This afternoon Ken and I attended the first annual Veteran's Memorial Art and History Exhibition "Honoring our Courageous"veterans from all the wars our armed forces have participated in. The group that organized this unique celebration is a group called "Lens -A-Hand" and several Licking County Arts artists participated including Michelle Channel, Russell Merritt and the second prize winner our very own Sandy Gartner. I will include several photos tonight but tomorrow I will try to collect my thoughts and impressions of this worthwhile remembrance of those who serve in the armed forces. I found myself impressed with the works represented by the artists but more interested in the aged and line faces of the men and women who were strolling around downtown Newark. Their eyes told a somber and revealing story and I tried to make contact and when possible actually Thanked them for their dedication and service. Politically I do not understand the reasons we are where we are in the state of the world today. Yet my admiration for these young men and women moves my heart and somehow I felt the meaning of Memorial Day authentically in my spirit. I am still just beginning to see with different lenses that have widen my views and a desire to truly understand. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
