The following story was written by Hilda Lebedun and shared as part of the Memory Project.
What a gorgeous day with cloudless blue sky! Looking out to the yard, I still see green grass, silenced fountain, and gold and crimson leaves on stately trees! What a sight. Taking in all this beauty cannot keep me from reminiscing about my life.
We grew up in Czechoslovakia, with sweet, unconditional love from my beautiful mother and father, my three siblings, who were innocents of life with not many detours because of anti-Semitism..
Sadly, bad winds blew in from evil powers, fear and pain against people who pray differently prayers to the same God, spreading hate! Hate is a poison of the whole world and mankind, bringing tragedies, spilling blood with unspeakable horror, pain and death! Unimaginable Holocaust, murder of innocence. Why did the world stand still? I am a survivor of that bestiality, by the grace of God, living in a country where there is freedom, the United States of America. We have to guard this freedom just as our soldiers risk their lives to hold and preserve it.
I am honoring this precious land by learning to speak a new language, English, besides the ones I already know. And again, by the grace of God, I am still alive to see the outside splendor in the twilight of my life without hate and with still strong hope in my soul and heart!
[10-31-09]
Another Autumn Day
Another cloudless blue-sky day. How warm the sun’s rays yet feel. How distinctly Mother Nature is preparing all the greenery for the new season. Mankind should follow God’s design and not disturb the flow, for even a fracture can damage the earth and the existence of life.
[11-03-09]