Goodbye Washington, We Had A Great Time!

It is with both sadness and joy that we must leave. Our families in Texas have been so supportive and loving during this time. Thanks to all involved in the Close Up program; you have been wonderful teachers and friends. To all of you who have kept up with this diary, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means so much to me. To my All Saints' family, thanks for your love and support. Your words of encouragement mean so much.

All of that being said, we have a new president, a new vice-president and lots of hope and optimism to go with it. Let us pray............

~Ann~

The Pentagon

Another day of rising early and moving in mass. We had an 8:30 a.m.appointment at the Pentagon. This day had been scheduled by the Department of the Army for us. After going through the security checkpoints and getting our official visitor badges, we were escorted to meet the honorable Pete Geren, the Secretary of the Army. We took pictures with him and then we were lead to a conference room for a question and answer session with him. We kept him plenty busy! The kids asked insightful and interesting questions. He maintains a busy schedule so we were delighted to have an audience with him. After a short break, we had the opportunity to hear from 3 highly ranked officials who briefed us on what it was like to be a soldier from a variety of perspectives. The first was Major General Bergner who was impressive to say the least. He was followed by Colonel Potter and Lt.Col. McLeary who all spoke of their experience in the military as well as their current assignments. Again, the students asked insightful and probing questions. (can you tell how proud I am of them?) After all was said and done, we were lead on a short tour of the Pentagon which included the 9/11 memorial. I think we were all moved by that; it was sad. The tour ended at the food court which was one of many. It included McDonalds, Taco Bell, Panda Express, etc.; the kids were thrilled. Yes, there is a gift shop in the Pentagon and 29 of us descended upon it. We departed and agreed that the Pentagon was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We could not have asked for more gracious hosts. We owe a special thanks for Lt. Col. Odom for being such a terrific escort. He's the one in the camo that is in the picture. We were all trying to convince him that he needed to come and speak to our classes. We'll see....

With a couple of hours to spare, we decided to go to Arlington National Cemetary to watch the changing of the guard. It was a moving and reverent tribute and one that every American should see. Then, it was back to the hotel. Tonight is the farewell banquet and tomorrow we depart for home. It will be sad to leave but I think that all of us would agree that it has truly been the trip of a lifetime. Get ready, we are armed with lots of stories!

Post Inaugural Day

Today was our "out of town" day, for the students
it was "capitol day". I haven't seen the kids so
I'm not sure what kind of excitement they experienced. Tomorrow we come back together so I feel sure that they will have lots of stories to tell. I can't wait!

We, the teachers, were asked to select an out of town trip to take. Ted and Bob selected Mount Vernon and I selected Montpelier, the lifelong home of James Madison, located in Orange, VA. One thing the kids can tell you about me is that I love the Constitution so I felt that it was the only choice for me. It was well worth the long drive on the bus. Upon arrival, we were taken to the visitors center for the usual and customary introduction. The visitor center was very nice and the staff very friendly. Our tour guide met us at the front of the house to begin the tour. I am still amazed, as I always have been, that James Madison hasn't been given the public credit for all of the amazing things that he did. He is given the title "Father of the Constitution" yet has no monument, memorial or holiday. It was such an interesting tour and Montpelier is now on the list of favorite presidential homes. It just reopened on Constitution Day of 2008. I now appreciate my refrigerator and oven more than ever.

The bus ride home was, well, I don't remember. I know we left Orange and when I opened my eyes again, we were in downtown D.C. How did that happen? I think it was a nap! Remember the exhaustion part of previous blogs? Anyway, we headed to the National Press Club which I was thrilled about. I've seen so many interviews, press conferences and roasts from that venue. It was truly something to behold for a political junkie like me. We had a lovely reception followed by a terrific meal. It was with a full stomach that we watched a performance by the Capitol Steps, a group that has been performing for about 25 years. Their political humor is timely and hilarious. We were all doubled over with laughter and it was a great way to end the day. If you've never seen them, I highly recommend them.

Tomorrow, it is off to the Pentagon. We are being hosted by the Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren, and have a terrific menu of planned events, including a panel discussion, a tour and a question and answer session. I am beyond excited. We are so lucky to have this time and I think it, like so many other things we've done, be a day to remember. From there, we're contemplating a visit to Arlington National Cemetary or possibly to watch the House if they are in session. I cannot believe that tomorrow is our last full day!

We will be leaving on Friday to return home and rethink the whirlwind of a week that we have had. At some point, I hope to regroup and share memories and experiences. There have just been so many great ones!

We Were There!

It's been such an insane whirlwind over the last few days. The kids have been involved in programs designed to get them involved politically. They have done a tremendous job of meeting new friends and working with their groups or getting to know D.C. They, like me, are truly exhausted. Last night we had to meet in order to make contingency plans for our crazy inauguration experience. We went over what to do in the event of just about everything. What time to wake up, what time to leave, what time the Metro opened, etc. Believe it or not, all 29 of us were out the door at 3:45. I was so proud of the effort; I knew they could do it!

We arrived at the Metro station before it opened and when it did, watched 4 trains pass before we could find space on one. No worries, we were ready to hurry up and wait. We finally found our train and made it to the appropriate station. Once we were off the train, we got into something that resembled a line. There sure were alot of folks there. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and happy, especially when someone tried to cut in line. There were chants of "to the back of the line" and "no you can't"; the latter one, I must say did make me break out in a giggle as Barack Obama signature slogan was "yes we can". Even Ted had a few seconds of fame as I saw him across the way and yelled his name so that he could find us. He didn't hear us so 3 or so people in our group yelled his name and he still didn't hear us. Within the next few minutes, there were probably about 50 people yelling for him. He heard us and was greeted by his new fan club.

We watched the sunrise and knew it wouldn't be long before the gates opened. Once they did, we found security to be a minimal hassle. We found our spot and the kids began to huddle. It was really cold, crowded and crazy. The music program began at 10 so that broke the boredom. The stars and dignitaries provided us with a visual and it was wonderful to watch the anticipation build. The throngs of people in our area made it difficult to see and we were pretty far back but at least we had a jumbotron close by. While the day had gone so smoothly, the departure was far from smooth. The massive numbers of people made it difficult to even move. Most of us ended up making the 3+mile walk to the hotel because of the lack of Metro space. Oh well, the stories will only get better with time.

Tonight the students had teachers went off to their separate balls. I can't wait to hear their stories. My ball was great fun, filled with music, wonderful decorations and casino style play for prizes. It was a terrific finale to an already amazing day.

The inauguration will be one of the highlights of my life, for sure. We have a truly amazing system that allows for a peaceful transition of power that it steeped in tradition. It's a show that all Americans should be proud of. I truly believe that all 29 of us will return better citizens because of this experience. The best part is that we can always say "we were there!"

Yes, it was awesome...

Today marked the beginning of the official ceremonies. We were anticipating a big day and I think it was everything we thought it would be.

I wandered around the U.S. History Museum; the teacher group that I was supposed to be with fell apart. I had heard that the museum was really getting into the inaugural spirit. It could not have been more true. I walked into the building and immediately saw Thomas Jefferson giving a talk and before long, ran into Abraham Lincoln in one of the main halls posing for pictures. A bit later, George Washington appeared out of nowhere. It was crammed with people but fun.

After the brief tour, I met my roommate, Marsha, and we worked our way down to the Lincoln Memorial. Close Up was taking the kids. We rushed to wait and as you can tell from the picture, arriving a couple of hours early didn't really get us much turf. It really didn't matter, everyone was enjoying the day. The music was everything it was billed to be. I looked around at one point and surveyed the crowd, I saw nothing but smiles. Oh, I almost forgot, as I was walking to the concert, I thought I saw a familiar face and stopped to check. Sure enough, Joy Ann and Bob Havran were headed to the concert as well. It was great to catch up with what was going on with them. I can't wait to see who else I run into! Anyway, it was a long and exhausting day, but as Mark Cox says, "sleep is for the weak". We're finding that out first hand but having the time of our lives.

Stay tuned, more adventures are yet to unfold.

Greetings From Washington, D. C.!!

We made it! We arrived late Friday, make that Saturday morning. Our flight was delayed so our arrival time ended up being 1:00 a.m.. Bedtime was sometime during the middle of the night. It was a very short night. We woke up early to change rooms which proved extremelty chaotic; we survived it.

It was off to our appointment at the U.S.Capitol. We tackled the Metro with great success and walked to the capitol. It was truly an amazing site. Washington, today, was really quiet, almost like the calm before the storm, so to speak. We toured the brand new visitors center and capitol. At one point we heard what we thought was a choir. We looked around and there was a group from Virginia that decided to give an impromptu mini-concert. It was wonderful! Punahou high school was present and so it was great to see them. As I was standing in our tour group, I got a tap on the shoulder and lo and behold it was Nicole, the young lady from Congresswoman Kay Granger's office. We had a really great conversation about D.C., Fort Worth etc. In another one of my small world moments, I discovered that Nicole had graduated from Aledo High and knew Nancy Crossley and Charlotte Cowser. Ya just never know, do ya? Later, we walked around to the back of the capitol after some picture taking and saw the setup for Tuesday. It was unbelievable! This inauguration is for real. Oh yeah, I got some great shots of the porta-potties. They really are everywhere!

We are exhausted and filled with enthusiasm. Tomorrow will be the huge concert at the Lincoln Memorial. The kids are so excited about it! Ok, so am I. Renee Fleming and Josh Groban are among my favorites. Actually, there are a number of performers that I'm excited to see. It will be an exhausting and cold day. I keep hearing the word "snow" being used. For those of you enjoying the 60's, just so you'll know, we aren't. It's really cold here!

Well, if you're reading this, thank you. We're making memories that we can wait to share. Til next time...

Prelude to History

The journey began a year ago this month. As a 32-year veteran of the political jungle called a 12th grade government classroom, I felt that something about this election was going to be special. Acting on that hunch, I made the appropriate contacts and began negotiating a trip to D.C. for what, in the end, would become an inauguration of historic proportions. After the contacts were made, a sense of urgency overwhelmed me and the need to begin preparations began. I contacted the rising senior parents in May to alert them to the possibilities of this trip really happening and by the first few weeks of the new school year, there were 29 excited Americans, committed to witness a historical transfer of power. None of us knew for sure who would be involved in the transition; it didn't matter, we would be there.

When I was teaching at our sister school in Australia during the summer of 2007, my new friends from half a world away, were serving as a beacon of what was to come. I felt an excitement with them about the possibility of Barack Obama being elected that I had not felt at home. I guess it was something of a metaphysical tidal wave. As the year progressed, I felt the political swell begin to build and watched the wave begin to form. It was the most exciting election that I had ever been a part of. My students were more involved in this election than any group that I had ever had. There was an amazing energy about not only the election but the process as a whole. In addition, there were projects, polls, campaigning and finally our "watch party" in our classroom. The venue just seemed rather appropriate as the room was awash in red, white and blue complimented by the posters, t-shirts, buttons, and candidate scrapbooks that served as monuments to all the work that had been done.

Well, the rest is history and next Friday, 29 of us will board a plane to Washington, D.C. for a week of making memories. I think that we are all nervous and excited all in one; I know I am. There will be the Capitol, the Inauguration, the Pentagon and so many other sights and sounds to internalize. It will truly be something we will be able to share for a very long time.