[Magdalen] 25th Anniversary

[Grace Cangialosi]

I had to stand outside for the ceremony, but they still made us all go through metal detectors, since W was there. 
Later we learned that Bishop John Walker had died that day. Seemed entirely fitting, since he was responsible for getting funding back on track to finish the Cathedral.

> On 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