Archive for July, 2009

I know how “Alice” of Wonderland fame felt when she fell through the rabbit’s hole and entered a new world.  Every time I walk the grounds of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, I feel like I have magically stepped back into time.  Last week I had the opportunity to spend several days at the General’s enchanting estate.  My favorite time at Mount Vernon is early in the morning; so I arose early before most of the crowds appeared.  I imagined that our first president was just around the corner getting ready to inspect his farms while Martha was still upstairs saying her daily prayers.  The workers quietly scurried around preparing for the day.  As I stood on the famous piazza the sun was peering over the horizon, but the clouds blurred the brightness of its rays.  I turned toward the house to sit in one of the chairs and glimpsed an ethereal scene.  The swamp oak, a tree that has been standing since Washington’s time, was reflected in the window panes of Mount Vernon.  As I pondered the beauty of the ancient hardwood mirrored in the glass, I realized what the oak symbolized to me.  It represented the growth of America and Washington’s hope for the fledgling country.  As he was ending his two terms as president he reflected on the United States—where he had planted strong roots of a free nation.   He wanted the citizens to grow strong and branch out, but to always remember that “’The name American which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations,’ reminding people that they were a united nation and not a collection of colonies or states any longer, that they lived in a ‘common country’. . .They had a responsibility to maintain their liberty now and assure that it would flourish in the future. . . ‘and that the government, which they had instituted for the protection of their liberties, may be perpetual’ (The General and Mrs. Washington by Bruce Chadwick, pg. 317-18, explaining and quoting the Farewell Address).”   Even when viewed through a looking glass I am assured the aged oak of Mount Vernon is still standing strong, and I think Washington would be proud that his tree, his home, and his country are flourishing.