Treasure in a Tin Box

_____Tobias Bascom did not have an easy start in life; but thanks to his ancestors, he never allowed his past to determine his future. Their family motto has never been more true than today. It is 1954, at Peach Tree Station, in Atlanta, GA. and even though Tobias has an invitation from Thurgood Marshall himself, to attend a celebration in the Nation’s capital, to accept an honorarium on behalf of his Great-Aunt Pearl Bascom; that didn’t matter to the ticket taker with a uniform that sorely needed cleaning, but barked his order as if he owned the train station. He blew his whistle right in Tobias’s face before , ordering both he, and his wife, Ruth, to stand in a line clearly marked, ’For Coloreds Only,’ but there he stood, holding himself with dignity; even though he was forced to stand in a line that was intended to strip away all of his dignity. Aunt Pearl’s words, often quoted, rang in his ears, 'Tobias, don’t you ever give up your dignity; that is a gift you give to yourself - it is not bestowed on you. Hold your head up high and act like a somebody, no matter what others think of you. Tobias, you are a somebody; always remember to act like it!' As Tobias boarded the Northbound train, he carried the only family heirloom the entire Bascom family had treasured and passed down for four generations; Great Grandma Hannah’s Tin Box, and the items inside that tin box held an equal place of honor for the family. At the end of this weekend celebration, this invitation will take its place among these cherished items. As most of the passengers are focused on the trip North, Tobias rests back in his seat for a sentimental journey, back through time to revisit his family’s stories, carefully recorded and preserved thorough hours of sweet conversation with those he has said goodbye to, and still the bitter-sweet sting remains. That sting, remembering how hard it was to say your last goodbye to those we have loved, is the price we pay for having shared their life for a season. Climb aboard this sentimental journey and join Tobias so you can live these memories together. Experiencing history through the eyes of those who lived it is the purest form of studying history.