Thursday XIII: 080907 Pamplin Historical Park Civil War Adventure Camp

Thursday XIII 070207 Why I Like the FDR Memorial

Thirteen Reasons I Like the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC:

It tells a story

It's tactile

It blends into the environment

It gives people with physical handicaps dignity

It presents problems and challenges

It offers hope and a mission to young people

It utilizes water to represent several concepts

It employs abstract art as well as realistic sculpture

It outlines our essential freedoms

It teaches us compassion

It introduces the power of communication

It honors the influence of one's spouse

It reflects the decency and work ethic of
America's Greatest Generation

Thursday XIII Williamsburg Virginia Images

Thursday XIII 071907

Thirteen Favorite Films Based (Loosely or Accurately) on American History

How the West Was Won

The Longest Day

Gone With the Wind

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Sargeant York

Ghosts of Mississippi

The Alamo (1960)

Inherit the Wind

Glory

Patton

The Right Stuff

The Grapes of Wrath

Amistad

Thursday XIII 071207

Thirteen Programs I Like to Include on Tour

Colonial Heights, VA -Pamplin Historical Park - Civil War Adventure Camp

Lancaster, PA - Live It Bethel - Underground Railroad Experience and Fellowship Fried Chicken Lunch

Anywhere -Dinner with a Patriot -Founding Father as Dinner Guest

Williamsburg, VA - Colonial Dance -Evening Program

Richmond, VA -St. John's Church - Reenactment of Patrick Henry's Speech

Philadelphia, PA -City Tavern Meal with Balladeer (Fraunces Tavern with Balladeer in New York is the runner-up)

Concord, MA -Orchard House - Fugitive Slave Program

Niagara Falls, NY - Maid of the Mist Boat Ride to the base of Niagara Falls

Washington DC - C&O Canal Boat Ride

Baltimore, MD - Edgar Allen Poe Program

Plymouth, MA - Pilgrim Dinner - Plimoth Plantation

Boston, MA -Old South Meeting House - Tea is Brewing Program

New York, NY -Carriage Ride Through Central Park


In another post, I challenged people to list the eight places they would like to bring their children or students to visit. I have learned about a few new ones, near and far. If you have a list, please add it to the original posting. Thank you!

My Figure It Out Friday is going to be a biweekly event since it is not part of a recognized meme. The object is to make a connected between or amongst photos to see the common link, that will somehow involve something that one can see on an educational student tour. I'm repeating this week's. You're invited to play along!

Thursday XIII:13 Uplifting Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Uplifting Thomas Jefferson Quotes

1. When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
2. But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
3. I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
4. I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
5. There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.
6. There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.
7. It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
8. I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
9. Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.
11. We never repent of having eaten too little.
12. Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.
13. Truth is certainly a branch of morality and a very important one to society.

Thursday XIII: 10 - Lame Tour Guide Jokes

A Certain Tour Guide's Lame Jokes Told During Her Running Commentary Aboard a Motorcoach Full of 7th and 8th Graders Touring the DC Area: (And there's no escape!)

1. If we pass a swamp or flooded area with dead, leafless trees, I tell my group that those trees are, 'dead dog trees', because they have lost their bark!
2. Those who work at the Department of State hate to eat at their cafeteria since it mostly serves Rice!
   
3. Some people, when they first see the Capitol Dome in the distance, think it is the White House (no joke)! I explain that it is a dome, not a domicile although it does have a House, you can't live there!
   
4. The American Pharmaceutical Association building was originally designed for the cabin Abraham Lincoln was born in; it is located across from the Lincoln Memorial. All the tour guides refer to it as the Tomb of the Unknown Pharmacist. Interestingly enough, it was designed by a Pope. (John Russell Pope)
   
5. The Department of Labor was the first federal building in Washington, DC to be named for a woman. Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet member as Labor Secretary during FDR's administration. Personally, I think it's appropriate for woman to be Secretary of Labor, since women are in labor far more often than men! (If you don't believe me, ask your mom!)
6. If we pass a field with cattle, I point out the 'super cattle'. Super cattle are the ones that are outstanding in their field! The sitting ones are, 'ground beef'!
7. The Lincoln Memorial is the only Presidential memorial to make sense. (If you don't believe me, look at your pennies!)
   
8. Pointing out a flock of sheep: I'm looking for the iron sheep! Have you ever seen, 'iron sheep'? No? Where do you think steel wool comes from?
9. Hay is now in large, round bales; the cattle don't like it. Since farmers started to bale the hay that way, the cattle haven't had a decent square meal.
   
10. The official residence of the Vice President is very beautiful. Unfortunately, during the Reagan administration you couldn't see it, because the Bushes were in the way! During the Clinton administration, the view was Gore-geous! Now, there's a Cheney fence around it!
    
11. Some of those who work at the Supreme Court play basketball on the roof of the building! Now that's what I call the highest court in the land!
    
12. The Supreme Court also has a fast food snack bar but they can no longer serve a Frankfurter or Burger there. However, lawyers love the desserts in their cafeteria because they serve torts.
    
13. This is by far the worst of the lot! While visiting or passing the large statue of Albert Einstein I tell my group that he is actually my cousin related on two sides of my family. You don't believe me? So what do you think E=mc2 means? Einstein is my cousin on 2 sides of my family! Well, that's my theory of relativ-ity!

Thursday XIII:9 13 Things I Hate to Do in DC During Student Tour Season

13 THINGS
I HATE TO DO
IN WASHINGTON, DC
DURING
STUDENT TOUR
SEASON!

Yes, it's that time of year! I shouldn't really complain since this is what gets my rent paid and dinner on the table! But if you must travel during this period, there are some caveats and certainly better ways of spending your time than standing in long lines or being engulfed by screaming crowds of clueless students:

1. Touring the Memorials at Night: It is pleasurable off season, but the mobs and the disrespectful behavior of the student groups turn them into a circus. The most disgraceful conduct has been at the Lincoln Memorial and the FDR Memorial. It's almost impossible to keep a large group together; talk to them about the memorial, stressing respect, and give them a time and place to meet at each stop. Trying to talk to them at each site is too difficult. I sometimes opt to visit some memorials during the day or before 7:30 PM. 8:00PM is when everybody else starts the tour and bus dropoff, parking, and pickup is a competitive business.
   
2. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing: -It is a long tour and the ink affects my asthma. Most groups get up early and stand in line for two-three hours to get timed tickets for later in the day. What a waste of precious time! The group appointments are during lunchtime, which is awkward. Visit this on your family holiday and write well in advance (at least six months or more) to get an appointment through your US Representative and/or US Senator's office. The sheets of money etc. offered at the shop can be purchased online at their website. I have yet to conduct a group that has requested this, that has done any study on the history of our currency or Federal Reserve. The only reason they come here is to see money being printed and to shop.
3. The Washington Monument: Even with a timed ticket secured online (through Recreation.gov) in advance, this can be a long wait, especially in iffy weather. there's not much room at the top, and the windows are small and scratchy. If this is a priority for your group, book the first appointment available in the morning or the last one of the day, althought most of the availability is during lunch hours.
   
4. The US Capitol Tour: This may surprise you because it is one of my favorite places, but again, even with the timed ticket through your Representative or Senator (see my posting), it is a difficult process and once you get the group through all the security, the noise of the groups packed into the rotunda and old House chamber. is deafening. The lines to get into the House and Senate chambers (additional passes required) are extremely long. The tours have become fast-paced and perfunctory to accomodate the crowds.Some of the tours one can get through a Representative's or Senator's office might be given by an intern reading off 3x5 cards! . Additionally, the current construction of the visitors' center has limited accessibility.
5. Eating at any of the food courts around town: I'm not a fast food fan, but many tour operators give meal vouchers with specific selections (no substitutions) to the students. The worst food is at the National Museum of Air and Space and by far, the worst crowd experience is Union Station. I avoid both! Pentagon City in Virginia, although crowded, is better than most other food court choices.
6. The White House: If a group is 'fortunate' enough to get an appointment (see my posting), the security is tight and there is zero tolerance. Most, if not all, personal belongings should stay on the bus. If not, the tour guide (me) has to remain outside the White House guarding cameras, perfume, water bottles, IPODS, etc. Even if it is raining, umbrellas are not allowed in! All group members need to have given personal information/vital statistics regarding place of birth, day of birth, social security number etc. in advance. Any student or adult not on the list, or whose name is misspelled (for whatever reason) is not permitted in. I cannot tell you how many students (especially a couple of my Armenian students from Glendale) stayed outside with me because of an administrative spelling error. One cannot argue with the Secret Service! Oh. You should also find out who your tour guide will be and get the vital statistics from him/her to be included with your group.) Unless you give the students specific things to look for and questions to ask of the Secret Service posted in each room, they will usually rush through with a, "Is that all there is?"
7. Ford's Theatre: Another wonderful stop which can have the longest lines. The modest museum downstairs is excellent, but cramped. I usually add in a performance there (this year it's the premiere of a new musical, Meet John Doe) so I don't have to stand in line! The students can visit the museum before the show and during intermission.
8. The International Spy Museum: Overrated, overpriced, over crowded. 'Nuff said.
   
9. Mount Vernon: I haven't checked out their new educational center, but the lines to the mansion in the past have been horrific. Once the group gets inside the mansion, you are practically pushed through. In fact, they're downright rude! Again, I choose alternate historic homes to visit that give tours and respect appointments.
10. Dinner dance cruises for students. It's packed to the gills with several different types of groups, frenetic, and the picnic-type food is nothing less than awful. The music can be of the objectionable type (x-rated rap) and at a high decibel level. I have to constantly monitor girl/boy dynamics and dancing. If you really crave a dinner dance cruise, spend more money for something civilized (like the Dandy out of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia )where you have better food (sit down meals) and control over the type of music being played. Better still, arrange for your own DJ at your hotel or a restaurant.
11. Dinner Theatre: There are not many left, but even for the most professional one, (Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia MD showing the blockbuster biographical musical, George M) you need to cut your touring day for the students to change and then suffer through beltway traffic. Normally, you won't see your hotel until after midnight. There is also a good dinner theatre way down in Fredericksburg, VA but the worst is in Woodbridge, VA. Think beyond the box here and try for some real (kid-friendly) theatre experiences at Ford's, National, Warner, Kennedy Center, Shakespeare, Folger, Arena Stage, Signature etc.
12. Cruise to Mount Vernon: This gets you to Mount Vernon after the crowds from the 60+ buses are already in line for the mansion. You start from the bottom of the hill and need to climb it (passing the farm (excellent, especially the barn), tomb, and dependencies to get to the mansion. The new museum, modest food court, and gift shop are still further on. If you are meeting your bus, it's a long walk down the line of buses to find yours but much better than the logistics of being stressed out to go all the way past the house, down the hill, and back onto the boat for the trip back. Many groups have not even been able to get into the house before they have to catch the boat! Lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn is good and more expensive (book in advance), but they have a Martha Washington character interpreter one can engage for an additional fee.
    
13. Wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers: Your jaw just dropped! If you have read my recent post Bringing Cemeteries to Life, you'll know my deep feelings for and connection to Arlington National Cemetery. However, with the difficulty of getting the appointment (sometimes during a bad time -like noon or 8:30 AM), the stress of trudging up the hill to get to the Tomb a half hour before the wreath-laying, making sure the wreath-layers (students) are dressed properly, the placement of the students in order to see the changing of the Guard and their own wreath-laying in the midst of a packed crowd, the fact that there may be two wreath-layings per half hour, the ceremony takes place in all weather and you are expected to be there, the reconfirmation of the wreath etc. , and then the possibility yours wreath-laying might be delayed because of an official event, make this a stressful situation for all. It takes away from the dignity of the ceremony. My groups arrange to have their wreath-laying at another memorial or statue during the trip; and one can be arranged at Mount Vernon at the Tomb of George Washington, if you are stubborn and still insist on going there!

Note: my new Thursday 13 banner is courtesy of Bradbury and Bradbury Art Wallpaper

Thursday XIII:8 American Paintings I Love

How many of these can you identify?

Thursday XIII:7 New Vocabulary Words

13 New Vocabulary Words & Terms I’ve Become Acquainted* With Since Entering the Blogsphere this January:

1. Meme
2. Blog Roll
3. Tag Clouds
4. Trackback
5. RSS Feed
6. Carnival
7. Permalink
8. Ping
9. Troll
10. Dashboard
11. Navbar
12. Hat Tip
13. Feed Burner

(*but I still don't understand half of them!)

Thursday XIII:6 Washington Rules!

George Washington's Rules of Civility

Thirteen Great Tips for Teenagers

(Not in the original order)

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1. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.

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2. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usualy Discovered.

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3. In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

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4. If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your handkercheif or Hand before your face and turn aside.

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5. Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Drest.

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6. Make no Shew of taking great Delight in your Victuals, Feed not with Greediness; cut your Bread with a Knife, lean not on the Table neither find fault with what you Eat.

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7. Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs rowl not the Eys lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak.

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8. Keep your Nails clean and Short, also your Hands and Teeth Clean yet without Shewing any great Concern for them.

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9. Run not in the Streets, neither go too slowly nor with Mouth open go not

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10. When you see a Crime punished, you may be inwardly Pleased; but always shew Pity to the Suffering Offender.

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11. Do not laugh too loud or too much at any Publick Spectacle.

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12. Wear not your Cloths, foul, unript or Dusty but See they be Brush'd once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any Uncleaness.

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13. Eat not in the Streets, nor in the House, out of Season

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Happy Birthday!

Thursday XIII:5 Ennui Hits the Home Office

Thursday XIII

February Ennui:
Taking breaks from my home office work

1. Sleeping in a couple of hours
2. Snood
3. Calling my stepmother about a Charlotte Rae song
4. Creating a floor plan for my dream house
5. Finding a cool new widget that tracks the phases of the moon
6. Watering my indoor plants
7. Domino Backgammon
8. Working on my blog and becoming frustrated with posting photos
9. Watching the snowplows clearing the ice and snow
10. Considering what I shall be giving up for Lent
11. Inviting my nephew over to visit on Presidents’ Day
12. Watching the Craig Ferguson show I taped last night

13. Trying to figure out what my Thursday Thirteen would be

Thursday XIII:4 Codes and Catch Phrases

THURSDAY XIII:4

My Favorite On-Tour

Codes and Catch Phrases

One of the best ways of conveying instructions to students is by code words and catch phrases. It focuses and motivates the group in a fun way. I usually teach them these phrases right after I introduce myself and discuss the safety rules aboard the bus. Most of the phrases require some participation from them.

(Student responses are in italics)

I Eschew the crew. (Avoid the crowd or another group)
II Recycled ( Visited the restroom)
III It depends on, what it depends on. (Answer to any query that involves how long it will take to get somewhere)
IV Are you fed-up? (Did you have enough to eat?)
V Gifted (Purchased souvenirs)
VI Because, I love you! (You love us!) (Answer to why we are making a deviation or adding something special)
VII Dash, then flash. (Don't stop to take photos! Get in the line first, and take photos later)
VIII Put it in, pick it up, and walk, pilgrim! (How to get into the metro in DC with a fare card. We imitate John Wayne.)
IX Get it, got, it, good! (Directions are understood)
X I’m not competitive; I just need to be first! (Why we need to hurry or leave early)
XI No tickee, no touree. (Don't lose or forget tickets and/or badges)
XII Listen very carefully; I shall say this only, once! (Attention getter for instructions)
XIII Walk, with a sense of purpose! (Power Walk)

This is part of my course on 'Guerilla Tourism', which teaches how to hustle your way through lines etc. More on that in a later post!

THURSDAY XIII:3 Mark Twain's Wit and Wisdom

I have engaged the services of a Mark Twain character interpreter for a school group and was remembering some of Twain's quotes. Here are some courtesy of Cadip Canada where I also downloaded the image:

I. Many public-school children seem to know only two dates--1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either occasion....

II. Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all....

III. Always do right. This will gratify some and astonish the rest....

IV. To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph....

V, Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover....

VI. If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat....

VII, Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain....

VIII. There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy....

IX. Time and tide wait for no man. A pompous and self-satisfied proverb, and was true for a billion years; but in our day of electric wires and water-ballast we turn it around: Man waits not for time nor tide....

X. Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing the matter with this, except that it ain't so....

XI. To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours....

XII. The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them....

XIII. When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years....

Do you have any other favorite quotes?

THURSDAY XIII:2 - Favorite Authors and Books

These are authors that have more than one book or play that I constantly refer to or re-read:

1. G-d (and various others) - The Bible

2. Sir Winston Spencer Churchill - My Early Life

3. P. G. Wodehouse - Everything

4. A.A. Milne - When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six

5. Robert Hardy - The Social and Military History of the Long Bow

6. Jane Austen - Everything especially, Sense and Sensibility

7. Dorothy L. Sayers - Everything especially, The Daughter of Time

8. Lindsey Davis - Everything (Detective series based in ancient Rome)

9. J.R. Rowling - The Harry Potter series

10. Charles Dickens - Everything especially, A Tale of Two Cities

11. Homer- The Iliad and the Odyssey

12. William Shakespeare - Anything, especially Hamlet and the histories

13. Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Thursday XIII - #I

XIII

Overlooked Sites in Washington, DC

1. Lincoln Park - Emancipation Statue & Mary McLoed Bethune

2. Folger Shakespeare Library and Theatre

3. Library of Congress - Interior and Exhibits

4. The Summer House - Olmstead's Grotto on Capitol Hill

5. U.S. Botanical Gardens

6. National Japanese American Memorial

7. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

8. National Building Museum

9. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

10. Daughters of the American Revolution Museum

11. Organization of American States

12. Women's Titanic Memorial

13. Women in Military Service to America Memorial


Many of these sites have free educational programs and tours.
If you have any questions about these sites, please ask!

The Tour Marm