Living History

In the past, while in a history class or just reading a historic book, I've often had that feeling of 'ohhh jee, I wonder what it must have been like to be in such a historic moment?' Events such as Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream' speech, or maybe sitting at just one of the round table chats about which European country would take was African country (check out Thomas Pakenham's "The Scramble for Africa") are just a few that come to mind. In fact, I remember of few years ago while riding on the back of a bike traveling between the Sudanese and Ugandan borders, I actually stopped to pick cotton when I saw a field of cotton and had a tiny tiny tiny sliver of what it was like to actually pick one of these (granted I only picked one before the drunken farmer started demanding money and refused to understand the historic context for me). ANYWAY....today was one of the few days when I realized that I am actually LIVING history! The recent financial showdown taking place in the U.S. right now is without a doubt going to make the history books that my unborn children will one day read. I've never voluntarily watched so much CNN and MSNBC!