wrote:
> From: Leigh Westmoreland D <leighwd77777@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Fwd: Daniel's History Lessons/ photo off the coast of Norway
> To: >
> > > the coast of Norway
> > > To:>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > From: > > > Subject: Fwd: Daniel's History Lessons/ photo
> off
> > the
> > > coast of Norway
> > > To: custody0516047@yahoo.com
> > > Date: Monday, August 25, 2008, 8:03 PM
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > >
Forwarded Message: Daniel's History Lessons/ photo off the coast of Norway Daniel's History Lessons/ photo off the coast of NorwayMonday, August 25, 2008 2:09 Daniel has absorbed a world class education in history among his many accomplishments during the past 3 years. He has visited nearly half the states in America, learned more than most adult Americans about the Revolutionary and the Civil Wars from Vicksburg to Philadephia to Monticello and many more historical sites. He's walked the grounds and gained a remarkable perspective of our nation there, and in Washington D.C. where he loved studying in the Smithsonian and at the national monuments in the land of the free and the brave. He's seen the Flag that waved while Francis S. Key wrote the national anthem. Suffered chills at the site of the Declaration of Independence. Daniel has seen spectacular sites in Yellowstone, stood at the Continental Divide, crossed the "badlands" of the west, and stared down at the wondrous beauty of the Rockies and the Grand Tetons from high over Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. He's watched potatoes grow in Idaho. Daniel has played from one end of California to the other at Legoland and Disneyland, and watched and listened to the Pacific surf pounding outside his room at Half Moon Bay. He can tell you his favorite shows on Broadway, and the best restaurants and stores in NYC. Daniel's participated in weddings from E. Texas to Mexico. He's been deep sea fishing in the Gulf off the coast of Mexico, and captained the boat like a professional. Daniel loves the plays of the West End, in London. (He just saw Andrew Lloyd Weber's JACOB & HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAM COAT. Loved it!) He's seen all the sites there. Has played in the bunkers in Normandy, and become teary eyed reliving Omaha Beach at this poignant site in France. He was at Napolean's Tomb at the ceremony for the last surviving French soldier of WWI surrounded by soldiers dressed in the uniforms of WWI (complete with videos of all with Daniel), and listened to a speech from the President of France as he was guarded by security and snipers and giant screens showed the great battles of WWI. Daniel has traveled Europe on high speed trains, seeing what most other other observe only from books. He knows more about WWII than anyone I've ever met. We took him to Dachau so that he could see and understand the evils of the Nazi party and Hitler. He had dinner at Hitler's favorite restaurant in Munich. ("D, the man was really, really bad. And, SO evil. But, you have to give it to him. He did have good taste in food!") He's funny. Very, funny. Daniel's been to "Check Point Charlie" in Berlin. And, to the square in Heidelberg where Mozart and Beethoven lived at different times. He loves the wild game of Europe. Boar. Venison. Whatever they serve. German food is his favorite. Daniel has a wonderful dentist in Dublin, because that's where he had tooth that was bothering him and she cared for him as she would have for her own child. He's been to Belfast. He knows about the IRA and the hundreds of years the Irish and the English have been quarreling with the English. He's seen Edinburgh and Glasgow. Daniel's DNA is so overwhelmingly Scot's (We've all had ours tested) that I'm surprised he doesn't speak with a Scottish brogue. His ancestors were mostly from around Dundee). He's ridden through the canals of Amsterdam. Played games and gone site seeing in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. (A Disneyland predecessor, founded in 1843). Speaking of, he's been to the German castle that was the model for Disneyland's logo castle. (Mad King Ludwig's). If you never saw the bunkers and beauty of Norway, Daniel would tell you how the Nazis dug in but were frustrated by Norwegian Resistance. He's eaten lunch at Friday's in Bergen, Norway. Had the best seafood meal in the world at a small port town in Norway. Ridden a train into the mountains and seen the mighty rivers and waterfalls that provide so much electricity that Norway becomes richer and richer by selling it's huge oil findings. He knows that Moscow and Oslo are the most expensive in the world. Coffee is $20 a cup. A hamburger is $50. Through a case of serendipity, Daniel was able to walk from Oslo into America. (We had business at the American Embassy, and he was fascinated by the security and an office filled with Americans). You must drag Daniel from the Louvre. He is fascinated. His favorites are the Egyptian exhibits. Paris is another wondrous site he adores. Same for the food. The Hermitage in St. Petersburg boggled his mind. But, the fun was in seeing how well Russians are not living (post Soviet), watching the growth, the expensive cars, and traveling into the country for dinner, music, and the sights of Catherine the Great's country estate. Daniel has been in the White Palace, in the giant Auditorium where the October Revolution was consummated as Lenin took control of Russia and turned it into the vanguard of Communism. He's seen where Lenin worked. His office. Where he lived. Daniel knows the beauty of Stockholm, and it's fjords which are as beautiful (if not more so) as those in Norway. He's walked the streets of Helsinki. ...and.... ....that is only a start. The most typical comment Daniel receives when traveling is, 'Daniel, we've had a lot of people fly first class with us, but you are THE CLASSIEST and nicest, and most polite passenger we've ever had!" Passengers make similar comments. He plays baseball (in one season he went from last batter to "clean up," and MVP). He plays tennis, and is now getting some golf lessons. He has many collections of the good, old fashioned, TV programs which he loves above all others. ("McHale's Navy." "Hogan's Heroes." "I Love Lucy." "Fawlty Towers." "Abbott & Constella." "Laurel & Hardy.", etc) His favorite radio programs are "Fibber McGee & Molly." "Jack Benny." "The Great Gildersleeve," and all the others on Old Time Radio on XM. He can sing and act as if he has had years of training, and has already performed for his school and classes. He's a veteran flyer now who likes the private jets of our friends best of all (who wouldn't?). He has too many friends to count, in Dallas, in Santa Fe, and and all over the world. James from England, who's like his big brother. Jordan from Dallas who cares for him as a part time Nanny and is spending a year at SMU before she goes to Cornell. He enjoys many wonderful friendships he's made with those of his own age at our churches here and in Santa Fe. Best of all, he loves Jesus, is an all "A" student, and has no behavior problems. Most days he spends having so much fun that he laughs himself to tears. This is merely a brief glimpse of what has happened to a shy, troubled, and immature little boy who could not let you out of his sight 36 months ago. We never asked for this role, but what we expected to be a burden has turned into the greatest blessing. We are so proud of Daniel. He's a marvelous young man. And, I remain... A Proud Grandfather
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