Wife and I had no plans for the July 4th weekend. All of our family members were otherwise occupied, and most of our friends had plans as well.
I have been in kind of a funk about the 250th anniversary because Trump, as he so often does, has tried to make it about him. Some years back we went to Washington for the 4th, spent a good part of the day out on the National Mall and watched the fireworks behind the Washington Monument that night. We had the whole family with us (it was before grandchildren and even before two of the in-laws, although one of them was with us as a significant other) and it was a lot of fun.
But it was definitely a one-and-done, something I care not about doing again. And I would not have gone near the place this year with Trump's "state fair" and all the various ways he co-opted the event.
Now, let me say, in many ways this is my problem. As much as he might like it to be otherwise, Donald Trump does not own this country, and I have just as much right -- if not an obligation -- to be patriotic as I ever did. So, I am acknowledging I have some work to do to get my head straight about all of this.
And to be fair, July 4th has never been a favorite holiday anyway, long before Donald Trump, probably because it's in summer, and July 4th, in the places I have lived in my life (primarily Arkansas and Tennessee) is usually blazing hot.
Back to my point (yes, there is one). With our having no July 4th plans, about a week before, Wife and I discussed how we might spend it. Wife usually makes our travel plans but said she was up for anything if I wanted to come up with something.
Readers might recall a couple of years ago I visited the Abraham Lincoln Museum Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided I should visit other presidential libraries and museums when the opportunity might present itself. Best I can remember, in addition to the Lincoln one, I have visited the Bush library (Bush II) in Dallas and that's it. I have not even been to the Clinton Library in Little Rock, where I lived 17 years and where I still visit friends from time to time.
I did some research and figured out the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, in Independence, Missouri, would be about an eight-hour-drive for us.
So, this is what I proposed to Wife and she was in. We drove a little more than half-way on Thursday July 2nd and drove on to Independence Friday morning. We toured the museum that afternoon. When we were done, we drove into Kansas City and enjoyed Kansas City barbecue that evening.
As it turned out, Kansas City was hosting part of the FIFA World Cup and in fact, that night Ghana and Columbia were playing. We stayed at a hotel downtown across the street from Union Station. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was about FIFA. The streets were filled with fans. And while we are not soccer fans, it was interesting to witness all the hoopla around the World Cup tournament.
On Saturday morning we visited the World War I Museum and Memorial just a short walk from our hotel. After having visited the Truman library and filling our heads with World War II knowledge and information, and the next day spending several hours looking at artifacts and reading placards pertaining to WWI, our minds were overflowing and we realized how much history we had forgotten,
To supplement my visit to the Truman museum, I have been reading The Accidental President by A.J. Baine, subtitled: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months that Changed the World. Truman, of course, ascended to the presidency when FDR died in April after being inaugurated for his fourth term the preceding January. Truman did not even want to be vice-president, much less president, and yet here he was, faced with arguably one of the most difficult decisions of any president in history (dropping the atomic bomb).
Saturday night we attended a Kansas City Royals game (we manage to work baseball into our trips whenever possible) and stayed for the post-game fireworks. After visiting two American historical museums and being reminded of the sacrificial service of so many patriots, I felt a bit more like celebrating.
Although we had planned to go to another baseball game Sunday, the temperatures were soaring and we decided one was plenty. We drove all the way home.
Here are a couple of pictures from the front of the Truman museum, and from the fireworks show after the baseball game:
4 comments:
What a great way to spend the holiday! The husband of one of our mutual friends is making a point to visit all the presidential libraries. I'm not sure how many he lacks.
We, as we have for seven years now, spent it at our younger daughter's home.
That sounds like a memorable fourth of July to me. We went to the hometown parade. It began as always, with the local politicians and the local chapters of the Republicans and the Democrats. Their was absolute silence as they went past. 0 response. It was eerie. A veteran in front of us did mutter about "gd communists" as the democrats went by. I wondered how he worked out that we were communists. I had not heard that before. Later, I learned it was a major part of Trump's holiday weekend shtick.
The crowd was extremely small compared to previous years. Very noticeable. I think a lot of people felt the same as you. I know that I did.
We were not here last 4th of July. We discovered that our neighbor puts on a fireworks display that rivals anything in town. We only have to cross the road to watch it from the cemetery.
We ended up just doing our normal July 4th thing which was to cook some good summer foods like bbq ribs, strawberry shortcake, etc. and top it off by watching our rather pathetic local firework show. Like you, Trump sort of took the wind out of my sails for doing anything more than that.
I've been to the Truman Library and also the WWI museum and monument. I believe that same trip we went to the U.S. Mint which was pretty neat. I've been to half a dozen presidential libraries including Clinton's in Little Rock. Honestly, I have the fewest memories of Clinton's other than it had a replica of the oval office in it. Probably my favorite one has been the Herbert Hoover center mostly because it had his childhood home on site as well as his grave.
I can't image being in DC on the 4th, but this year with the "Crowds" for the "State Fair," it might have been okay. In Laurel Fork, we had a short ceremony as we dedicated new flagpoles and the name Trump was never mentioned! I spent a week in Independence in 2004--researching at the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Latter Day Saints) headquarters on their work in Nevada in the 19th Century. Their temple is worth visiting and unlike their Mormon cousins, it's open to everyone.
Post a Comment