Monday Memories--the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Last week was the 18th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In a rather odd sequence of events, we watched it on TV with my parents, who were visiting us in the off-season at Lakeside, Ohio (the only thing more off, gray, damp and chilly at Lakeside is February). They had driven out from Illinois to see what we had purchased in September 1988--a tiny, 750 sq ft home built in the 1940s, still known today as the "Thompson cottage." Dad walked around the almost deserted town looking at the 19th century summer cottages/houses with crumbling foundations, dead flowers, and windows sealed with plastic. I'm sure he thought we were crazy and wondered why he had made sacrifices to offer me a better life than he had. We had a tiny 9" screen TV (broadcast only, with rabbit ears) and the four of us sat on the uncomfortable furniture (45 year old couch, wooden nursery rocker, and a $10 chair I bought at a yard sale) and could hardly tear ourselves away. It was an incredible sight, full of so much hope. I also remember when it went up in 1961.

I'm pretty sure none of us watching that historic event at Lakeside were crediting President Reagan--Mom, my husband and I were all Democrats, and Dad was a Republican who didn't seem to like him much (local football rivalry from their youth). However, "On the anniversaries of the Berlin Wall’s collapse, we should do Reagan the honor of recognizing his prescient leadership that helped to produce that marvelous event." Dinesh D'Souza