I still remember ...

I still remember the first time I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"... I was awe struck by Solzhenitsyn and his writings ...

Later I would read The Cancer Ward and I would try to read both The First Circle and August 1914 ... I even tried to read Gulag, but never got through the first book ...

I think when I unpack my books and find the various Solzhenitsyn books in my library it would be a good opportunity to try again ... It's the least I can do now that one of the world's truly great writers has passed ...

But at 89, he leaves a wonderful legacy of hope and the triumph of the human spirit ... his words will remain as a reminder of what is possible even in the deepest and darkest times ... he held a light aloft to show us ALL a path to a brighter tomorrow ... and he died a free man in a free country ... he achieved his words:

"Those same hands that once screwed tight our handcuffs now hold out their palms in reconciliation.''

Rest in Peace Mr Solzhenitsyn ... and Thanks.
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