Tuesday night I loaded my mini-Freepers into the car (ages 11, 7 and 5) and we drove 11 hours from Atlanta to DC. Along the way I used the time to talk to my kids about why I hold the President in such high esteem. We talked about his vision, strength of character and his unbending support of the things he believed.
We pulled into a very scary hotel in Richmond and grabbed some zzzzs. Wednesday morning we headed into the capitol, got in line for the public viewing and began a day we will never forget.
Because we were in the first 35 or so people, the press interviewed us many times. It will come as no shock to any Freepers that the press could barely contain their disgust. Fairly benign questions were followed with barely veiled attempts to gain negative coverage. One of the first questions I got, at 11:00 am, 10 hours before the viewing would begin!!!, was if I was disappointed that there were not more people there. Later interviews asked if it was worth it to drive so far and so long for a few minutes of viewing. I won’t dwell on particular questions, they were all pretty much the same. Iran Contra came up many times. Many reporters tried to spin that Reagan was just lucky to be there when communism fell. Others tried to stress that many were there because it was a historical event, not an even really about Ronald Reagan.
Since most of the questions were the same, so were my answers. In the 15 or so interviews I gave, my main theme was: I came here to pay my respects to the man who was the steward of my life during my growing years. Because of his demeanor, outlook and political success, life was much more innocent and secure than the days I remember in the 70’s. For that gift, I will always be grateful.
Though it took me years to appreciate it, I came to thank the first person in my life to successfully articulate conservative beliefs. Much as a child dismisses a parent’s wisdom and later comes to recognize the truth, it took me time to appreciate the simple, honest, powerful wisdom of Ronald Reagan.
Many reporters wanted to know why I would spend 22 hours in a car to stand in line for 10 hours with my children. The answer I gave them guaranteed that I would miss out on being on television, even when interviewed by that creepy guy on ABC who reports to Peter Jennings (can’t remember his name, but I call him the crypt keeper!) I told every reporter who asked that, though they had barely restrained themselves during the past few days, I knew the flood of stories would face us in the months and years ahead that would try to tarnish Reagan’s great deeds. I told them that I wanted my children to remember the tens of thousands of people who came to honor this great man and balance that will they lies that the mainstream press would relish telling.
When a reporter asked my oldest daughter, almost 11, if all this was worth it to see a box with a flag (mommy almost clocked him) she replied, “We came here to pray for our President. He knows we’re here. We also came to show Mr.s. Reagan and her children how much we loved him during a sad time for them.” Bravo child of mine.
There are so many interesting stories. One man at the front of the line ordered pizzas for the first 100-150 people in line at dinner time. Every person who went for refreshments brought back extras to share. Kids played together, grownups laughed and shared favorite stories and memories of our great leader. It was truly a celebration of a grand life.
When the terrorist scare happened, it was handled beautifully. Police ran toward us yelling, “Run South down the mall, there has been a threat.” A few people ran and screamed (I’m sure they ended up on the news) but most of the 750 or so people walked quickly and purposefully where directed, quietly waited, and returned to their exact spot in line about 10-15 minutes later. Of all those people, only 1 twentysomething tried to cut and he was quietly moved to the end of the line. Reporters were all over us again, weren’t we scared, terrified, worried. My feeling? No. I refuse to allow the terrorists to terrify. Besides, one could not fail to be impressed by those buff and fabulous soldiers who ran in perfect hut hut rows in front of us. I felt thrilled, proud and like Mrs. Robinson, but never scared.
The warm atmosphere ended when the first strains of music could be heard. When the missing man formation flew directly over us, the tears began. From our point in line, we were lucky enough to be in line and still watch the beautiful procession come to the front of the Capitol.
Finally, when we entered the rotunda and got to say our goodbyes and more importantly our thank yous, the grief was more than I had counted on and yet I was proud to have been there to represent those who could not attend. I was proud to have been among many faces that reminded Mrs. Reagan of her husband’s impact and the bond he forged with the American people. I felt blessed to have given my children a memory they would always have and the real version of the story of Ronald Reagan.
I wore my Thank God for Ronald Reagan shirt that day because I do, every day.
Freegards,
HRWR
Thanks so much for giving us your story. What a great experience for your family. I was so proud of the many thousands like you who stood in line those long hours to pay respect. Wish I could have joined you all.
And I just have to repeat the words of Chieftain posted earlier:
"It's parents LIKE YOU that secure the future of our great nation!"
Thanks
Shameless bump for a great conservative and fellow American.
What no pictures?
Wonderful story and what memories for your children. Thank you for sharing.
You and RobFromGa were within fifty feet of each other.
Bump!
Alan Colmes is the cryptkeeper LOL!
Great story. I'm glad you all could come up for the viewing. My cousin is a policeman in DC and he says by far, the nicest people he ever dealt with are the visitors, while reporters that visit the Capitol are all POS's.
Just beautiful. She sure showed him.
Thanks for the report. I'm so glad you had the chance to go.
Thank you for your wonderful report.
What is amazing is that every person who was there represents several others who, like me, just could not go but wanted to.
Thank you for paying your respects and for representing so many of us!
Wonderful story...thank you for sharing it.
We watched you all on TV and were there with you in spirit.
God Bless President Reagan...the best President of my lifetime.
Thanks for sharing this, I was nice of you to attend, Reagan was the greatest. It all hit home when we knew he would no longer be with us.
What a beautiful report. I watched much of the coverage on t.v. wishing I could have been there in person, but now I almost feel like I was! Thanks!
pinging myself