I freely admit that I have a love affair with Washington, D.C. There is a sense of grandeur that I got sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Monument overlooking the Reflecting Pool, a feeling of reverence as I viewed the Vietnam Wall, and a sense of being near greatness as I entered the Jefferson Memorial. I've been on a special tour of the White House and drank cups of sickly sweet lemonade. I walked the steps of the Capital Building during the Vietnam War and saw students there quietly protesting the war. I stood in the Rotunda as people were singing Phil Ochs' "The Power and the Glory" to the tune of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" -- people who were supporting Nixon and had no idea what the song was really about, and though I did not agree with them I was glad they could voice their opinion. I spent hours admiring the magnificence of the animals at the National Zoo, braving the yellow jackets that swarmed through its luncheon areas, especially admiring a newly-born baby hippo, and I stayed at a home that was once part of Washington's Mount Vernon estate. I walked with awe through the sacred and hallow Arlington Cemetery. I found myself weeping at the National Medical Museum in Silver Spring when I saw that they had a portion of Abraham Lincoln's shattered skull on display. I have sailed the Potomac on Thanksgiving Day. I have been to book signings where I met Dick Francis and Elizabeth Peters and many others. I have picnicked along with many happy families. My girls went to school in the area so I spent a lot of time at George Washington University and Marymount College. My eldest grandchild was born at Georgetown University Hospital, but all remember nothing of that place, only the tightly swaddled, beautiful and calm infant that was placed in my arms that day. The statues, the monuments, the National Cathedral, the parks, the museums, the historical sights, the many venues for culture and the arts, the restaurants, the theaters...all of them are etched in my memory. I spent too many hours at the Washington Children's Hospital where so much was being done to help young people. So, too, are the poorer sections of the city and the people of all stripes, colors, creeds, and ethnic origins, and the many rats that seemed to appear at night. All of this -- the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the tacky -- combined to form a city that I love, a city that represents some of the best of America, and a city that has helped us move toward that more perfect nation we all strive for.
Things have changed now. Efforts are being made to turn Washington, D.C., into another Trump Mar-a-Lago. I compare the Hillwood Estate in Washington of Marjorie Merriweather Post to her other mansion, Mar-a-Lago in Peach Beach, which has been (in my considered opinion) demeaned and cheapened by its latest owner. We once took a clipping of ivy from Hillwood that had originally been planted at Buckingham Palace and planted at our then house in Maryland; I fear that if we took anything from Mar-a-Lago today, it would rot and decay.
This promotional, educational comic book points out some of the magnificent and historic sights of Washington in the late 1950s, back when the White House had an East Wing that was not rubble and when tacky gold leaf was not the dominant aesthetic.
"Seeing Washington is designed to highlight but a few of the countless points of interest which annually attract millions of visitors to Our Nation's Capital. The magazine is published by Commercial Comics, Inc., a firm specializing in the production of custom-made educational comic booklets for government, business and industry.
"It is our wish that this magazine will bring to everyone who reads it a better understanding of what Washington, D.C. means to our nation and to the world, and that it will arouse a greater appreciation for the privilege to say 'America, My Home.' "
The Washington, D.C. of my memory, the Washington, D.C. I knew, is part of my America. With courage and determination, we can once again return this magnificent city to that shining beacon of freedom and liberty.
Enjoy this brief trip through my -- our -- city. And Happy Fourth!
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=102130&comicpage=&b=i
Nice memories, Jerry. Jackie went to Washington for her high school Senior Trip in 1965, though it doesn't sound like she did much other than see the Lincoln Memorial and the Mall.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I set foot in D.C. was October 10, 1980. Our friends Bob and Sue Adey were visiting us from England, and I drove us down to Washington in my VW Beetle for the (first) Washington Bouchercon. It was (uncomfortably) held at the National PressClub. We stayed at the Hotel Washington near the White House. That was also the memorable day I met Bill Crider in person for the first time.
Jackie and Sue went on tours - The FBI Building was one - while Bob and I went book hunting.
We've been back to Washington many times since then but will not set foot there until the current occupants defilement ends permanently.
Oh, yes, one more memorable memory:
ReplyDeleteIn 1996 Jackie was the Director of a mini-school within her elementary school. She had her class watch the State of the Union speech in January, and the class was appalled by the rude way the Republicans treated Bill Clinton. She had them write letters to the local Congressman, where they suggested they could benefit from the conflict resolution training the kids had. The Congressman offered them ice cream on the lawn if they ever came to Washington.
Of course, this was a teaching moment for Jackie. She arranged bake sales and got a couple of thousand dollars from the PTA to rent buses, and on June 5 we let off early from Brooklyn with 200 kids and 100 parents. The big disappointment for the kids was no ice cream - I think they served brownies - but otherwise the day was a triumph. We even saw Bob Dole's farewell speech in the Senate.
No ice cream? The bastards!
DeleteJerry, that was exactly how the kids felt!
ReplyDeleteWhen Jackie asked about the highlights of the day, the high point was watching a video of BABE on the bus, while the low point was...no ice cream party.