Just Being Sure

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Mary had always been good. Sometimes she had been so good Laura could hardly bear it. But now she seemed different. Once Laura asked her about it.

"You used to try all the time to be good," Laura said. "And you always were good. It made me so mad sometimes I wanted to slap you. But now you are good without even trying."

"I know why you wanted to slap me," Mary said. "It was because I was showing off. I wasn't really wanting to be good. I was showing off to myself, what a good little girl I was and being vain and proud and deserved to be slapped for it… We are all so desperately wicked and inclined to evil as the sparks fly upwards" said Mary using the bible words. "But that doesn't matter."

"What!" cried Laura.

"I mean I don't believe we ought to think so much about ourselves, about whether we are bad or good." Mary explained…. "I don't know how to say what I mean very well. But it isn't so much thinking as, as just knowing. Just being sure of the goodness of God."

Everyone knows that God is good. But it seemed to Laura then that Mary must be sure of it in a special way. "You are sure aren't you?" Laura said.

"I am sure of it now all the time." Mary answered.

from Little Town on the Prairie

scenes below from another prairie in eastern France

Memorial Day – Meuse Argonne Cemetary France

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Kim Halloran-Fry

When we learned that the WWI Memorial near my husband's birthplace was having a Memorial Day ceremony we decided to pack up and make the trip this weekend.

Measuring 130 acres, the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetary is the largest of several WWI era cemetaries scattered throughout the region. The Argonne Offensive called upon more US troops than ever before in history up to that time and was instrumental to winning the first world war.

The remains of over 14,000 soldiers rest here, marked by white marbles crosses and Stars of David. The original number was twice that, but in the 1920's the others were repatriated back to the States.

The grounds are owned and meticulously maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The land was given to the US, tax-free in perpetuity, by the French government in gratitude for the aid provided by the soldiers.

The memorial cemerony included US and French Army troops and dignitaries as well as smaller groups from the Boy Scouts, French Fire Brigade, local clergy, and many veterans.

We drove through some really nice little villages on the way there. Romagne, which is the nearest village to the cemetary, was in full patriotic array with red, white and blue flowers and French and US flags tucked into the flower boxes and planters in front of EVERY home. Sadly you will have to take my word for that because we took a different route home which was less lovely. It did however take us through Verdun, which meant a lot to my husband. He was born here while his father was stationed at Metz. It was a kick for him to see his birthplace.

Notre Dame du Paris

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Shall we take a stroll around the Notre Dame?

Notre-dame-back-web

A closer look at the fountain…

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The windows. Oh, the windows! I think I snapped them all but I will spare you that lol. We'll let the famed rose window represent…

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Love the door. Am so framing the door. I want to remember this one.

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Notre-dame-rose-window-nelly-web

Wandering back around front there was an elderly man feeding the birds.

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This chap wanted to give it a try. The gentleman filled his hand with seed and showed him how to gently move it in an up and down motion which sure enough did attract the tiny birds. His face was priceless.

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and they were off, and so were we, headed for an evening cruise on the Seine….

Postcards from Paris pt 2

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The first thing we noticed about Parisian monuments is that they were definitely monumental in size. So much so that I could not back up far enough to fit them within the scope of my zoom lens in many cases. It is hard to appreciate the sheer dimensions until you are right before them with your neck craned to see the tops. The attention to detail is remarkable.

Les Invalides, where Napoleon is entombed – rather literally – inside an Egyptian style sarcophagus. The dome is topped in gold. Aidan said, "I want to go there Mom. I know alot about the guy." ; )

the Opera House founded in 1669

L'Arc de Triomphe, where the eternal flame burns before the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI. The arch itself honors those who fought and died in the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, and has the names of all the French generals and victories inscribed on its sides.

The Hotel de Coislin, where Benjamin Franklin and a small group of French and Americans signed the Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Alliance on Feb. 6, 1778, much to the chagrin of the British ambassador who had planted spies to monitor Franklin's activities in the City of Light. This made France the first of all nations to recognize the United States as an independent country.

La Sorbonne, the University of Paris, in the latin quarter, so named because latin was equated with higher education for centuries. And of course there are still a number of people today who feel the same. : )