#78 - A farewell to mom - Aug 18, 2012

Church was normal today – nothing particularly noteworthy about it.  We had driven separately, so I was able to rifle through the choir file cabinet and see what options we have for Christmas music.  I’m rather excited about the idea.  Directing the Christmas Choir is going to be loads of fun.

We relaxed a bit in the afternoon, and I spent a little time cleaning my bedroom.  It still needs work.  My goal was to complete it today, but that just wasn’t in reach.  Then it was time to go.  Tim planned to cook dinner for mom, and she and Aki needed to catch the 4:47 train from Beacon.  So dad and I and the ladies headed out about 4:10 and got them to the station.  Then dad and I went on walkabout.

We drove up Rt 9D, then 9, and stopped at the Locust Grove.  It’s Samuel B Morse’s old house.  The guy who invented the telegraph and Morse code.  Him.  The family eventually turned it over to the city to take care of, and it is a park of sorts now.  Beautiful.   We took a short walk around the grounds, and then we were out of time.

Dad on the Walkway Over the Hudson, looking North.

We were out of time because we decided to make the Walkway Over the Hudson a priority.  So we headed up there, a short drive, and then about 45 minutes of walking on the bridge.  It was a perfect evening – mid 70s, really no breeze, a sky dusted with clouds. 

Then it was off to West Point.  It took much longer to get there than anticipated, but we showed our drivers licenses and drove in.  We followed the signs to Trophy Point, passing the Army football stadium and soccer fields.  We saw maybe 6 parking lots, all of them spitting out cars instead of taking them in.  No spaces anywhere.  We drove past Trophy Point and into the fortress part of the campus, took a side road into the residential area, and turned around.  No luck finding parking.  Then dad saw a pair of soldiers, and asked me to pull over.  They kindly directed us to a hidden parking lot just down the road that was closer to the concert venue. 

Trophy Point at West Point.
It appears dad likes to look to his left,
and thus I like to place him left of center
in the frame.  See other pic, too.

There was a spot halfway down the hill, we parked and walked to the outdoor ampitheatre.  The space was filled with people, most of them in camp chairs or on blankets, grouped into families and friends around coolers.  Paper plates, chicken, sandwiches, drinks.  A relaxed party.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a set of aluminum bleachers set down near the stage and we headed down to sit there.  The band tonight was the Jazz Knights, and the program was an hour of Beatles songs.  The band was pretty good, and the vocalists were good, too.  The sun set off to the left of the stage, painting the clouds pink and orange, 

reflecting on the Hudson, in full view as it flowed toward us from the North. 

I’m not a big Beatles fan.  And I’m not a jazz fan in general.  But several of the pieces were really well done, and the final number hit me.  The lead vocalist came on, thanked us for coming, and introduced a final “sing-along” song.  And the US Military Academy launched into a heartfelt rendition of “Let it be”.   The juxtaposition, sitting here on a beautiful evening, surrounded by military grandeur on the peaceful Hudson, and a military band playing a song about finding peace was genuinely heartwarming.  Every soldier prays for the day that they won’t have to go and fight.  But someone has to do it until no one threatens each other. 

Read what you want into that – I will say that I think the US gets into too many fights, but that’s not the soldier’s faults and they shouldn’t be blamed for it.