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Moose Pass
10:13 PM, Mar. 30, 2008
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Hi All! Last night I had an amazing experience. I had noticed in the paper last week that a concentration camp survivor was going to be speaking in Moose Pass about her experiences. I knew right then and there that I had to go. I have always been fascinated with that time period in history, and with the whole concept of concentration camps and the survivors of such. When I travelled to Germany in high school we actually visited the concentration camp Dachau. It was a very surreal experience, one I have never forgotten. Coincedentally, I was nearing the end of a very long book called "Nuremburg" about the trials held in Nuremburg following WWII for the leaders of the Nazi party in which most were found guilty and executed. Anyway, I invited several people to accompany me, and none were able. I normally would never attend anything like this by myself, but me and my pathetic car (which continues to have problems no matter how much $$$ I pour into it) set off for Moose Pass. When I arrived at the Moose Pass Elementary gym, the community potluck was in full swing. I had already eaten, but instantly realized I would have been welcome to eat along with all the "Moose Passers". People were very friendly and there was electricy in the air. The woman who arranged the whole visit of Gerda Klein spoke first about her experience bringing a Holocaust survivor to Moose Pass, Alaska. The Gerda Klein spoke for about an hour and took questions from the audience for about 45 minutes. She was very well spoken, but also very down to earth...you felt like you were listening to a friend talk. She did not speak of the horrors of her journey...she said you can read about those easily and that everything you read is true....but she primarily addressed the young people of the audience and how it is on their shoulders to carry on America's legacy into the years she will never see. She turns 84 next month. She spoke quite a bit about America and what a tremendous country we live in - brought me to tears. She also shared a few distinct experiences about her journey and people along the way. I can't begin to sum it up in a words, sentences or paragraphs....it was too powerful. I will never forget it. She has addressed the United Nations as their keynote speaker during the first official recognition of the Holocaust (20 some years after it happened), and has written several books (I, of course, have ordered one). A documentary based on the book of her life won an Oscar, and she spoke about that experience too. She embraced the people of Moose Pass, and I'm glad I went there to see her. It wouldn't have been the same to sit in an auditorium and hear her. The main thing she talked about though was hope....giving to others.....tolerance.....making a difference in the world......touching others' lives. It was very insperational, and her words will stay with me for a long time. God continually puts people and experiences in my life that put everything in perspective......she talked about waiting in a long, long line with her tin bowl not knowing if there would be food left at the time she got to the front....and if there was....would the server possible dip down far enough to give her one bite of potatoe? She spoke of constant hunger. As Americans, we have so much...and yet we think we need more, more, bigger, better, stronger, faster. And, I, have to confess, want more, bigger, better, stronger, faster also much of the time. But last night, as I drove home in my pathetic car, I was grateful to have a car....to have a home to go to...that was heated....and clothes to wear in the morning that I hadn't been wearing for 3 years....and a church to attend the next morning.....of my choosing, without condemnation, threats or intimdation or persecution. I am blessed. Take a moment today and thank God for the blessings He has put in your life....and then see if you can make a difference in the world one person at a time..... Rhonda
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