At AnceStories2: Stories of Me for My Descendants, Miriam provides weekly journaling prompts to help fellow bloggers record their memories for future generations. This week's prompt is "Honoring Our Leaders."
Getting started has been quite difficult for me, which is why I haven’t participated in previous prompts. I mean, I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast, much less what I did when I was a child.
I’ve heard that a woman’s brain shrinks in physical size while she’s pregnant, but it’s supposed to go back to normal afterwards, right?
Still waiting...
I only have one descendant who barely speaks English at this point, but I suppose it’s never too early to start putting one’s thoughts down on (virtual) paper.
So, here we go, Peanut. Please bear with Mommy as she tries to remember when she was a little girl.
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As a child, do you remember celebrating either Lincoln or Washington's birthdays? How did you celebrate them? What do you remember learning about either of these men?
No, I sure don’t. I’m sure we did study Lincoln and Washington, but I don’t remember anything about it.
Oh wait… flashback of tricorn hats. Making them? Wearing them? I think both. And made of old newspapers.
And silhouettes. Making those black construction paper silhouettes of both presidents.
It’s all very fuzzy (my memories, not the silhouettes).
Did you get a day off of school, have an assembly, or was there a play performed?
Probably, but I have absolutely no recollection.
(This will come in handy if I ever have to testify in court.)
Do you ever remember reading any books or watching any movies about these two leaders?
I don’t remember doing these activities as a child, but I do remember doing them as a teacher (along with the obligatory silhouettes).
The kids and I loved Abe Lincoln's Hat (Step into Reading, Step 3)
In your opinion, who was the greatest leader of our country, and why?
Although I did not vote for him (and yes, I was old enough by his second term), my favorite leader of our country is Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States.
A California country boy by choice, not by birth, he served two terms as Governor of our Great Golden State.
He somehow managed to stimulate the economy, cut taxes, and restore prosperity, peace, and pride to a nation that had experienced such tumult in the previous decade.
I was in college during the 1980’s, and I have oddly vivid memories of this decade. I remember it as a time of growth, prosperity, and unification. The 1984 Summer Olympics - held in Los Angeles and opened by President Reagan - brought a sense of national pride that had been missing for a number of years. Several Olympic events were held close to where I lived, and I drove by the special street signs on my way to school everyday.
We were proud, not only to be Californians, but Americans.
I also remember the 1980’s as a time of fear, with the Cold War and the nuclear arms race still in full swing. The Soviet Union was thought of as the “Evil Empire,” and students wore t-shirts and buttons proclaiming “No Nukes” and “Solidarity.” A fellow student’s family had recently escaped from Romania, and she feared for her family’s safety.
It was a strange time.
An amazingly eloquent speaker, Reagan had a way of bringing people to their feet when he spoke in front of a crowd. His speech at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, on June 12, 1987, still gives me chills:
"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Had he not been a talented actor, would he have been such a powerful speaker? Perhaps, but I believe he truly did feel passionately about the subjects of which he spoke.
I have only recently come to appreciate Ronald Reagan. My family took a trip to the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley last August, and I was amazed at what an interesting and varied life he had led.There were artifacts from his radio and acting careers, as well as his time in public office. Seeing the archaic computers on Air Force One made me wonder how that thing ever got off the ground. And President Reagan's final resting place is on the Library grounds.
But I think the most significant artifact – at least to me – was the sections of the Berlin Wall. It was very moving to see the graffiti and know that it was drawn by real people during a time of so much strife. It's almost unthinkable that such a monstrosity ever existed.
Although he was no longer President when the Berlin Wall fell (on my birthday in 1989), this has to have been one of the proudest moments of Reagan's career. Khrushchev did not bury us, after all, and there might finally be peace in the East.
Love him or hate him, President Ronald Reagan definitely made his mark on history.
I'm proud to have been alive during his time as President.
In your current career, do you get Presidents Day off? Why or why not?
Good heavens, no. I’m a mom, 24/7. I don’t get ANY days off.
However, in my previous career as an elementary school teacher, I did get Presidents’ Day, as well as Lincoln’s Birthday, off from work. February was our favorite month; not only did we get two holidays, but it was the shortest month with the fewest work days!
In many communities, Presidents Day weekend is well-known for sales and special deals. How do you feel about this? Do you like to go shopping on this weekend? Or do you feel this emphasis on commercialism is disrespectful?
Personally, I would like to see the whole idea of “Presidents’ Day” go away and have us return to celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s and George Washington’s birthdays separately. Lumping them together into one holiday detracts from the importance of each day.
Having said that, I do appreciate a good sale, whatever the reason.
Presidents Day is also a day when veterans and Purple Heart recipients are honored. Are or were there any Purple Heart recipients in your family or ancestry? Have you written about what they did to earn this great award?
To my knowledge, there are no Purple Heart recipients in my family or ancestry.
