I’m deep in chores of packing, rearranging, and packing some more. I definitely don’t pack light, ever. This trip appears to be no exception. Will the summer’s heat continue into September in Poland and Lithuania? Will it rain? Will it be chilly. I’ve traveled to these countries in the past and never had the right clothes with me. This time for 3 weeks of flying, driving, and taking a train, I think I’m taking everything. I have objections to buying things when I travel, but clothes shopping is not high on my list.

I returned from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where I was at a conference, only a few days ago. Just in time to unpack, do laundry, and repack. In my suitcase, I found something I had packed carefully, hoping the crumbling pages wouldn’t disintegrate even more. A few weeks ago, I was visiting my parents and my dad asked me to bring a small box up from the basement. I was very pleasantly surprised to see what it held.

My dad was stationed on Iwo Jima during World War II and for part of the time was on the staff of the newspaper. Some of the crumbling pages were copies of the newspaper – I haven’t had a chance to look at the pages. I want to photograph each of them so I can avoid putting them on a scanner and perhaps ruining them. The newspaper and the articles he wrote will certainly be of interest, but for me, better than that were a small stack of loose papers. My dad kept a journal of his days at sea traveling to Iwo Jima. There was more in that box. A larger stack of loose papers were handwritten and typed letters my dad wrote to his parents, my mother (this was several years before thy married), and others. From the few letters I had a chance to read, they are filled with family news and also my dad’s impressions of his surroundings, and politics surrounding the newspaper office! I can’t believe that I will have an opportunity to get to know my young dad.

The trip for which I’m packing will take me through cemeteries, museums, archives, and streets where my ancestors and those of my client who I’m accompanying, and those of the researchers on my team traveling with us walked. Although we’ll be seeing modern places and remnants of the past, my eyes will be open, looking for buildings and shops that stood long ago, and which are no more. I will be imagining, as I have done on other trips, what the past looked like. The sounds in the streets will feed my imagination, as will the smells and tastes of the food. I can’t wait to get on the plane and get started.

While we travel, as I’ve done in the past, I will try to write daily and share photos and thoughts about where we are and what we’re doing.