Carili (Bitter Melon)
The Monument at my bus stop
September 2, 2025 Every day on my commute from Hardy Middle School, I transfer buses next to a monument. For days, it was just part of the landscape—another piece of DC’s historical furniture that you notice but don’t really *see*. But yesterday, something shifted. Standing there waiting for my D10 connection, I really looked at the bronze figure towering above me: **Tadeusz Kościuszko**. The name carved into the base, along with “SARATOGA,” told a story I was finally ready to hear. Kościuszko was a Polish military engineer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. His fortifications at Saratoga in 1777 helped secure one of the most pivotal victories for American independence. But here’s what makes his story remarkable—after helping establish American freedom, he returned to Poland to fight for Polish independence. And unlike many of his contemporaries, he was a passionate advocate for abolishing slavery and freeing enslaved people. A freedom fighter who actually walked the walk. Y...
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