9 March 22

When I received this bright pink tie as a birthday present in 2008, the gifters suggested remembering “Pink’s War,” which was fought in March/April 1925 in the South Waziristan region between India and Afghanistan. Named for Wing Commander Richard Pink, it was the first major air bombing campaign by the British Royal Air Force. As an ardent pacifist I never condone any war, but I also cannot shy away from paying attention to the way wars have continuously shaped history -- and the fact that "South Waziristan" remains a contested region in Pakistan today speaks to the failure of Pink's War and so many other conflicts to bring about lasting peace. 

 On a much brighter note I can mention that 9 March is the birthday of Heinrich Klöppinger (1916-2002), my father's seventh cousin, who lived in Pfungstadt, Germany, and who became a special transatlantic friend to the Kleppingers around Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennnsylvania in the 1960s-2000s. Through Ancestry.com and Facebook I recently became "friends" with Renate Kloppinger, Heinrich's daughter who lives in Arizona. Renate and I share a 6th-great-grandfather named Johann Christoph Klöppinger (1683-1747)!