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World War II
My Grandmother and I walked up the long stairway to the top of
the firehall, then turned and walked up the ladder affixed to the roof. That took us to the little room atop. I'd never been so high off the ground! To my four year old eyes, you could see everywhere in the world from there, or so I thought! Squak Valley is long and narrow and opens widely onto a grassy plain bordering a lake. The valley was green and soft and quiet as usual. I'd been terribly brave walking up the stairway and ladder, I thought.
Once inside,
I found all sorts of shiny pictures. I was excited until I realized they were pictures of foreign airplanes. My Gramma explained that we were to look at the pictures and see if we could see any of those planes flying down my valley. I'd heard my Mom and Dad say something about an "airplane watch" and all of a sudden I knew what the words meant. I couldn't grasp the thought of a foreign airplane flying down my valley with the intent to do me harm.
Dumbfounded.... No better word describes me since the 11th of September, 2001. I asked my 16 year old granddaughter, Adrienne, if she had any idea what she had lost, knowing
full well that the innocence she has always known, is never recognized until it's gone.
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