Around the World in 30 Days -- Fredericksburg, VA

"Angel Light from the Sky" - MMSikes

Around the World in 30 Days with the Passenger to Paradise continues with the "F" destination -- Fredericksburg, Virginia, the city of her birth. She recalls growing up there in the shadow of the Civil War Battlefields. For much of her childhood, she lived just below Sunken Road where thousands of soldiers perished or were wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. She walked the long blocks to her elementary school located on the bank of the Rappahannock River. En route she passed historic Kenmore with a Civil War cannonball embedded in the brick wall. Old Lafayette School served as a hospital during the Civil War, and floors still wore the stains of blood from the wounded and the dying. No wonder the dreams of the Passenger were stirred by the images she saw on her daily trek to and from school. She ran as fast as small legs would carry her past Kenmore for fear she might spy the ghost of Lafayette riding his horse across the grounds.

Strange, what memories we harbor from childhood. What memories do you have about the place of your birth? Do you long to go back?