Jami Saw History in Action

It's odd to me how things can trigger a memory you haven't thought about in years. A commercial for my alma mater, the venerable Edinboro University of PA (Official Motto: Yes, we know the spelling is different than the Scottish city), mentioned meeting people from all over the world and instantly I thought of this random memory: My roommate and I had befriended a nice boy named June (spelling was probably different, this was more than 15 years ago) from Czechoslovakia. He was a "second year freshman" mostly due to language barriers. I forget what his major was. Doesn't matter, really. June was visiting, just hanging out and I had the news on. They started talking about the plan created by the Czech government to split the country. Of course, we turned up the TV and watched. He crept closer to the TV, squinting, studying the map. When the story ended, he turned to us and said "I don't know where I'm from." June's family lived on the line the reporter had drawn down the country. He couldn't tell which new country his family would be in. Was his passport still good? Could he go home? What airport would he go to, what if he went to the one in the wrong country? If he left the US, would he be able to get back in? It would have been the middle of the night in Europe and with the cost of international calls, June hadn't talked to his family in several weeks. He'd have to wait until morning to call. What could I say? I certainly couldn't assure him it would all work out - who knew? Couldn't offer advice - I sure haven't been through that. I walked him back down to the lobby because he wanted to go back to his room and wait until he could call his parents. What else could he do? There isn't much more to the story. He got in contact with his family who assured him they were fine and it would all work out. He'd be getting a new passport, he could still come home and go back to school. They told him which country they were in (though I've since forgotten). It did all work out. I learned that night that world events aren't just world changing, they are people changing. Each major news story, no matter how boring or irrelevant it seems to us, effects untold numbers of Junes. You probably already know that, but I saw it that day. And it's always good to be reminded of that.