A cool, drizzly late summer day is perfect for a walk in the country, and sometimes for remembering the dead. We headed to Antietam Battlefield in West Virginia, doing a few short walks at some of our favorite stops (the tower and Burnside Bridge) and a few other places. Antietam remains the site of the bloodiest battle fought in one day on American soil—for White people that is; nearly 23,000 men and countless horses died on September 17, 1862, with no clear declared winner. (Well, no kidding. Who wins war?) Clara Barton showed her mettle on that battlefield, tending to the wounded with no prior experience and amid live fire. She later founded the American Red Cross and was responsible for setting up a system to ID the dead and notify families. We have visited the house she lived in not too far from us. Hard to believe this beautiful countryside once drowned in the blood of man.

Several Civil War battle sites are scattered in this region, and we often go for long walks in those places, always cognizant of the people who died there and likewise cognizant of the native peoples who once lived free before White settlement. Our dream is to acquire some land in the Shenandoah and coax the native wildflowers, grasses, and wildlife back.

Zoom call tonight with the family. Looking forward to a day off work tomorrow.