We cannot and will not forget 9/11. 16 years ago the US experienced the worse terrorist attach on our soil in history. Today we face threats from both inside and outside our borders. We should never let this tragedy be forgotten. We should take it as a lesson. The world needs to stop these battles. We can’t go on hating because of color, religion, where you live or whether you are rich or poor.
Happy Birthday America. You are facing many challenges today but you’ve seen worse since your birth. You have survived the murders of 4 of your presidents. Abraham Lincoln was the first.
A shocking act that couldn’t have come at a worse time. Honest Abe’s death left you in a turmoil, carpetbaggers and reconstruction fanned the flames of hatred between North and South. Lincoln never had the chance to “bind up the nation’s wounds”. But you survived.
Not as well known as Lincoln, your 2nd president to die from gunshot was James A. Garfield. Only 4 months into office he was shot for revenge. Who knows what he could have done had he lived.
William McKinley had led you to prosperity, added territory in the form of Puerto Rico and the Philippines. He should have been well loved but a disturbed individual who adhered to the doctrine of anarchy took his life as he reigned triumphant in his 2nd term! 
John F Kennedy was the fourth successful assassination. Kennedy had guided us to the moon and prevented a third world war with nerve wracking brinkmanship over the Bay of Pigs. And then he was gone. War raged in Vietnam and our commander in chief was dead. And yet, you survived.
I am no historian but in my 60 plus years I do not remember a time when we were more divided. Can our polarizing president overcome today’s divisions and, to borrow from Abraham Lincoln, “bind up the nations’s wounds?” Only time will tell.
You have hard times ahead I’m afraid. America , you have been through worse. This too shall pass and you will be stronger for it. Happy Birthday America. Celebrate!
She is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. Every year she sails out of her berth at the Charlestown Naval Yard to help Boston Celebrate the 4th of July. Well almost every year. She’s in dry dock to get a bit of a face lift. But hey, if I were 200 years old I hope someone would give me a face lift too.
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The USS Constitution got her nickname Old Ironsides because cannon balls seemed to bounce off her sides like she was made of iron. Actually her hull is made of Southern white pine. However those wooden sides were lined with copper sheathing to prevent shipworm but apparently it also gave the hull extra strength. The sheathing was imported from England but the copper bolts and breasthooks were forged by Paul Revere.
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Copper does not hold up well to seawater so from time to time the Navy brings the aging ship into dry dock to make repairs and restore as much as practical to her original state in 1812.
A Little History
The USS Constitution was launched in 1797, one of six original frigate class ships to start the new country’s Navy. She is most well known for her actions in the War of 1812. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of “Old Ironsides” and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. Although retired from active service in 1881, there was no rest for this grand lady of the sea.
Since she “retired” she became a museum ship in 1907. In 1934, she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. The Constitution sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.
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As a fully commissioned Naval ship. The USS Constitution has a crew of 60 sailors and offices. These officers and crew are all active duty U.S Naval Personnel.
The Future
The Constitution enter Dry dock 1 in May 2015 for a 3 year restoration project. The project is slated for completion on July 2017. She will be re-floated the night of July 23, 2017.
That’s the first line of a Dave Loggins song. I can’t help but think that its a fitting intro to today post. I want to tell you about Boston in the springtime. My visit to Boston last Saturday was to celebrate the opening day of the Swan Boats. We’ve had such horrible weather lately but Saturday shook it off and was a perfect spring day.
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After taking my time wandering down from the Park St T station I arrived at the Public Garden Lagoon. The Swan Boats were doing a brisk business. I sat down near the loading dock to watch the activity and for the first time I noticed a sign that read Swan Boats since 1877. That’s a pretty extraordinary track record. But that wasn’t the only big achievement.
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One year after the Boston Swan Boats are founded by Robert Paget in 1877, he passes away. Robert was only 42 at the time of his death and he left his young widow, Julia, and four children. Julia must have been a very determined woman because business women were very rare in those days. So rare in fact that for many years she had to collect signatures from local business men attesting to her ability to run her business.
Two Swan Boats 2017
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In 1914 Julia’s youngest son John assumed the helm of the business.
John introduced the larger boats that cruise the lagoon today. Each boat has 5 benches allowing more passengers than the smaller 3 bench boats. The current fleet consists of six boats, the oldest of which was built under John in 1910. In 1952 John passed the reins to his son Paul.
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Paul ran the company through the 50’s – 90’s. Today a 4th generation of Pagets preserve this beloved Boston Tradition.
There have been many events to mark the storied history of the Swan Boats.
Today the future looks bright if the crowds lining up is any indication. Somehow I can’t imagine the Public Garden Lagoon without the Swan Boats circling duck island on a beautiful, spring day.
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2017 Season
Saturday, April 15 to Sunday, September 17, 2017
After a lunch break at the Pentagon City Mall it was back on the tour bus for one final stop. We headed back to the Tidal Basin. Half way between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials we pulled over for a walk to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
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There are actually 2 memorials to FDR in Washington DC. The first, located in front of the National Archives was built to FDR’s specifications, about the size of his desk.
When Memorial #2 (the one we were about to visit) was dedicated his granddaughter, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, made the shrewd comment, “Memorials are for us. They aren’t necessarily for the people they memorialize.”
The new Memorial consist of 4 open air rooms, one for each term of his presidency.
Enter the memorial at the visitor center on north side off West Basin Dr. I don’t think I did that and it left me confused as to which room I was in from that point on.
You will know you are in the Prologue room because you’ll see a life size statue of FDR in his wheelchair. This room and the statue was added 3 years after the memorial was opened and following a great deal of debate. FDR never wanted to appear weak in public so did his best to avoid using the wheelchair except in private.
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Today the advocacy groups for people with disabilities consider FDR a role model and lobbied hard for the inclusion of the wheelchair statue.
Room 1
In room one we find a bronze bas-relief of the first inauguration. The single drop waterfall symbolizes the economic crash that started the Great Depression.
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This room contains two very powerful statues…The Breadline which illustrates despair
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and The Fireside Chat which symbolizes Hope.
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The water fall in this room is multi-tiered and controlled, a nod to the Tennessee Valley Authority dam-building project.
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Room 3
Water crashes over boulders in all directions suggestion the chaos and destruction of the War years.
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Amidst this violence Roosevelt with his beloved dog, Fala, calmly presides over the world around them.
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Roosevelt’s death is symbolized by the silent pool of water. It’s still surface reflects the Bas Relief called The Funeral Cortege. The carving represents a nation mourning following the death of the only president many can remember.
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Eleanor Roosevelt also has a statue here. It the only statue to honor a First Lady. She is honored for her contributions not only as First Lady but as one of the early delegates representing the United States at the newly formed United Nations.
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Throughout the Memorial the walls are etched with quotes from speeches and writings built on FDR’s 4 fundamental beliefs also called the 4 Freedoms:
We would do well to remember those four Freedoms today.