Jim, That's great! I was born in the 60's, but either because of my attraction to history or my adoration for my grandfather, who fought in the war, I've always had a special place in my heart for the men of that era. Men who, like my grandfather, didn't think twice about "doing the right thing". I'm sure my kids, who range from 15 years to 5 years old, get tired of hearing me describe times in our country's history that I feel they should understand and have a passion for. But I want them to understand that when we look back on important events or occasions in history, it's not just what occurred, but usually, what is significant, is the character and actions of the people involved. That's why days like yesterday are important to me and why conversations with our kids and grandkids are necessary. This year we took our kids to the local service at the cemetery on Memorial Day. My 13 year old was choked up afterwards. I don't think he understood why he was so affected, but I believe he will remember the experience. I realize that not everyone is passionate about history like I am, but I feel good knowing that my children will tell their children ..and so on. I didn't mean to ramble on..... Thanks for sharing with us, Jim. Sheri At 11:20 AM 11/12/1999 -0600, you wrote: >DMonkres@aol.com wrote: > >> I just checked, and Duane's email address is DMonkres@aol.com >> Thanks for the promo! Duane > >============= > >Duane, > >Just a Note...Yesterday being Vets Day we put our flag out as usual, >but this time it was a little different. > >I printed out the piece about the WWII years in Duncan. I then drew >a map showing the United States, the Atlantic Ocean, and most of >Europe and North Africa.. > >I colored in red the area occupied by Germany prior to D-Day on >June 6, 1944. I then went to the store and rented the movie, Saving >Private Ryan. My purpose was to try to give my teen-age grandkids >some feel of what it was like living in the 1940's. > >When they came in from school I told them I had something planned >to begin at 6PM, so they needed to get their homework done and over >with. > >At 6PM we sat at the kitchen table and I got out the map I had drawn >and gave them a very brief overview of Germany's invasion of Poland >in 1939, then the occupation of the other countries up until 1944. > >I pointed out the island of England as the last place the Germans had >not occupied, and the location of the English Channel, and the coast of >France. I explained who the Allies were, and who the Axis were, and >how the supplies and equipment had been stockpiled in southern England >to get ready to cross the English Channel and to face the Germans on the >coast of France. > >We then started the movie and I pointed out that the cemetery in the >opening sceen is a real one that exits today on the coast of France, >and that the water in the background was the English Channel. > >They sat glued to the movie for almost three hours. The other only >comment I made during the movie was to pay attention to the small >banner in the window with the stars on it and I would tell them something >about it after the movie. > >When the movie was over, they sat in dead silence for a few minutes. >I then asked my 14 year old grandaughter to read the account of how it >was in Duncan in the 1940s, and told them that's how it was in every >small town in the United States back then. > >As she read about the banner with the stars on it in the window, I >detected that something was sinking in. They were getting a glimpse >of the lives and times of us "old people" they had not had before. >I hope this is something they will remember as they become "old >people" themselves. > >Jim in Texas > > > > >==== OKSTEPHE Mailing List ==== >http://www.rootsweb.com/~okstephe/stephens.htm >You Know You're Addicted to Genealogy if.... >you hyperventilate at the sight of an old cemetery. >Sheri Hammons Stephens County Coordinator; <mailto:hammons@shertech.net> > >============================== >RootsWeb.com now offers UNLIMITED Web space for FREE! >Sign up today for RootsWeb's Freepages program: >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi > > >