Five questions with ... Jonathan Gericke

Jonathan Gericke is owner of Logan Insurance in Harrisburg.

Q. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being disinterested and 10 being beyond ecstatic, how would you rate your eclipse experience?

Gericke: An 8.

Q. Did you stay close to home or did you travel anywhere by yourself or with family and friends  to watch the eclipse?

Gericke: Stayed within 20 feet of my front door with my wife, son and granddaughter.c

Q. Summer is winding down. Fall is up next. What is your favorite season and why?

Gericke: Fall. The cool is SUCH a relief from the heat and everything gets more colorful.

Q. High school football starts tonight in Illinois. Do you follow a local team? If so, what do you like about the game the most?

Gericke: I am not a sports fan.

Q. There has been a lot of unrest in our country regarding Confederate statues and memorials to the Civil War. Do you think they belong outdoors in public view or in museums as a historical reference?

Gericke: I think all the memorials belong right where they are. Consider the original reason for having memorials - to remember; and with the remembrance, to teach the next generation MY opinions and perspectives.

Education is far more than someone with a teaching degree propagandizing their own perspectives to the next generation. True education is hearing, and taking the time to understand, as many different perspectives as possible on a given subject, then making a personal choice about the value of any one perspective.

Two maxims seem appropriate to me: There is no one so bad that they cannot serve as a bad example, and those who are ignorant of history are destined to repeat it. Keep all the memorials out in full public view and be prepared to state why you agree or disagree with any historical person or event to anyone who will listen. Then and only then will we have a free society.

- Travis DeNeal