A time for ugly
On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy took Ben and Anna to the Martin Luther King, Jr. historical site in downtown Atlanta. It was the first visit for Ben and for Mommy and the first visit in over ten years for Daddy. Anna went last year with her class in a large group.
The new visitor's center is very well done, with pictures, sculpture, and historical video from the times. The video pulled no punches and showed graphic depictions of the ugliness of segregation. Ben and Anna had a lot of questions that were very hard to explain.
"What does discrimination mean?"
"Why were those people so angry?"
"Why didn't they just tell the police?"
At times, Daddy was too choked up from the video scenes and questions to answer without taking a breath first.
However, the hardest question of call (at least for Mommy and Daddy) was explaining to Ben and Anna - for the first time - what the "N" word was. The historical videos showed what looked like respectable people using that vile word casually. It was on the signs that people were carrying in the pictures. It is not a word that Ben and Anna have ever heard or seen before.
Mommy and Daddy explained that this was a disgusting word that they will not ever use. It is a word full of hate and ugliness. It is a word that they wished was gone forever, but it is a word that Ben and Anna may hear sometimes from very ignorant people. It is a word that Mommy and Daddy will not accept ever hearing from either of them.
That night, as Mommy and Daddy talked about the visit, they decided that if Ben and Anna had to be exposed to such ugliness, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center was probably the place to introduce it. At least there the word could be put into context.
It is hard to believe that it has been over forty years since April 4. It seems like ancient history to Ben and Anna, who cannot imagine ever treating someone differently because of the color of their skin. Ben and Anna made Mommy and Daddy proud this weekend, and gave them great hope for the future.
The new visitor's center is very well done, with pictures, sculpture, and historical video from the times. The video pulled no punches and showed graphic depictions of the ugliness of segregation. Ben and Anna had a lot of questions that were very hard to explain.
"What does discrimination mean?"
"Why were those people so angry?"
"Why didn't they just tell the police?"
At times, Daddy was too choked up from the video scenes and questions to answer without taking a breath first.
However, the hardest question of call (at least for Mommy and Daddy) was explaining to Ben and Anna - for the first time - what the "N" word was. The historical videos showed what looked like respectable people using that vile word casually. It was on the signs that people were carrying in the pictures. It is not a word that Ben and Anna have ever heard or seen before.
Mommy and Daddy explained that this was a disgusting word that they will not ever use. It is a word full of hate and ugliness. It is a word that they wished was gone forever, but it is a word that Ben and Anna may hear sometimes from very ignorant people. It is a word that Mommy and Daddy will not accept ever hearing from either of them.
That night, as Mommy and Daddy talked about the visit, they decided that if Ben and Anna had to be exposed to such ugliness, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center was probably the place to introduce it. At least there the word could be put into context.
It is hard to believe that it has been over forty years since April 4. It seems like ancient history to Ben and Anna, who cannot imagine ever treating someone differently because of the color of their skin. Ben and Anna made Mommy and Daddy proud this weekend, and gave them great hope for the future.
# posted by Scott @ 2/14/2011 04:52:00 PM 
Coffin Cruiser
It is hard to believe that the Coffin Cruiser episode has not been captured in this blog.
A few years ago, cousins Ethan and Claire were coming to Atlanta to visit along with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Mommy and Daddy planned to take the whole crew downtown to an exhibit of treasures from King Tut's tomb. They thought that this would be entertaining and educational for everyone.
On the way to the exhibit, Ethan and Ben rode with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Ethan expressed his concern that the event would be boring. Ben proceeded to tell him all about the exciting things that could be experienced at the King Tut exhibit, including, "a huge roller coaster ride called the Coffin Cruiser." That particular ride, which only existed in Ben's imagination, was described in great detail during the trip down.
To this day, whenever Ben's imagination comes up with something amazing and unique, Mommy and Daddy will look at each other and say, "Coffin Cruiser".
A few years ago, cousins Ethan and Claire were coming to Atlanta to visit along with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Mommy and Daddy planned to take the whole crew downtown to an exhibit of treasures from King Tut's tomb. They thought that this would be entertaining and educational for everyone.
On the way to the exhibit, Ethan and Ben rode with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Ethan expressed his concern that the event would be boring. Ben proceeded to tell him all about the exciting things that could be experienced at the King Tut exhibit, including, "a huge roller coaster ride called the Coffin Cruiser." That particular ride, which only existed in Ben's imagination, was described in great detail during the trip down.
To this day, whenever Ben's imagination comes up with something amazing and unique, Mommy and Daddy will look at each other and say, "Coffin Cruiser".
# posted by Scott @ 2/02/2011 09:31:00 PM
How to Get Rich
A few months back, Anna announced to the family that she had an idea of how we could all be rich.
"Daddy should be a movie star. He's really good with voices."
Daddy had to explain that he went to Engineering school, not Movie Star school, but promised to look into it should the opportunity arise.
"Daddy should be a movie star. He's really good with voices."
Daddy had to explain that he went to Engineering school, not Movie Star school, but promised to look into it should the opportunity arise.
# posted by Scott @ 2/02/2011 09:26:00 PM
