The Terrible Catsafterme

Had he completed his entire term, our nation’s twelfth President Zachary Taylor might have proven to be one of our weakest due to his complete lack of political involvement before running for the highest office in the land. Because of the fame derived from battlefield victories under his leadership in several major wars including the War of 1812, ‘Old Rough and Ready’, as he was known, became the victor in the 1848 Presidential election. Unfortunately, President Taylor died just 16 months into his term under rather mysterious circumstances. The consensus was that he passed away from dysentery, but some claim that he may have been poisoned. Read the rest of this entry »

William Henry Harrison became our nation’s ninth President on March 4, 1841. Just thirty-one days later he passed away from pneumonia resulting from giving an incredibly long inauguration speech in the biting cold weather. This, unfortunately, was Harrison’s biggest claim to fame – being the first President to die in office, having the shortest term, and being the oldest President ever elected (until Ronald Reagan broke his record in 1980). Before his short-lived Presidency, he held many imporant roles as well – not the least of which was Governor of the Indiana Territory and as an Ohio Senator, but we will never know what Harrison might accomplished as our country’s Chief Executive. Read the rest of this entry »

My batting average is 0 for 2 in getting a photo snapped with grandchildren of the Presidents this year. In August, I missed the chance to be photographed with John Tyler’s grandson Harrison, the owner of Tyler’s former estate, because he was on his way out of town. On November 28, 2007, I missed a photo op with Jenna Bush, granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush, thanks to the inexcusable ineptitude of the guy standing in line behind me. To look at the bright side, at least I got to meet the lovely Jenna and get her autograph. Read the rest of this entry »

The sad fact was that the trip on which Bob and I had embarked just one full week before had come nearly full-circle and was drawing to a close. We were in the heart of Washington D.C. at the busy Hotel Harrington when we awoke on Saturday morning, August 11. We had just one day left to try and cram in as much as possible in Washington D.C. and the nearby Arlington Cemetery. The temperatures had returned to an acceptable level, but the sun shone brightly above in the early morning hours as we left our hotel. Bob made the three block walk to our rented car while I watched the luggage. We met up and headed toward the National Mall. Read the rest of this entry »

The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan by the loony John Hinckley on March 30, 1981 left quite an impression on me when it occurred. I remember Mark Staples knocking on our front door and delivering the news after school that Monday. I was a Jimmy Carter supporter in the last election (mainly because my parents were), and I was incredulous that an actor could have ascended to the highest office in the land. I later came around to having a great deal of respect for Reagan, but even then it shook me that our leader could take an would-be assassin’s bullet. The other thing that I could never get out of my mind was that Reagan’s press secretary James Brady (seen above left just before the incident in the blue suit) had been shot in the head. Read the rest of this entry »