The Kassel Family Project Life 365

This morning we went to Arlington National Cemetery for a White Rose Ceremony at the grave site of one of the seven founders of Sigma Chi Fraternity, General Benjamin Piatt Runkle.  It was quite a sight watching the brothers of Sigma Chi each place a white rose on the monument.  As I stood there, it occurred to me just how grateful the brothers are for those seven founders.  Without them, there would be no Sigma Chi and this great brotherhood that I get the honor of witnessing so often in my life.

After the ceremony, we had a bit of time to look around.  I wandered off to take some photos of one of the thousands of rows of white headstones.  The cemetery truly is amazing.  If you ever get a chance to go, you should.  The soldiers and their families buried there all sacrificed so that we can have the great country we have today.  Saying thank you will never be enough.

Once we returned to the hotel, we finished packing and said goodbye to Washington DC and another great Sigma Chi Grand Chapter.  We drove up through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to stop at another founder’s monument, Daniel William Cooper, at Allegheny Cemetery.  We placed white roses on the monument and spent a bit of time taking pictures.  After the short stopover, we headed off to Zanesville, Ohio, for the night.  Missouri and Home Sweet Home tomorrow!

This evening was the closing reception of the 79th Sigma Chi Grand Chapter.  The newest Significant Sigs were honored in what had to be the fastest closing reception ever!  We spent the evening talking with great friends, enjoying some good drinks, eating good food, and then hanging out in various rooms.  It was a great end to another great Grand Chapter.  I cannot believe that tomorrow we leave for home.

A highlight of Sigma Chi Grand Chapter is the White Rose Luncheon for the women behind the men of Sigma Chi.  This year’s luncheon was quite an adventure…  It began at about 11:30 am when we boarded the bus that would take us to the Capitol Hill Club.  Our bus driver took the “scenic route,” which is a nice way to say that we were all trying to figure out if she knew where the hell she was going.  It was supposed to take about 15 minutes to get there and it took more like 45 minutes.  Upon arrival at our destination, we look out the bus windows to discover fire trucks and firemen all over the outside and on the roof of the building.  Yes, the building where the Capitol Hill Club is housed was, in fact, on fire – a small fire, but still on fire, nonetheless.  So, our bus driver turned right and found a place to pull over.  We ended up sitting on the bus for about another 30 minutes while the firefighters finished up and gave the “all clear” for people to return to the building.  The luncheon started late, but it was still a great time getting to know the different women.  Great conversation, the Singing Sigs, and good food made for a fun time.

After the luncheon was over, tours of Capitol Hill had been arranged for us.  We broke up into smaller groups and walked to the Capitol building.  You will note in the photo that the sky around the Capitol Building looks a little gray…

The tour of the Capitol was fantastic.  The building is really amazing.  We got to see the old House of Representatives meeting area, the old Senate chamber, the old US Supreme Court room, the Capitol Rotunda, and the Capitol Crypt.  It was so awesome to hear about the history and see the rooms where the highest levels of government once worked.  To hear the history and stories was really a neat experience.  At the end of our tour, we stopped in the Capitol Hill Visitor Center to discover that it was pouring rain.  Nearly all of us did not have umbrellas with us.  So, we all trekked to the gift shop to see if we could find umbrellas or ponchos.  Well, there were rain ponchos…  Child size…  As in, only covering the top half of my body.  Figuring that was better than nothing, we put them on and begin our trek from the Visitor Center to where we were to meet our bus – approximately a ten-minute walk to the circle drive.  Suffice it to say that we all got pretty wet.  Of course, the rain eased off and virtually stopped while we were waiting for a bus that *never came*.  In the end, it was cabs back to the hotel in our rain-soaked clothes and shoes.  We all joked that this was certainly a memorable White Rose Luncheon and, two years from now, we will look back and laugh.

After getting cleaned up from the great adventure, we spent the evening at the Sweetheart Reception.  Congratulations to Mary Sugden for being chosen as the next International Sweetheart!  The Sweetheart Reception is one of my absolute favorite parts of Grand Chapter because I know that in the end that group of unique and diverse brothers will sing, “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” to the new International Sweetheart.  It’s an amazing experience and one that gives me goosebumps every time.  There is truly nothing like it.

After a stop at the Sigma Chi Grand Chapter registration desk, we ran into a Past Grand Consul and his wife along with some of their Sigma Chi friends.  In talking to them, we discovered that we were all heading out to do some exploring around DC.  They invited us to join them and so off we went!  The first stop was Ford’s Theatre where President Lincoln was shot.

We listened to a short presentation by a Park Ranger and learned some interesting facts.  For instance, Ford’s Theatre is still a working theatre and it seats roughly 650 people.  Back in the 1860s, it held 2,200 people…  The night that Lincoln was shot, there were approximately 1,700 people in the theatre.  It was Easter Weekend in 1865 and Lincoln and his party were about 45 minutes late because Lincoln worked late that day.  After being shot by John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln was taken next door to the Petersen House where he remained until he died.  We got to see both Ford’s Theatre and the boarding house where he died, along with a small museum display about the aftermath of the assassination.  As we stepped out of the museum, we discovered the “Tower of Books” that ends in the middle of the gift shop.  It contains copies of books written about the assassination.  I am not sure how many books are in the actual tower, but over 15,000 books have been written about Lincoln…  The “Tower of Books” is *four* stories tall.

Next, it was off to the White House with a small stop to take a picture in front of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building.  Andy and I are hiding a bright yellow sign that states “no civilians beyond this point.”  We joked about going past the sign, but none of us really felt like being rushed by FBI security.  🙂

The White House was about a mile walk from our hotel.  It was surprisingly small.  Yes, it’s a mansion, but it’s not nearly as big as one might expect.  I wish they still offered tours, because I would have loved to see the inside.  Oh well…  maybe our government will eventually get their act together, so that we can tour it when we take the kids back for a family trip!

After all that, our group split up.  The others headed off for lunch and Andy and I went to the International Spy Museum (no photographs allowed).  We spent a few hours wandering around in there.  It was a neat place to visit although the exhibits seemed to go on forever.  We finally made our way back to the hotel about 3:30 so that we could get ready for the Grand Chapter Opening Reception.  The rest of the day was fun with Sigma Chi.  I got to see old friends and make some new ones.  The conversation and drinks were free flowing and it was a great way to start Grand Chapter!  On to lunch on Capitol Hill tomorrow…