In The Wee Hours: My Cousin Evie

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The sun has set on International Holocaust Remembrance Day this year, but that doesn’t mean the remembrance should ever end. I’d like to introduce you to someone very special. This is my cousin Evie, and she is a Holocaust Survivor.

Photo taken at the Oregon Holocaust Memorial in 2017. Evie worked to complete this memorial site.

Evie was just two years old when the Nazis rolled into her hometown of Vienna, Austria. In the videos below, she tells the story of her miraculous and harrowing escape to freedom with her parents. They were the lucky ones. Most, if not all, of her extended family perished in the Death Camps.

I’m sharing these videos here for two reasons. The first and most important is that the Holocaust should never, ever be denied or forgotten! There are very few people left alive who can give a first hand accounting of the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazi regime. It is our duty — my duty — to amplify their voices and remember their stories. The second is purely that I want to be able to quickly find these videos so that I can fulfill that duty.

It’s my honor to present Evie’s story here. Please give it a listen and share it.

https://www.facebook.com/MACC.TVCTV/videos/1007283462801520/
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In The Wee Hours: Madam Vice President

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I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Ready?

I didn’t vote for President Obama.

Twice.

That’s right. At the time, I was still laboring under the delusion that a certain political party actually shared my values. I have since come to the realization, especially over the past five or so years, that it absolutely doesn’t. For that matter, no political party does 100%, but I digress.

I didn’t vote for President Obama. However, on his first Inauguration Day, I put my political differences aside and rejoiced that America had elected it’s first ever Black president. Just two miles from where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had given his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech 45 years earlier, a Black man was instituted to the highest office of the land. That juxtaposition and significance was not lost on me. I admit that anything I felt assuredly paled in comparison to the emotions of the millions of Black men, women, and children in that crowd and watching at home. I can’t even imagine. It was truly a historic day in our nation’s history.

Later today, Kamala Devi Harris will be sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. This time, I did vote for her (and President-Elect Biden, but mostly her). I know many didn’t. I know some of my friends and family didn’t. If you didn’t, I’d like to challenge you (and them) to do something: lay your politics aside for a moment and recognize the historic event taking place.

For the first time in our nation’s history, we have
the first Black,
the first Asian,
and the first Female
Vice President!!!

Regardless of your political leanings, that is something to celebrate!

The US has been significantly behind the world when it comes to women in power. It is long, long past time for a woman to ascend to the highest office in the land. For now, we’ll rejoice in one reaching the second-highest. I am elated to see this finally happen. I’m even more happy for my young nieces to see this happen.
Representation matters!
Having women in power matters!
Having women of color in power matters!
Kamala is the first.
l hope and pray that she isn’t the last.