My childhood summers were spent traveling around the country.
From our home in the midwest, we could travel in all directions and arrive somewhere significant, interesting and important in our nation’s past and present.
My parents wanted my brother and me to learn about and appreciate the country to which our grandparents had immigrated to create a new life for themselves and their children.
We visited many state capitals, entering some of the capitol buildings, and, at the United States Capitol, we sat in Senate gallery on a day of relative quiet.
We explored the Rocky Mountains, ascending (by car) to the top of Mount Evans, and riding across the precarious bridge over Royal Gorge. Following Royal Gorge, we visited Mesa Verde National Park, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Carlsbad Caverns, El Paso, and Ciudad Juarez.
Most years, we traveled east. I remember President Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield (and his tomb). We spent time at Gettysburg and Antietam to deepen our knowledge of major Civil War battles. We saw the sites of the first battles of the Revolutionary War at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. We toured President George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, and President Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. We visited the Statue of Liberty, as well as the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall. We witnessed the wonder of Niagara Falls.
We went to the top of the Washington Monument, stood inside the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and toured many of the museums associated with the Smithsonian. We gazed at the memorial flame at the grave of President John F. Kennedy, and visited presidential libraries.
Rhonda and I took our son, Adam, to many places I had not yet visited, including the Grand Canyon, Ellis Island, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Adam and I also toured the Baseball and Basketball Halls of Fame.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the museum and memorial at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City challenged us to consider how to combat hatred in all its forms. Rhonda and I did the same at the 9/11 museum in New York City.
My rabbinic convention in 2017 took us to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. We paid our respects at the graves of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. We sat in the original Ebenezer Baptist Church, and then attended a service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street. We were welcomed at the center of the The Names Project/AIDS Quilt.
Adam and I attended the 2004 dedication of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, commemorating the United States Supreme Court decision to end racial segregation in America’s schools (a short distance from our home).
This list is woefully incomplete. There are many places to explore locally and in our state that are integral to the American story, offering reminders to recognize narratives told from different perspectives, to which, I know, I need to listen.
I know, also, that I need to pray. These words conclude a prayer for our nation in the Reform Jewish prayerbook, Mishkan T’filah: “Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit.”
May we truly appreciate one another, especially at this time of challenge, and may we add new and positive chapters to our shared story.
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