John Tyler and Me
Monday, November 5th, 2007
The name John Tyler doesn’t typically evoke images of the greatest of our American Presidents, but his Presidency was unique in at least one way: he was the first President ever to assume the title following the death of an incumbant. And from what I’ve learned, it wasn’t a job that was easily ascended to. William Henry Harrison (remember Tippecanoe and Tyler Too – the slogan for the Harrison/Tyler ticket?) died just 31 days into his term, leaving the country without a President for the first time ever. Whig leader Henry Clay hoped to run the government and leave Tyler (who was living in Virginia at the time) as a ‘figurehead’ President only. Tyler would have none of that, and thus established the traditional succession of Presidents when he became our country’s tenth from 1841-1845, serving for nearly an entire term. Read the rest of this entry »
As Bob and I reviewed our plans for Thursday, August 9, during our trip around the great state of Virginia, we realized that they were a bit aggressive. There was so much to do – and all important things, particularly in the Charlottesville area – that we decided to take nearly two days to complete Thursday’s proposed activities and eliminate most of the items from our Friday list. Besides, we were getting nice and exhausted. 
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 represented the mid-point of our travels across the great state of Virginia and was the last day during which we stuck to our agressive itinerary. We had stayed at a Super 8 Motel in Appomattox, so our first order of business was to grab our complimentary continental breakfast. From there, as you might guess, we headed to the site of the famous signing of of the confederate surrender by General Robert E. Lee. Apparently this village was actually called Appomattox Court House, while the signing of the surrender itself took place in the house of Wilmer McLean rather than in an actual courthouse. 
Bob and I had a great many memorable and significant experiences on Tuesday, August 7, during our crusade across Virginia, but the least memorable and significant was that Bob shaved off his moustache first thing that morning. The weekend before he had had a full goatee, by the time he arrived in Washington D.C. the past Saturday he had whittled it down to a mere moustache – and now he was bare-faced. And this would be what I would have to deal with for the remainder of the trip. So anyway…