Appreciating the Present

There is nothing like reading about your family's past to appreciate the present. During WWII my father's uncles formed a Russian partisan group and provided a safe haven to any Jew that made it to their hideout in the forest. The bigger the group got the more danger there was of being found by the Germans or Russians who were Nazi loyalists, but they never turned anyone away. If anything they tried to save as many Jews as they could reach. Life in the forests was not easy, but they were free. And as partisans the Jews were allowed to fight back against the Germans, kill as many as they could, destroy supply routes, raid ammunition sites, and do their best to try and drive the Germans out and save the Jews that were left. The only way to survive in the forests was for every person in the group to contribute in some form. Every one had to work together and remain united. There were arguments, jealousy, and rebellions within the group which jeopardized its survival. But those incidents just served to prove that if the Jews did not remain united then they had no hope of survival.

The group was fighting back against the "Haman" of their generation. About 1,200 Jews who were part of the Russian partisan group walked out of the forests when the war ended. The survival of the Jews showed that we won. But Haman was able to do a lot of damage, and there are many lessons to be learned by those in our generation.


Also, on a lighter note, I have been catching up on my Yankee history in my "free time". From the moment I walked into Yankee Stadium on my 15th birthday I was hooked on game of baseball and the Yankees. To be taken seriously as a fan I had to prove myself an equal so I learned all the ins and outs of the game. I knew all the statistics and numbers to back up my points. But, there was something missing in my baseball knowledge. I only had a vague notion of Yankee history and the teams that came before the 1998 world champion Yankees.

Thanks to the library, where I picked up 100 Years of the New York Yankees and quite a collection of baseball books, (a humble beginning) I have developed a greater appreciation for the Yankees of the present and past. And for all you "non-baseball fans", there are some inspirational stories even you can learn from and appreciate. For example, there was short segment on Jim Abbott, a man born with only one hand, who overcame all odds and made it to the majors as a very talented pitcher. He even went on to pitch a no-hitter for the Yankees, an exraordinary feat which is accomplished by few. In the history of the game (more than 100 years) there have only been about 250 no-hitters ever thrown.

expect more posts on baseball as the regular season approaches :-)