[Magdalen] 25th Anniversary

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

I was wondering, and took a look at the website, and read, "Since 1925..."
  It was indeed earlier issues of Cathedral Age that Aunt Kate was showing
me.

Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone. Talk about the long view!

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

On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 11:39 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>