Alex and I just returned from a quick trip to Gettysburg this weekend - it was the third time for me, and the first time for him. We met up with a friend of mine from San Diego, his daughters, and his parents at the battlefield for the bus tour and a tour of the museum and the cemetery and then went back to his parent’s house over near Breezewood, Pennsylvania to spend the night.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the essay “Some Mistakes of Moses” by Robert Ingersoll. It’s a sad but true fact that it seems that this passage is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it over 100 years ago. Some recent events - the Mohammed Teddy Bear incident, the NY Subway beatings, the Pope’s recent encyclical, and the hullabaloo surrounding The Golden Compass - prompted me to pull this up and re-read it.

I always knew that my Grandfather Schmidt served on a ship during WWII, but it was only in the past decade or so that I realized it wasn’t a Navy ship that he served on, but rather an Army ship. Recently we’ve been spending most of the time when we are together talking about his experiences during the war on the ships USACS Joseph Henry and USAMP Gen. Absalom Baird.

It’s been five years since Sean passed away. The initial pain has faded a bit since then, but the sadness is still there and to some extent always will be. While riding the other day I was thinking of Sean, and wanted to share my thoughts. I met Sean my first day of high school - we lived fairly close to each other, so we rode on the bus together for the 40 minute ride out to Walsh.

It’s been over two years since the day when I found out that Sean had died. Two years since a week that was, at times, one of the worst and best weeks of my life. Worst because I, along with all of Sean’s family and friends, had lost a great friend. Best because of all the love shown by all those who were touched by Sean’s life. Last week, I received an unexpected package from Sean’s parents - a CD of Classic Rock songs arranged for acoustic guitar by Sean’s guitar teacher, James Kalal.