Lucky to live within a 30-minute drive to Valley Forge National Park, I get to go there often.  Many think the park is at its most beautiful in the spring, with the abundant native white dogwoods and rhododendrons in full display.  That is a breathtaking view. But it isn't the optimal time to visit.  No, the best time is the dead of winter, with the trees bare.  Only then can you see the expanse of the park.  In fact, at sunset, after a snowfall, the place is hauntingly beautiful.  In winter, you can also easily see why Washington camped there.  He had a great line of sight, especially to the east.  But the holiness of this place is what jumps out in winter, because that is when the suffering and the sacrifice and the death occurred there.  That suffering gave us, the Americans of the 21st century, what we now have, in material well-being and in freedoms. One of...(Read Full Post)