The Social Porcupine

We writers love words. Many of us love speaking these words aloud almost as much if not more than writing. That's because we have opinions - opinions we believe ought to be shared. Even to the point of friendly   discussion unless that's impossible because someone completely stupid won't understand . But sometimes we opinionated verbalists take a moment and realize we need to fuel our minds and stabilize our opinions with facts.   That's why, occasionally, we choose to listen . lis·ten ˈlis(ə)n verb 1. give one's attention to a sound. synonyms: hear , pay attention, be attentive,  attend ,  concentrate noun 1. an act of listening to something.                                                                       ...

My Speech August 1 2017 – Henri Wetselaar Good morning, Your Honor. Thank you very much for giving me a chance to speak. I was born in The Netherlands in 1924. My parents were both dentists. On May 10 1940 our country was invaded and occupied by the German Army. We were angry and formed the “Dutch Underground Army” (also called “The Resistance”). We wore no uniforms we tried to carry out acts of sabotage against the Germans. – I was 16 and I tried to remove a German flag. – I was caught by the Germans and I was to be executed by a firing squad in 12 hours. – Miraculously I got out of that – I was active in the Underground for 4 years and 4 times I was to {be} within an inch of being killed. – We saved the lives of several Jewish people and I was involved in the situation of Ann Frank, the girl of the famous war story (the book and movie) of “The Diary of Ann Frank”. In October of 1944 we were liberated by the Allied Forces under General Montgomery. I was badly wounde...