Posted on 06/11/2004 9:05:13 AM PDT by ConservativeMajority
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Over 150,000 people stood in lines for sometimes as long as five hours to walk past the casket of former President Ronald Reagan as he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Following a memorial service Wednesday night attended by the Reagan family, members of Congress, and other dignitaries, the public was allowed to view the flag-draped casket.
At the rate of 5,000 an hour, admirers of the 40th president steadily circled the simple velvet covered black catafalque for 34 hours. Braving oppressive heat and humidity, the blazing sun, and the darkness of night, they came. Ridership on the Washington, DC metro transit system reached an all-time record of 850,000 on Wednesday.
People came from across the country with one goal in mind: to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan.
Talon News spoke with some of the mourners early Friday morning as they stood in line, waiting their turn. Janet and Steve Kistler came with their 3 year-old son Kyle from northern Virginia.
"Reagan was a great president," Steve Kistler said. "We had to come."
Tony Malone and Justin Sipe came from the Dupont Circle section of Washington, DC.
Sipe told Talon News, "We're both Democrats, but Reagan was an inspirational figure. This is history."
Clavic Vichek, a Polish immigrant who came to the United States in 1995, said, "Reagan freed me, freed my country from the Communists. How could I not be here?"
Mbaki Olabasso, a student from Liberia studying medicine in the United States, told Talon News, "What great traditions you have here. I am pleased to be a part of it."
Bob Jacobs, a World War II veteran from West Virginia, said, "Reagan beat the Commies. We beat the Germans and the Japanese. He deserves this."
Marianne Stone and Stacy Weller, summer interns from Iowa, told Talon News, "There's no other place to be tonight. This just draws you in."
Salvatore Abruzzi drove in from New Jersey to pay his respects.
He said, "I owe this to him. We live in freedom because of him and men like him who will oppose dictators."
Miguel Rivera, a 7 year-old boy from Virginia, said, "God bless Ronald Reagan!"
Along with the thousands who came, Reagan's contemporaries made their way to the Capitol to honor the former president. Notables included former Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
On Friday, the body of the former president will leave the Capitol for a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. The service is scheduled to be at 11:45 a.m. local time during which eulogies are to be delivered by President Bush, former President George H. W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Following the funeral service, Reagan's body will be flown to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Semi Valley, California for a private internment ceremony.
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
I work at 18th and I Streets in Washington. At 10:30 I walked the two blocks down to Pennsylvania Avenue to watch the funeral procession as it traveled from the Capitol to National Cathedral. The weather in Washington today is chilly and damp. There was a light drizzle as I set out that turned into pretty persistent light rain by the time the funeral procession passed by. Despite the weather, crowds of folks lined both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. These were not tourists or even government workers (government agencies are all closed today). These were workaday Washingtonians -- secretaries, construction workers, cubicle dwellers, and more than a few lawyers and lobbyists. These are just folks who work in downtown Washington and who took an hour off to go say goodbye. It was really quite touching. The limos went by pretty quickly, but Nancy looked out the window and waved to us. I'll tell you, that little gesture on her part made my day.
Did you notice clinocchio sleeping? With the beast around you'd think he would have gotten more sleep last night.
He probably stayed out all night because of that fact.
Check the motel registers!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.