The Travelers Gift Ch 7

• David looks up from a parchment while swaying on the Santa Maria.
• Columbus sees David standing in midair, moving away from the ship.
• David moves incredibly fast and finds himself in a mildew-smelling room with dim lighting.
• There are seven motionless people in the room, all with looks of terror.
• David notices a thin, dark-haired girl who is also motionless but raises a finger to her lips.
• Knocking is heard on the wall, and the muffled voices of men are also heard.
• During the knocking, one of the voices yells, and the woman at the table holds the man's hand.
• After an eternity, the knocking stops, and a tense silence fills the room.
• The man at the table says, "Het is oke nu allemaal," which means "It is all right now, everyone.".
• The people in the room begin talking softly to each other.
• The teenage boy mentions the fear of dogs, but is cut off by his father.
• The man leads his weeping wife into a narrow room with a mattress and movie-star magazines.
• The young girl tells David to stay in the corner.
• The girl asks her father for permission to go upstairs; he tells her to stay away from the window.
• David follows the girl up a staircase hidden by a hatch cover into the attic.

In the Attic

• The girl expresses excitement about meeting David and reveals she knows his name is Mr. Ponder from a dream.
• David realizes he's in Amsterdam and the girl shows him the city from a window.
• The girl confirms that it is the same window her father warned her to stay away from.
• The girl shares that her name is Anne Frank.
• Anne says that the boy downstairs is Peter Van Daan, she also names her family members: Otto, Edith, Margot, and the Van Daans: Herman and Petronella, and Dr. Dussel.
• David recalls reading Anne Frank's diary in high school.
• The annex is a secret location with rooms connected to the back of a warehouse where Anne and her family are in hiding as Dutch Jews during the Nazi occupation.
• Anne tells David that Peter is very handsome.
• Anne reveals she has been in hiding for one year and four months, since July 5th, 1942
• Anne says that it is now Thursday, October 28, 1943.
• Miep, Otto's secretary, brings them food after hours through a hidden door behind a bookcase.
• Anne describes a terrifying experience when David first appeared, where only she could see him.
• Anne identifies the knockers on the wall as Nazi soldiers, also known as Gestapo.
• She says that the Gestapo dress in black and it is the second time they have come.
• If they stay quiet, the Nazi Soliders usually go away.
• Anne says that from the attic one can see most of Amsterdam.
• Anne points out the Westerkerk clock tower.

Philosophy

• David wonders about his daughter, Jenny, and how she would react in Anne's situation.
• During a razia, the rounding up of Jews, Anne expresses concern for her friends.
• She says that letters are censored, but the "truth is made known," through secret messages
• Anne reveals that they are being taken away to camps, and the Germans are lying about their living conditions.
• Anne shares an example of a secret message from a postcard where a friend used "ellende" (misery) and "Groot" (terrible) to describe their situation.
• When the Westerkerk clock tower chimes six times, Anne covers her ears and laughs, finding it humorous.
• She mentions that complaints are like optional activities that you can choose or not, and she personally chooses not to complain.
• Anne's perspective: eight people are hidden, food is provided through ration cards by Miep's family.
• She finds herself grateful for the extra dress for her and her sister, while others have nothing.
• Anne says that she deliberately chooses to be happy, saying "Today, I will choose to be happy!".
• Greatness, does not care about race or gender, its what inside of us that makes all the difference.

Anne's Room

• Anne and David go to Anne's room, which she shares with Margot; it's tiny, with a mattress on the floor.
• The walls are decorated with magazine pictures representing her future aspirations.
• They consist of people she wants to meet, places she wants to see, and things she wants in her life such as love, and children.
• They include pictures of Greta Garbo, Ginger Rogers, the head of Michelangelo's David, a house in the country, a pink rose, chimpanzees at a tea party, and cute babies.
• Anne becomes emotional, and David comforts her, admiring her courage and wisdom.
• David compares Anne to his daughter Jenny, who is about the same age.
• Anne asks if Jenny would be afraid in her place; David thinks she would be.
• Anne admits to being afraid sometimes but chooses not to be most of the time.
• She quotes her father saying, "Fear is a poor chisel with which to carve out tomorrow."
• Anne reveals that others call her a Pollyanna for living in a dream world, but says she knows the reality, she just denies it's finality.
• Anne pulls out her diary, and tears out several pages to give to David.
• Anne asks David to say hello to Jenny, and both must remember that life is a privilege, to live fully is a choice.

The Diary Pages

• Anne's writings focus on happiness as a choice, not an emotion.
• Happiness is the result of certain thoughts and activities causing a positive chemical reaction.
• Start each day with laughter for seven seconds, feeling the excitement it causes.
• Laughter is an outward expression of enthusiasm; enthusiasm fuels the world.
• Smiling is the most potent weapon, able to forge bonds, breaks ice, and calm storms.
• Smiling will cause others to further causes and follow your leadership, always smile first.
• Choosing to smile makes one the master of their emotions, defeating discouragement, despair, frustration, and fear.
• Instead of finding discouragement, compare to those less fortunate, removing the cloud of despair.
• A grateful spirit removes the cloud of despair.
• Remember to be grateful for sight, sound, and breath, and the miracle of abundance.