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| Government Girl standing at the podium after meeting Secretary Kerry at the 100th orientation class graduation ceremony. And, yes, she's wearing a pantsuit. Maybe Hillary left it behind. |
My friend, Government Girl, was struck
by Cupid’s arrow last year. While thrilled for her, a committed relationship
with G.I. Joe required her to relocate to the DC area—a five-hour car ride
away. She assured us the move may take some time pending her job search, which
meant there was plenty of time for more Girls’ Nights. Only that wasn’t the
case. Being an intelligent and very capable woman, it didn’t take long for her
to receive job offers even in a poor job market. The most appealing offer came
from the U.S. Department of State, specifically, their Office of Diplomatic
Security Mobile Security Deployments. In essence, her boss is Secretary of
State John Kerry. Government Girl has taken to her new life with aplomb and
verve—just as our tight-knit circle of friends knew she would. We have all missed
her terribly since she left.
Together, with Government Girl’s aunt
and cousin, my oldest daughter and I made plans last fall for a double
mother/daughter road trip to visit her this spring. Our original weekend was
planned to coincide with the annual March Kite Festival in DC, but fell through
and we rescheduled. We lucked out with our new date because we arrived in time
to see Washington’s famous cherry blossoms at their brilliant peak. To top it
off, the weather, which was horrible two weeks earlier (the weekend of the Kite
Festival,) was perfect for the Cherry Blossom Festival. We drove to Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania and met up with Aunt Babs and Poli-Sci Ellie. Aunt Babs, a former
resident of Manhattan, drove the entire way from Bethlehem to DC, handling rush
hour traffic like it was a simple Sunday drive. The woman is completely
unflappable behind the wheel. Meanwhile, I was in the rear seat breathing into
a paper bag. Five lanes of bumper to bumper traffic on the Beltway ain’t for
the faint-hearted.
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| Government Girl greeted us with a glass of Merlot. |
We arrived at Government Girl’s in
time for dinner. Our happy reunion was held over bowls of delicious ratatouille
paired with crusty bread and glasses of Merlot—lots of Merlot. As the sun set,
we adjourned to the deck and sat around a gas-powered outdoor fireplace. G.I.
Joe came home shortly thereafter from coaching his son’s game and introductions
were made. It was the first time my daughter and I had met him. I’ll admit, I
was more than a little curious about him. The protective side of me needed to
know my dear friend had found the right guy for her. He proved himself worthy and then some as the three-day weekend
progressed. I mean, how many men would put up with having their home invaded by
four extra women? That’s a lot of estrogen under one roof! He turned out to be
an excellent host. And the man makes a killah cheesecake with blueberry
reduction sauce!! Yum. Can you say keeper?!
On Saturday morning, we drove from
Maryland to a nearby Metro station and took the train into DC. Having a retired
Marine along is a lot like having your own personal security detail. G.I. Joe made
sure his charges were always
following along and safe as we made our way from the Metro and out into the
crowded city streets. The annual Cherry Blossom Parade and Sakura Matsuri
Japanese Street Festival brings an average of 100,000 extra attendees from around
the world. This was a first time visit to DC for my oldest and me and we were
totally excited about it. She and I can be a tad political at times. I let her
stay home from school the day Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first female
Speaker of the House so she could watch it on C-SPAN. We had so many items on
our list of things to see that we had
to slim it down. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day to do it all. The
crowds kept us away from the actual Tidal Basin, but even without moving closer,
there was a sea of pink blossoms as far as the eye could see and plenty of
cherry trees planted throughout. I snapped 196 pictures just by walking the
National Mall. The architecture is astounding. The museums, offices, and
memorials were all within short walking distance. Each Smithsonian building has
no admission fee. Where else can you see museum collections for free? Every
capable American should take advantage of this and see the treasures they offer
on display. It was all truly incredible to experience our Nation’s Capital in
such a way and I’m so glad I got to do it with my daughter. I have to admit, as
an avid fan of the former NBC show The
West Wing, I half expected to see Josh Lyman jogging along the Reflecting
Pool or Leo McGarry shaking hands with a U.S. Senator up on Capitol Hill.
Speaking of Capitol Hill, my daughter was in awe of the Capitol Building. She
said to me, “I’m going to work there someday.” I reminded her she needed to
overcome her dislike of cities. But a girl can still dream, can’t she?
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| L-R: Government Girl, Poli-Sci Ellie, and Aunt Babs enjoying the fabulous DC weather in the National Mall. Poli-Sci Ellie reading some of the names at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Our group heading to Capitol Hill for dinner at We, the Pizza. |
My friend, Michele McDonald, heard about my
upcoming trip to DC and was quick to tell me to be sure and “hug a veteran.”
She knows all about Honor Flight Network. She lives in nearby Richmond,
Virginia and has recently completed her second turn as a “guardian.” Guardians
are approved volunteers who are asked to accompany and treat the Honor Flight
veterans assigned to them as if they are a member of their family and, while
Michele lives nearby, there are other guardians making the trip from other
states who have to pay their own travel expenses. It’s the guardian’s job to
ensure each veteran has “a safe, memorable, and rewarding experience,” per
their webpage at www.honorflight.org. I asked Michele how she heard about
the program. She said, “My husband had been watching FOX News interviewing the
director of this movie called Honor Flight - One Last Mission. It was going to be playing locally here and he
asked if I wanted to go. It was about WWII. I thought I'd just tag along. This
movie just sucked me in and I thought to myself, ‘I have to be a part of
this—for the Veterans.’ I have never before been so passionate about anything like
this.” Michele will be going on her next Honor Flight Network “mission” in two
weeks. She notes that you may not always get picked to go, but she has been
fortunate so far and picked each time. Eleven missions have been run from
Richmond to date. I asked her how it felt to be a guardian and she told me
about her first experience and what it was like from the moment they departed
the buses. Honor Flight volunteers known as “ground crew” greeted the WWII
veterans and their guardians. Many of the ground crew members are veterans of
the Vietnam War. Michele added, “They (ground crew volunteers) started hugging
these men and women. Bending down to wheelchair level and saying thank you and
spending time to talk with them. The general public was wondering what was
going on. And then, it was like the parting of the waters…people just moved to
both sides and started clapping and thanking these folks. Even little kids!
That’s when I really got choked up! I was sooo proud to be amongst these men
and women. I felt like I was the fortunate one and a true American.” Michele
notes that it is a truly gratifying and overwhelming experience. Many of the
veterans require extra assistance being pushed in wheelchairs or helped with
their walkers. EMT’s even have to be brought in to help with others needing
specialized care with oxygen tanks and such. Michele’s last veteran talked to
her about his career as if he was just “one of the guys.” He was part of the
United States Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team and planted explosives
underwater. Michele urged me to imagine what it must have been like to be a
scuba diver back then and the equipment they used. Although he wanted to come
across as “one of the guys” to Michele, the other veterans in his group made
sure she knew he later made the rank of admiral! Michele was quick to say she
highly recommends this wonderful organization to others who wish to volunteer
their time as a guardian. She’d really like to see folks in the 20-30 age group
get involved so they could hear, firsthand, what these amazing veterans went
through in order for them to live in a free country. From the moment the public
greets them Michele says, “They feel so proud. So loved. So unforgotten. You're
not human if you don't tear up at that point!”
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| Michele volunteering as a guardian for Honor Flight Network. L-R: With Former Senator Bob Dole who tries to attend each Honor Flight mission to greet the veterans. With veteran Harold. With veteran Wally--The Admiral!! |
Government Girl's dad, Poppa Don, served tours of duty in Vietnam with the
United States Air Force. Poppa Don was career military, serving for many years
and they moved from base to base as a family. My father-in-law served in Vietnam with the
United States Army. For Government Girl and me, greeting the veterans at the
memorial was a very emotional experience. Just from saying seven simple words: “Thank
you for your service and bravery.” My daughter overheard a guardian say to her wheelchair-bound
veteran, “Boy, you’re famous! Have you ever met so many strangers in one day?” “No,”
he replied with a chuckle. Hands down, witnessing the Honor Flight Network in
action, was my favorite part of our tour and it will be a memory that stays
with me always.
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| A great mother/daughter road trip. L-R: My Daughter and me with the Washington Memorial. Cherry blossoms and the architectural beauty of the Capitol Building. Park on Capitol Hill. |
Our trip to visit Government Girl was
incredible. A nice, relaxing time of catching up, eating tasty food, meeting
G.I. Joe, and feeling like part of the family. I feel
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