Making History?

I love historical fiction books. And I don't mean those steamy romances where the characters supposedly lived 300+ years ago. No. I like the ones where the authors take a historically significant event, or time period, and toss in fictional characters in such a way that you're transported back in time, and history comes alive.

While I promise I haven't been one of those "If they don't sell it at Deseret Book, I don't read it" people in years, LDS Authors do seem to have a knack for the genre, or at least for appealing to my tastes.

As a teenager, I fell in love with Chris Heimindinger's adventures in Book of Mormon times.

The Church History tour I took after graduation, made Gerald Lund's famous series on the early church especially poignant.

I later fell in love with Dean Hughes's WWII series, then Jerry Borrowman's books on WWI and WWII.

Most recently I've returned to Dean Hughes's books, this time, it's the next generation, covering the 1960's and 1970's, the Berlin Wall going up, the Vietnam War, The Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, etc. They're wonderful books, and they've got me thinking. Not only about that time period, but about our own.

Basically, the focus of his first series covered my grandparents' generation, this second set covers my parents' generation. So it would seem that if he did a third series, it would be about my generation. But I think through all the historically significant events I've seen occur in my lifetime, and while there's no discounting the importance of some of them, or of the wars we've seen battled, I still wonder if any of them would be enough to warrant our own series. Would future generations want to pick it up to learn about what we've experienced? To learn about the 9-11 and the War on Terror? What, maybe the gay rights movement?

Of course we learn and grow from history. By studying the pioneers we see their faith, their endurance, their dedication and their sacrifice, and somehow our trials seem easier to bear. And since most of my ancestry came across the plains, I gain insights into their own lives as well.

I get the same from studying other modern eras. I learn what my ancestors went through. I already received a strong sense of patriotism from both my grandfathers, but reading more about what they endured, or what my great grandparents went through in WWI...its very humbling and yet very pride provoking.

Reading these books now...I feel this sense of joy and gratitude at how far we've come. Sure, we still have a ways to go before we have a perfect world and before racism or so many of the other problems are abolished. I wonder where we would be if those in that generation had not chosen to stand-up the way they did.

What do you think? If you were to write a book about our time, what would it include? What things will our generation be known for generations from now? What will be our Legacy?

Journey to the Past

I LOVE the new Church History Library!

Wow!

I had the opportunity to tour it today for the first time. We were told the tours would be about 45 min. But when we arrived, they were more-or-less self-guided. There were so many people that I didn't bother to stop and examine a lot of things the way I would have liked, and just sped-read a lot of the signs and information they had up. Despite "rushing" through, I was still in there for an hour and a half.

It's a gorgeous building and much more "user-friendly" and accessible than their old home in the East Wing of the Church Office Building. They had put up a bunch of signs with "fun facts" that I'd like to see published somewhere. Some were more historical facts like the various ways that land had been used in the past, but most were fun facts such as how many carpet squares there were in the building, or the fact that you could fit 31.5 million ice cream sandwiches on the shelves of the archival freezers. (They have 12 archival rooms, 10 of which are kept at 55*F and 2 of which are kept at -4*F...the colder temperatures preserve the documents better).

They had a lot of artwork scattered throughout the building, pieces not really seen before. Of course most of it was in the office space, so most of us still won't be able to enjoy it on a regular basis. Though they do have several documents displayed in cases for all to enjoy.

But the most memorable thing, I think, was the amazing spirit there. They showed an orientation film where the catchphrase was "The Story Lives Here" I can't think of a more befitting line to sum up the purpose of the building. Someone along the way said that their mission was to record (/store) the building up of the church and its members. The artifacts they have, the stories they tell...all are extremely sacred, and tell of testimony and sacrifice and great faith.

And with continuing efforts to digitize much of their collection, it's actually accessible to us! What a tremendous blessing!

Salute

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin there.
I said, "Your court house is kinda run down,
He said, "No, it will do for our little town".

I said "your old flag pole kinda leaned a little bit,
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hanging on it".
He said "have a seat", so I sat down,
He said, "is this your first time you been to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud of
"That Ragged Old Flag"

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Oh Say Can You See"

It got a bad rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson tugging at its seams.
It almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on tho.
It got cut with a sword in Chancellorsville,
Got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
"That Ragged Old Flag"

On Flanders Field in World War I,
She took a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low a time or two.
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.

She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
And here in her own good land,
She’s been abused, burned, dishonored, denied and refused,
And the very government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearing thin,
But she’s in pretty good shape, for the shape she’s in.
Cause she’s been through the fire before
and I know, she can take a whole lot more.

So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down every night,
We don’t let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I do like to brag
Cause I’m mighty proud of
"That Ragged Old Flag"
--John R. Cash,

The first time I heard this poem, I was sitting in a Sacrament Meeting, in July if memory serves me correctly. I couldn't have been older than about 10. But even then, it filled me with a sense of pride, and I absolutely fell in love with it.

So today I dedicate it to the Veterans past and present who have lived and died to protect our Grand Old Flag and all it represents.

And I send a special salute to my Grandfathers. To Grandpa George H. Taylor, 1918-1988, whose homeland injury prevented him from serving abroad for the land he loved, and filled him with regret all his days, but who instilled in his children and grandchildren the love and respect for this great Nation. And to Grandpa R. Doyle Shields, 1924-, who risked it all and saw the horrors of war from the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge, among other battles.

Thank you for your service.