Broadway

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity see Cherry Jones in Doubt. I had been wanting to see this play since I first heard about it when Cherry won the ’05 Tony Award for Best Actress. Two weeks later, I was standing in New York City, across from the Walter Kerr theatre where the show had just moved its run longing to go inside and see the show. One year and five months later I was sitting in the Ahmanson Theatre fulfilling my dream. Cherry absolutely stole the show and dazzled the audience. And, yes, she deserved the Tony. Given that this was my first “Broadway” play (naturally, on it’s off Broadway tour, but it originated there nonetheless) it wet my appetite to experience more in the way of the arts: theatre, ballet, symphonies…

Musings on Oral History

For me, the process of conducting an oral history interview is a humbling experience. As I sit at the table with a list of questions in front of me and a tape recorder quietly whirring between my narrator and myself, I find I am in an awkward quandary. I am both the master and the learner. I am being entrusted with a lifetime of memories, yet I am being entrusted with a lifetime of memories. I am responsible for this story and for ensuring the narrators’ experiences are related in a fair and honest manner. I suddenly feel insignificant as I listen to these women recount their memories. Whether it relates to World War II or a comical childhood event, I am grateful for the trust they have placed in me. It takes a great deal of courage to share ones memories of living in the Third Reich, and I am honored to join the privileged group of scholars who are forever preserving the individuals memory by means of oral history.

Welcome

After staying away from blogs for the past year I decided I wanted to create one...and here I am!

Being a first year graduate student, my thoughts have naturally centered around academia for the past few months. As I ponder and analyze historical events relating to World War II, I have thought it would be nice to send my various musings out into the cosmic void. Hence the reason for this blog! To all who read them and any other thoughts I happen to bestow upon you...Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the live you've imagined. *Henry David Thoreau

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the God." 2 Corinthians 3:18