Memoirous

Thumbing through our 2001 album of photos from our first trip to Europe I linger over pages of photos taken from the ramparts of Notre Dame. The trip was a miracle, a fluke for people who only recently opened a bank account and got a debit card. We were poor but rich in friends and connections overseas. So we decided to cash out and see if a trip abroad was possible.   The result was The European Schedule: where we visited friends in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and along the way explored Florence, Venice, Prague, and Paris. We had no idea how big the world was or how old monuments were—everywhere we looked was something older than the oldest building in Chicago. We crossed borders and used currency since replaced by the EU. It was on this trip we first saw Notre Dame. Let me be honest. Most of the history was a blur. There was so much of it. Not to say I didn’t understand the significance of the cathedral. The Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame had just co...

I was one of those shattered yesterday watching live streaming at the BBC News of Notre Dame burning. You don’t have to have visited to know how meaningful it has been to millions of people. Not to mention a landmark of Paris, the City of Light. But I have been there, stood on its ramparts, and looked out over the city. I have peered upward toward the rose window and watched late afternoon sunlight streak through and cast rainbow colors on the floor of the cathedral. Yet, even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be less horrified watching the flames climb higher and higher in a darkening sky. It felt awful, catastrophic, hopeless; I couldn’t turn away. In a few remarks at close to midnight Paris time Marcon looks absolutely shaken. Those around him appear equally devastated. The past few years Paris has experienced a lot of loss and tragedy. The grief was palpable. Marcon finishes and receives a hug. BBC News, smoke and flames are seen billowing   Oaken roof supports were...