2-25-21

Two years ago, the breaks on my car died. The car was fourteen years old and it had served me well. But it was too dangerous to drive any more. I could have saved the car with new breaks and probably gotten thousands of more miles out it However, my part time job as an adjunct professor didn’t pay much. The paltry salary didn’t provide me with the luxury of being able to afford new breaks. My dad insisted on buying me a car. His generosity made me cry. I was too old to be getting handouts from my father, but too poor to turn it down. He tried to make me feel better by saying he was motivated by selfish reasons. If I didn’t have a car, he wouldn’t be able to see his grandson unless he drove into New Jersey. By accepting the car, I was sparing him the misery of horrific bridge traffic and a visit to his least favorite state. 

That summer, I planned to take my son to Quebec and Acadia National Park for summer vacation. We had little money, but with a tight budget and cheap lodging, I knew we could make it work. My spouse had her concerns. “Isn’t your dad going to be upset that you are spending money on vacation when he had to buy you a car?” Her question made me pause for a moment in an attempt to connect the dots the way she saw them, because in my family, we’ve always connected them differently. Vacation isn’t merely a time to rest and relax. It’s a time to explore, to learn about different places, to time travel by visiting historical sites, and to grow. “No,” I eventually answered. “Dad would be disappointed if we didn’t go away. He wouldn’t want G3 to miss out on any opportunities.”

I’ve often joked with people saying while I have several graduate degrees, I learned far more from traveling than I ever learned in school and backpacking cost me a fraction of what tuition cost. If I had just stuck to traveling, I wouldn’t be drawing in debt. Apparently, my son is also beginning to realize that learning outside the classroom is more enjoyable than simply learning from texts. When we reached the Civil War chapter in his history textbook he groaned. “Do we really have to read the book?” He asked. “You know I already know everything in the chapter.” Yes, he was being a smartass, but he wasn’t exactly wrong. If the textbook had gone into detail and explored the cause of the war and the battles more comprehensively it would have held his interest more. But he’s right, why waste time reading what you already know. So I offered a proposition. We’d breeze through the chapters and I wouldn’t make him outline or answer questions if he wrote an essay explaining why he found the text boring. He proceeded to contrast seeing a place with reading about it, and went on to explain that going somewhere will always be better than being stuck with a textbook. 

So Dad was right. G3 proved it. Vacations, road trips, and weekend adventures are vitally important. Of course, we wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere or do anything without a working and safe car.

Anyway, here is G3’s essay on real life verses school:

Living History

Learning from a textbook is very boring compared to going to the actual place where history happened. In a textbook, you learn common facts. History is a string of names and dates but these names and dates need a story behind them. The story makes history fun because you get to know conspiracies and uncommon facts. Another thing that makes historical sites fun is the tour where you can ask a professional questions. In this paper, I will talk mainly about the Civil War sites.  

Two years ago, during Christmas week, I was frog sitting for my class. I was disappointed because on Thanksgiving weekend we had planned to go to Harpers Ferry but that week it snowed, so we couldn’t go. However, after Christmas, my mom looked at the weather and said that it was going to be beautiful in two days.  We could go to Harpers Ferry after all. First, we had to get someone to babysit the frog which we found easily. Next, we had to call my grandfather to tell him we were staying the night because the drive would be too long if we started at home. He lives in Delaware, half way between N.J. and West Virginia. I slept on a blow-up tempur-pedic bed at his house. When we woke up my grandfather was gone because he goes geocaching every morning. We ate bagels on the road and got to the destination in about an hour. When we got there, the first thing we did was go into the old town that looked like a boom town. The reason I say this is because there were two rows of buildings and a river with a large bank where people may have mined for gold, if there was gold. There wasn’t. After we explored for a little while we ate disgusting cold cut sandwiches. I hate the taste of cold cuts. Then my annoying mom — Mama — made us go for a hike. 

On the way home, we saw a sign for Antietam Battlefield. When we came upon the exit, my other mom — Mommy — complained because she hates battlefields more than anything else. She hates them because she says it is just a field. She stopped because she did not want us to complain that we did not get to go. First, we listened to a ranger talk for information. She said that someone died every second during the battle. Then we took ANOTHER walk. We saw a monument that said more people died in this battle than The French and Indian War, The Revolutionary War, and The War of 1812 combined. Before we went home, I wanted to get a pocket watch but my moms disagreed. We got ice cream for diner. My grandfather let us spend one more night before going home to get the frog.  

About eight months ago, my family was coming home from a four week road trip and we were driving through Ohio. It was annoying because there were so many president houses that we could not visit because of COVID. My mom in the passenger seat — Mama —did find out that we could go to Grant’s house. It was his birth home. A locket with his actual hair was in there. We found out that his childhood home was also close. We went thirty miles across beautiful terrain and later came upon the other house. In it, there were more artifacts and the guide seemed more knowledgeable. She told us Grant was pulled over for speeding his horse twice. His father was a leather maker so he grew up hating the smell of meat. By the time he died he was a vegetarian. The school was just fifty yards away. That would be the worst home in my life because I would be so close to school. There was a crazy Trumper across the road. I know this because there was a sign. This is important because he is racist but Grant fought to free black people. 

Text books are boring compared to having fun at a historical place. A lot of people may say traveling and seeing historical places is boring, but if you go to places of historical value you can see where people died or where documents were written. This is exciting because you stand we’re famous people stood and you might look right at them years ago. 

When I went to Washington D.C. I was really exited. I was dressed as Lincoln and older kids needed a photo of someone impersonating Lincoln. It was funny because they where depending on a six year old for a photo. We let them have it, then they moved on. First, I wanted to go to the Lincoln memorial. Then we went all around. It was hard for me with six year old legs to walk around a big city. We went to Fords Theatre where John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln and shouted Sic semper tyrannus at Lincoln. This means “thus always to tyrants.” It means bad shall always befall tyrants or in this case the north. Booth technically said the south is avenged. It is also Virginia’s state motto. After that we saw where Lincoln died.

If you read a textbook about historical events you may be board and in a cold school. If you go to the real place you can walk around, take photos, and eat. This is better because you are not trapped in a brick building but enjoying being outside. This way instead of falling asleep in class, you are making memories.

After you go somewhere you want to learn more about it because you want to learn all the facts. You want to learn more because you saw where history unfolded. For me, after I went to Grant’s, I wanted to read his biography.  Even though I had to wait a few more minutes because  we had to go to the bank to get money to buy the book. I also wrote a paper on Antietam the year I went there. I wanted to learn more because it was the bloodiest day in American history. 

After I read Grant’s biography, I realized that Grant and Washington were alike. I made a connection not because I was told to, but because I went to both of their houses. They both made a new nation, they were generals of an army, and they became president. When I was at Antietam, I learned that the battle was the bloodiest day in American history which might be helpful on a test someday.  

I hope some people now know history is fun if you see where it took place. For the people who hated school, textbooks may limit you but the world won’t. I hope I go to the Hermitage, Jackson’s home, soon because I have already seen the homes of Washington through J.Q. Jackson is next.