It is hard to relate to things that happened a century ago, even though they very much shape our societies today. The present, not that which precedes our birth, presses against us and feels alive. For Forrest Hayden of Kentucky, whose grave is seen in the above photo, the year 1918 surely started out feeling […]
Visiting the John McCain monument in Hanoi, Vietnam
The monument is easy to miss, and not only because it’s small. Tourist trails laid out by guidebooks are more likely to lead you to other places in Hanoi: around Hoan Kiem Lake, through the picturesque Old Quarter, or to the Temple of Literature. They’re less likely to lead you to John McCain. And understandably. […]
The Role Children Play In Connecting People
A historian could talk for weeks about the Turkish city of Mardin, located in the country’s southeastern corner not far from the Tigris River. But in this post, I only want to say a word about one of its more recent inhabitants. Her name is Reyyan, and when we met in 2017, she was three […]
The Grave Of Wladyslaw Szpilman, “The Pianist”
Władysław Szpilman (December 5, 1911 – July 6, 2000) was a Polish pianist, a classical composer, and a Jew who survived the Holocaust. He was also the subject of one of my favorite films, The Pianist. Directed by Roman Polanski, the 2002 film is based on Szpilman’s autobiography and shows us his life in Warsaw […]
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