BEST AMERICAN ART by Alexandra Jopp

Exhibition – Enola Gay: Hiroshima as Tragedy By Alexandra A. Jopp Doves fly around the Atomic Bomb Dome at the Peace Memorial Park after their release during the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, on August 6. The western Japanese city marked its 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi Every year on August 6, the world observes the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Early on that morning in1945, a B-29 Superfortress bomber known as the Enola Gay, under the command of Col. Paul Tibbets, dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion killed as many as 70,000 people in an instant and left tens of thousands more with injuries and illnesses that would later claim their lives. At that moment, a new era – a nuclear era – began. Every August 6 reminds us that memory cannot be morally neutral. The story of the Enola Gay is the story of Hiroshima’s tragedy. It is the story of the destruction wreaked by nuclear wea...

“Would you like another Sir?”   Glancing up as the ice melted away under the mellow heat as the summer afternoon sun slowly dissolved into evening, he smiled and gave a slight nod.   “Please”.   “Very good Sir, Crown Royal on the rocks” and the waiter went back inside, leaving him to continue his solitary contemplation.   A nice restaurant, he thought, nice view, good service – always attentive yet never obtrusive.   She liked it here too.   He knew that was one of several reasons why they came here.   They came often enough to be comfortable, but not so often as to be considered regulars.   He smiled at remembering one of his unwritten goals – “never go anywhere so often that you become a regular”. His fresh drink arrived and he nodded his thanks as the waiter disappeared.   How long had he been sitting there?   No real way to tell since he never wore a watch.   But as he swirled the ice in his new drink he knew the sun was lo...