Jeanine, my mother and I travelled to Gettysburg today en route to North Carolina for a family reunion this weekend.  We arrived in time to visit the museum and take a guided tour of the battlefield.  During the 8 hour drive we listened to the  Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel, The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (highly recommended), which enhanced our understanding of the pivotal battle that took place here and helped us to fully appreciate the circumstances that led to it and contributed to the outcome.

It is sobering to walk on the hallowed ground were tens of thousands lost life and limb to support their principles.  The scars on our society have far outlasted those on the land and I hope we will not forget the terrible price that was paid for a nation divided especially at a time when our politics have become so polarizing.

The family of birds I found nesting in the canon muzzle below gave me hope that even an instrument of death can serve the world in a more peaceful way if we just give it a chance.