Yesterday I went to a small memorial ceremony for my mother.  She died last February (age 90).  But she always worked.  For the past 20 years she worked at the Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center in Baltimore.  So she spent the last 20 years of her life helping reunite families torn apart by the events of 1930-1950.  I won’t go into what everyone said, just that they honored her far more than I knew.  It’s a lot to live up to.

Then I came home with a renewed commitment.

Lesson 1:  Damnit, if you want security you have to equip the security guys properly.  I’ve written before about Kevlar vests and briefcases etc.  They only cost a few hundred dollars.  The Holocaust Museum is a well-known target of every whack  job and hate monger out there.  It’s unconscionable not to give the frigging DOORMAN a safety vest.  What were they thinking?  I know, it’s easy in hindsight.  But this wasn’t hindsight–people asked for vests months ago but they didn’t buy them.  Everyone thought there was time.  There wasn’t–at least not for Steven Johns.  Which may lead to Lesson 1A:  don’t delay, do it NOW.