by bethwestcott | Sep 11, 2024 | Commemoration, History, Thoughts
Twenty-three years ago, on 9/11/01, terrorist attacks shook the United States to its core. We were awakened to a national sense of vulnerability and loss that we’d never experienced in recent times. In 2011, the 10th anniversary year of the 9/11 attacks, I met...
by bethwestcott | Sep 11, 2023 | 9-11-2001, Commemoration, History, Memories, Thoughts
It was a sunny, blue-sky, late summer morning. An ordinary day, September 11, 2001. I’d watched the news and weather on TV earlier, but I was now into my daily routine at home. My husband’s nephew had called to say his wife was in labor, so my husband, who was a...
by bethwestcott | May 7, 2022 | History, Just for fun, Special Events, trains
In 2008, Amtrak created National Train Day to promote riding a train. Although not an official holiday, Amtrak declared it for the Saturday closest to May 10. That’s May 7 this year (2022). Trains have played an important role in American history, and they are...
by bethwestcott | Oct 20, 2020 | History, learning and life
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR CHOCOLATE? Mmmm. Hot chocolate on a cold day! Whipped cream on top? Or marshmallows? At one time known as “the drink of the gods,” today hot chocolate is considered a comfort drink and is a favorite around the world. The characters in...
by bethwestcott | Nov 21, 2019 | Family, History, Inspiration
FAMILY AND IMMIGRANTS Today is my mother’s 105th birthday. Born in 1914, she is the child of immigrant parents. Her mother came to the United States with her family from a mountain village in northern Italy. Her father, a native of Cornwall, England,...
by bethwestcott | May 30, 2019 | History, Holiday, Inspiration
Unless I have a personal reason to remember a person or an event, it’s easy to forget. People and events from the past are often crowded out in my mind by life now. With each generation, details of history are dropped from history books to be replaced by more...
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