[Magdalen] 25th Anniversary

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

September 29th will mark the 25th anniversary of the completion of the
National Cathedral.

I remember sitting with my great aunt Kate who showed me articles about the
grand cathedral that our church was building.  She had been in it from when
it was a hole in the ground.  Back in those days, it was not much to look
at just yet.  It was coming together as I grew up.  I remember hearing
Mahler's 8th Symphony in the still not complete building. Rode all day to
get to DC, rode half the night to get home.

I was visiting DC and went to see the Cathedral while I was on leave. There
was a small (yeah right) display of the final piece that would be hoisted
by crane and put in its place in a ceremony in the future. I touched it.

My aunt Kate was in a nursing home at this point, but I came to visit and
told her about this little event. Her eyes shone with excitement and
delight.  It's really finished?  It's really finished! So many folks just
like Kate gave a little here and there as they were able.  It was just a
dream, but they could dream.  And hearing me tell her it was a reality --
that was a very special privilege for me.

Not to long after that, her favorite aid came to get her ready for supper.
Kate was sitting quiet in her chair, a Discover Magazine still open on her
lap.  The aid later told me, "I just had to go home." It took some time
before she said she could bear to enter that room again.

I gave a little to the Cathedral to help it celebrate the anniversary of
its completion, but it was really from Kate and me.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy