I was having an online "conversation" with one of my cousins today when she triggered a long-ago memory. I don't think I've ever written about it, so here goes.
When I was married the first time, my husband's name was Tom. Spring break came along about 1971-73--honestly can't remember--and Tom and I arranged a trip to DC. The purpose was to visit sites and my favorite uncle and wife, who lived in Potomac, MD. In trying to remember details, I come up surprisingly short.
My uncle was a Lt. Colonel in the US Army, and extremely respected in those circles. His then-wife was Secretary to the President of Catholic University in DC. (I say "then-wife" because the mother of his two girls, his first wife, died of pancreatic cancer when my cousins were in their early-to-mid -teens, as was I.) Tom and I were considering a trip to the D.C. area and contacted Uncle Bud to see if they could put us up for a couple of days. They could!
On the way from IL to DC, we stopped at the Gettysburg battle site. History on the hoof. Then on to Potomac, MD, to my uncle's. He and Aunt Rita were exquisite hosts. And here is where my memory gets fuzzy. I mean, that was a LOOOONG time ago--early 1970s. Richard Nixon was President. We were still steeped in the Vietnam Conflict. We drove to D.C. and somehow managed to get from one place to another, but I no longer remember how! One of Aunt Rita's five children was still a minor living at home with them. They had a spaniel named Freckles. And this is what I remember:
1. When we arrived, I had dust on my shoes from Gettysburg. U. Bud said it was "Little Round Top" --a Gettysburg battlefield--dust. Thereafter, I didn't want to clean my shoes!
2. We all had dinner together, including one of A. Rita's older sons, who was quizzing me about my missions in life as a teacher. Noting that he was searching for something, I answered something like, "Well...it's a job." Rita later gave me an advisory that they had been trying to send the young man in another direction, and my response to his question didn't help their cause. Who knew?
3. One evening after dinner, U. Bud and A. Rita took us to the Great Falls of the Potomac. I remember walking alongside what seemed like a canal, then observing the falls. It was great!
4. Somehow, prior to our trip east, we were in receipt of a Congressional Invitation for a tour of the White House. (I have no recollection of how that happened, but I think it was the original reason for the trip.) On the day of the tour, we set off on our own. I have zero memory of how we got there, but we did. We toured the parts of the W. H. that were for public view. I felt special, even though we were in a group that was sizeable. I do remember being impressed by the fact that I was there, more than by the facility itself. As a souvenir, we were given an 8 X 10 glossy photo of Richard and Pat Nixon. (Still have it in my archives.) I wasn't a fan of Mr. Nixon but was certainly happy to have the picture!
5. U. Bud had given us a house key to get in if we got home before they did. We used the key and were met by Freckles who was baring her teeth but let us in. Scary! When I mentioned it later, Michelle (the kid still living at home) told us that was just a smile from the dog. She said, "Smile, Freckles! Smile!"...and the teeth came out. Wow...
6. One day when we were to be in D.C., U. Bud told us to go to a particular restaurant for lunch because his brother-in-law from his first marriage, Jorge, worked there. Not sure if Jorge was maitre-d, owner, or what, but we went there and met the man who treated us very well. Good food. Excellent service. Memorable because I felt special. We were such newbies from the Midwest with no clue how to act in D.C.!!
7. And this is a biggie. As Sec. to the Pres. of Catholic U. in DC, Aunt Rita was able to snag four tickets to an event called Prelude to Taps. I had no clue what it was. What it was, was a military pageant, complete with fife and drum corps, gun drill teams, patriotic music and pageantry the likes of which I had never seen before, even as a military brat. It was all performed by the Third Infantry, otherwise known as the Old Guard. These are the people who do White House duty. They are the cream of the military crop. These are the people who "performed" at President Kennedy's funeral. These are the people who are hand-picked because they are good at what they do. These are the people who make me cry from pride and admiration--but I didn't know that then. All I knew then was that I was going to see something special in our nation's capital.
As we waited for the event to start, there was a rumor that President Nixon would be attending. (He didn't.) The instant the program began, I was enthralled. No one else needed to be there with me. I was in my own world, watching all of the pageantry like a sponge soaking up water. It was so impressive...so fantastic...I am simply at a loss to express what it meant to me.
At the end of the program, we were outside waiting for the crowd to siphon off so we could depart. I found myself standing next to General William Westmoreland, who was the Army Chief of Staff during the Vietnam War. He was waiting for his ride. He was elbow-to-elbow with me. I was impressed!
To this day, I don't know if Prelude to Taps was a one-and-done program, or something that is produced every year. I only know that I was privileged to see it at a nasty time in our national life.
I will never, ever forget it. (If you look it up on YouTube, you will find a video of it filmed in 1973, with Lorne Green as narrator. It doesn't do justice to what I saw, even though it might very well be what I saw because I can't exactly remember the year we were there!)
And so it goes.
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