A volunteer's account from Austin:
I spent a total of six hours as a volunteer at the Eye Wide Open exhibit during its visit in Austin, Texas. I was given the opportunity to observe the effect of the exhibit on those who came to see it (or who stumbled upon it as they walked their dog, rode their bike…).
I saw a young woman whose large belly clearly revealed the fact that she was soon to be a mother. She told me that the baby was a boy and that he would never, never, ever go to war. She would move out of the country if need be.I saw an elderly man who told me that he had spent over thirty years in the military. He told me that he did not believe that all war was wrong but he knew in his heart that this one definitely is.
I talked to the proud mother of a son who had recently returned from Iraq and had volunteered to read the names of his fallen comrades at the opening ceremony.
I saw a sister who came with a stack of pictures and a written account of the circumstance of her brother’s death. She wanted to know how she could make sure that these accompanied the boots with his name on them through the journey of the exhibit.
I saw the tears of a fellow volunteer who told me that the man that she had just greeted son had died and he wanted to know where the Pennsylvania boots were so that he could find his son’s name.
I watched a man who was about my age (sixty) walk up to the boots, remove his hat and kneel. He walked up and down each row and read every name. It took him over two hours to experience the exhibit.
I saw a mother with two young children walk silently through the rows. I saw the young girl child’s tears as they streamed down her cheeks. I saw her younger brother take her hand and squeeze it. The mother walked over and caressed both children and they walked out hand in hand.
Many visitors thanked me as if I had done something meaningful. I accepted the thanks because I realized that they had to say thank you to someone and I was the one that was available. I want to pass these thanks to the ones who really deserve it – the ones who put the exhibit together and took on the major role of making sure that it continues on its journey.
On a more personal note, I took my six-year-old grandson to the opening ceremony. We got there early so that we would have time to experience the exhibit as a family before we experienced as part of a community. He looked at the small children’s shoes and told me that children are not in armies – why do they get killed? This is a question that we talked about but I don’t think that there is a good answer to this.
Thank you so much for making this exhibit possible.