Amsterdam was the lagniappe to our trip, thanks to a six-hour layover there on our flights home. I convinced Mark to leave the airport for a quick tour of the Rijksmuseum and a scheduled visit to the Anne Frank House. The Vermeer and Rembrandt masterpieces were a thrill to see, especially Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild (those men in austere black robes and hats looking straight at the viewer) and The Night Watch in its grand presentation. We had too little time to visit The Van Gogh Museum, which was disappointing, but I loved seeing one of his self-portraits at the Rijksmuseum. When we entered the Anne Frank House, I thought of my mom and how she loved the Diary and the excellent movie adaptation I watched for the first time with her. (Shelley Winters donated to the museum the Oscar she won.) As Mark pointed out, the rooms were bigger than we expected, due to the movie’s portrayal, and perhaps because they were unfurnished. We read that Otto Frank, Anne’s father, who established the foundation that made this place into a museum, required that the rooms remain empty, save for the display cases and wall presentations. Walking through the rooms, and especially seeing the bookcase hiding the stairs leading to the secret annex, was a sobering experience, and being there impressed on me what Anne Frank has meant, and still means, to so many people around the world. The most memorable line in her diary — “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” — expresses what we all want to believe. I can’t imagine her father, the sole survivor, reading those words on his return to their hiding place. The most famous portrait of Otto Frank was in the Arnold Newman exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center a couple of years ago, and it was the one that visitors on my tour reacted to the most strongly. During the photo session, church bells started tolling, and Otto Frank abruptly stopped Newman and began to weep. After he composed himself, he explained to Newman that these were the bells Anne wrote about in her diary. Newman, who wept with Otto Frank that day, wrote “This is the saddest photograph I have ever taken.” Testimony from Miep Gies and Victor Kugler, who hid the Frank family and friends, and celebrities who have been especially touched by Anne’s story, is part of the final video at the Anne Frank House. The point is made that her story is but one of thousands, and has received extraordinary attention above others, but I agree with those who are thankful for that attention. Anne Frank’s diary, translated in 70 languages, does not allow us to forget. And a note for our family: Miep Gies died at 100 years old on January 11, 2010, the day that Stephen died. That personal link to Anne Frank’s story means I will never forget.