Howard Zinn

the first time I ever heard the name Howard Zinn was when my Lit professor told me I should google him.  So, being the obedient student I am, I did just that.  On a whim i decided that I would e-mail Mr. Zinn and just see if I got a response.  I asked him if I could do a brief phone interview and to my complete amazement, he not only replied to my e-mail he gave me his personal home phone number.  WOW!  I was floored.  Talk about ask and ye shall receive.  I did speak to Mr. Zinn for about 15-20 minutes.  It was probably one of the most amazing experiences I have had yet.  You could sense he was a man with great influence yet he had a gentleness in his voice that drew me in.  Mr. Zinn made me feel that at that moment I was the only person he wanted to speak with.  I believe that is why he will be missed by so many and one of the reasons why he had such a great impact on those who listened to him speak.  
For those of you who don't know who Howard Zinn is let me give a brief lesson.   Mr. Zinn was a historian, an activist and an author.  He was called a leftist liberal, but I kind of think he would rather have not had a label.  He had a mind of his own and used it.  Mr. Zinn was a liberal through and through, there is no doubt, but he didn't just go along with one party because of his affiliation.   Mr. Zinn was not blinded or enticed by big promises of politicians.  He could see past the fluff and encouraged the voters to make sure the people they elected did what they said they were going to do. 
What I find incredibley amazing is that Howard Zinn could be someone a conservative christian, such as myself, would look up to.  On many levels we would not have agreed.  However, I am sure that Mr. Zinn would have let me have my opinion and not written me off as a right wing whacko.  That is why I appreciate his life.   He will be truly missed by many  and I will forever be grateful for the time he gave me.