Ultimate sacrifices...

I am in DC today for a meeting. I flew in today and could not see much but got a glimpse of Arlington National Cemetery. I remember the first time I went there. I was about 7-8 years old. It was winter, snow on the ground and it was cold. My Dad took me there to see the grave of President Kennedy. I was impressed with the eternal flame and mostly the number of people there even on a cold, snowy day. The death of President Kennedy is one of my earliest memories. My Dad shared everything about it with me and he kept me home from school for the funeral. I still remember the horse with the boots backwards in the stirrups.

I've been to Arlington several times since then and every time I've visited the grave and thought about that cold day and how my Dad made sure I experienced history. I don't remember Kennedy running for office, I wish I did. But I've read a lot about it and him and I think Obama has captured some of that youthful spark that Kennedy's campaign had. I hope so. It was a promising time for our country but little did we know the things we'd have to go through...his death, his brother's death, civil rights marches and riots, the death of Martin Luther King, Vietnam and eventually Watergate. All those times were awful for our country but we got through them and I think we learned valuable lessons.

I've tried to do the same with my children that my Dad did with me. Make sure they experience history. When some historic is happening I make sure they stop, watch it on TV, understand it, talk to them about it and get them to at least understand what is happening. I never force hours of it on them, or bore them with it. Whether it was Tiger Woods historic 4 majors in a row, landing on Mars and the first pictures, etc. I've tried to make sure they stopped and experienced the moment. Watching history helps us understand we are part of it and the more we do it the more likely we are to understand it when it happens to us.

Seeing Arlington National today, even if only a glimpse from the air, brought back great memories for me.