A NOBLE ROMAN

(…dedicated to the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces, and who daily risk their lives all over the world to keep We The People free, so that we can be who and what we are and live our lives as we see fit…)

I had taken a wrong turn in the ancient ruins at Bath, England, and I was lost, and separated from my tour group.

I was down in the lowest part of the structure, by the pools, and I had been looking at some of the ancient Roman relics on display there. I was so fascinated that I did not notice that the tour group had moved on. I was entranced by the idea of seeing relics of peoples’ lives from literally thousands of years ago – people who were, essentially, just like me – who tried to live their lives as best they could, and who had their share of triumphs and successes, joys and tragedies, as we all have. And now, long after they had returned to the dust from whence we all come, I can view (and sometimes, surreptitiously touch) the stone doorframes of their houses, the marble couches on which they reclined to dine, and the monuments which their bereaved family and friends set up to mark their passing. The ancient stones were not cold to my touch – not in the least. The very stones pulsated with the lives that had been lived around them, the noise, the bustle, the quiet, the intimacy, the violence. It was all there for the feeling.

I went up a short, twisty flight of stairs cut into the living rock that I thought would bring me back to the group – but it only led into another set of pools, which were deserted. Since my group was not the only pack of tourists there (and in fact the place had seemed rather crowded just a few moments before), I had the feeling that I was in a part of the ruins where I was not supposed to be. I was walking along a sort of narrow stone bridge that arched over the center of two of the large pools, which were apparently hot pools, as there was steam rising from them. The air was noticeably colder down here – so much so that I shivered. I had seen earlier, at one of the other pools, how people had thrown coins into them, as if they were wishing wells. I had wanted to do that also but hadn’t been able to get close enough because of the press of the crowd. While I was beginning to get a little panicky about being lost and alone, I decided to take advantage of the solitude for what was for me a very important duty.

I am a high school teacher of history and government, and had spent the last six weeks at a seminar in early (Pre-Norman Conquest) English History at Oxford. The seminar was finished and I had taken an extra two weeks on my own for some sightseeing. The Roman ruins at Bath were one of the top priorities on my agenda, because of my twin brother,