Monday, February 18, 2008

Conversations with Calliope


JOE: Good afternoon, Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon, Joe. How was the Caribbean?
JOE: It was everything Carol and I expected: weather in the mid-eighties, a great time on the Adventure of the Seas and delightful company.
CALLIOPE: Did you meet people on the cruise?
JOE: A few, but we spent most of our time with three other couples who went with us.
CALLIOPE: Was it all fun or did you learn anything?
JOE: You sound a little jealous. I always learn something. I finished reading a book about online marketing and got some good tips about where to start. I also visited a slavery museum in Curacao.
CALLIOPE: I didn't know there was such a thing.
JOE: There is. It portrayed the history of the slavery movement from the beginning through the civil rights movement.
CALLIOPE: What was most moving?
JOE: Two things. One was being in a replica of a hold section of a slave ship where forty to fifty people spent two months crowded together like sardines in a can. The other was child sized manacles. Seeing them brought to life for me the reality of this cruelty.
CALLIOPE: Did the experience do anything to help with your writing?
JOE: I think so. It reinforced my determination to continue using my writing as a means to help people think about their lives and their impact on others.
(Sculpture- Slavery Museum- Curacao)

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