So, patient readers, where to begin: how about “this land is my land” or “no one here is from here”? It is always difficult for educators to know how to broach this subject, unless cur-rent “regional” culture dictates it. Just today, for example, I received a “national survey” in the mail, wanting my opinion on a “left leaning” that threatens an “honest and balanced” (read “right-leaning”) account of American history. Well, I have always challenged my students to an “honest and balanced” account, that is an open-minded, objective critical inquiry.

In 1914 Thomas Edison’s factory in West Orange, N.J., was destroyed by a fire. Much of Edison’s life work went up in flames. At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24-year-old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.