallen, if it were not a violation of the Antarctic Treaty.

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