She began
pacing the stage, using her hands as much as her voice to speak, which clearly
confused the other professors and administrators in the first couple of rows.
She had no lecture notes, had no presentation, no digital apparatus to control
a slideshow, not even an assistant to control things from behind the scenes.
I’m just going to talk.
“Before
coming here, I had the opportunity to go to Gettysburg. The place is alive with
old ghosts. The history of that place is in every stone, every blade of grass,
and not a year goes by when some lucky visitor discovers a slug from an old
rifle.”
She pulled
the small, clear plastic container from her pocket with the slug in it. The
slug was covered with lead oxide, but had landed soft on the ground with no
deformity. There were some oohs and ahhs, but they quickly faded.
“Don’t tell
the park police I have this.”
That drew
some laughs.
“History is
not found in a textbook, despite what we professors might tell you. It’s not
even found in the writings of the people who were there. History is alive. It
must be experienced to truly know it. What is not recorded is just as
important, or even more important than what was.