Another Guest Post by Jeff Barganier, serving as our surrogate at the Tea Party in Washington DC 9/12/09. (revised 9/30/09)
On a sultry morning in June 1972 my Mother drove me fifty miles to Gunter Air Force Station in Montgomery, Alabama. We came to a stop at 4:00 AM on a humid tarmac outside a nondescript white building. That’s where I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of The United States of America against enemies foreign and domestic. My first orders were to safely deliver myself and two other teenagers to the Fort Dix, New Jersey Reception Station. A few days later we were U.S. Army trainees.
Following basic training, I was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. One weekend, a couple of buddies and I caught an east-bound bus from Belvoir to the sleepy little Virginia town of Luray. Nestled deep in the Shenandoah Valley, Luray is famous for its magnificent caverns and is the “gateway” to the spectacular Skyline Drive National Park. We befriended a World War II veteran by the name of Wentzel Campbell who took us under his wing. He recommended a place to stay that first night and the next evening attempted to drive us to the Skyland Lodge. But due to ice, the road up to the lodge was closed. So Mr. Campbell let us out about half way and we hiked up the mountain beneath the stars in frigid cold.
I have longed to revisit Luray for many years. On September 11 of this year, thirty-seven years later, I seized my opportunity while on a trip to Washington, D.C.—for a Tea Party.
It’s outrageous that certain officials of our government refer to American citizens and many of its old veterans as mobsters and racists. We’re not, of course. We simply disagree with their blatantly immoral social and economic policies. And like millions of other law-abiding, God-fearing American citizens, I’ve had enough! That’s why I wanted to attend the Washington Tea Party on September 12. So I rented a small car, and on the anniversary of the 9/11 ACT OF WAR against my country, I set out for my nation’s capital—to protect and defend the Constitution.
On that first flight up to Dix—my first experience with air travel—I couldn’t exactly see what I now know is a stupendously beautiful stretch of American soil. As I drove, I listened to the live New York 9/11 ceremony, the calling of names of valiant New York City firefighters who died in the attack. Passing through Chattanooga, I saw a monument just off my route inscribed “New York.” I assumed it was a civil war memorial. But, whatever it represented, it reminded me that, as Americans, we are OUT OF MANY ONE. I remembered Americans so covered with ash that fateful day that race and creed were indiscernible.
It rained all the way to the Virginia line. Then sun pealed back the clouds revealing the resplendent majesty of the Shenandoah Valley. I passed glorious wild flowers along the Interstate and Old Glory flying on fence posts in distant bucolic fields. From a crane along the western side of Interstate 81, the largest American flag I have ever seen was waving proudly; and my chest swelled with pride at being an American and being blessed (by the God of the Holy Bible) with freedom. Cars streamed past with windshields marked C-U-N DC. It was exhilarating to be in the company of patriots.
After thirteen hours, I exited at New Market (Exit 264 off I-81 N). The quaint beauty of this valley town cannot be underestimated. It’s a scenic drive of fourteen miles over to Luray from New Market. When I reached Luray, I discovered the little town of once scarcely 3000 inhabitants had about quadrupled. It’s becoming a bedroom community for people working near Washington, about 75 miles away. I stayed at the Collinsview Inn, owned and operated by Barry and Nancy Presgraves; and was delighted to learn that Barry, recently elected as Luray’s mayor, also once owned the very hotel where I spent my first night in Luray as a young soldier.
I struck out early the next morning for the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station west of the city. Parking was rapidly disappearing at 7:30 AM. Rail cars were jammed packed. It was standing room only—signs and all—with Americans from all over the country. The overall mood was jovial yet serious. When they learned that I was from Alabama, someone yelled forward, “Hey, we’ve got somebody all the way from Alabama back here!” And everyone clapped. Along the way, I enjoyed conversations with two businessmen, a lady school teacher, and a young lady in her teens and her mother. The school teacher said, “I felt that it was my civic duty to be here.” The mother said she wanted her daughter to experience the event; and to exercise her freedom—“before it was too late.”
About forty-five minutes later we departed the metro in Washington and immediately encountered a sea of people. The U.S. Capitol was a distant speck of dome. But I believe there were thirty to forty thousand people in that area close to the metro station alone; and others were streaming in from adjoining avenues. I spent the rest of the day easing through the throngs, taking pictures and exchanging smiles and laughing at the signs. Americans have a keen sense of humor. Again and again, people thanked me for coming as if to underscore the importance of the event to them personally. By noon, Pennsylvania Avenue was filling in. I did not know that the other side of the capitol was also a sea of patriots until I returned home and saw aerial photos.
Amazingly, I saw less than a dozen uniformed police officers the whole day. Someone with a bullhorn would call for people to pick up trash and, simultaneously, ten thousand people would start looking around for litter. But there was little to pick up! I thought to myself: I sure wish we had more people like these in our government! And I also wondered how many thousands of taxpayer-paid officers it would take to accommodate a similar gathering of leftwing “community organizers” and/or union thugs. I did witness at least one act of rudeness: a guard at a federal building refusing to allow people to enter and use the public restroom unless they first removed their protest tea shirts, buttons, hats, or whatever. (I have pictures.) I guess he never took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
Jeff Barganier is an attorney, published author and freelance writer in Alabama.
Guest Post by Jeff Barganier, Christian Attorney, Author and Reporter.
