I attended the Senate Watergate Hearing, September 24, 1973

In 1973, thousands of people watched the seemingly endless testimony of Watergate figures - McCloud, Halderman, Strachan, Chapin, Magruder, and others - on television.  But the actual hearings were attended by only a few hundred people.

After long hours of waiting, the spectators solemnly filed past the blue uniformed guards who carefully checked each one for weapons, up the long, winding gray marble stairs, and into the spacious Senate Caucus Room, still 15 minutes before the Senate Select Watergate Committee resumed its hearings, taking seats in the last row or leaning against the back wall and large pillars.

On Monday, September 24, 1973, convicted Watergate conspirator, E. Howard Hunt Jr., 54, an ex-CIA agent, looking pale, thin and physically weak, was present to testify as to how he had become involved in the bugging and break-in of Democratic National Committee's Watergate Headquarters.  Hunt spoke for the first time publically about "the events which have befallen me."  I attended both the morning and afternoon sessions that day when the hearing resumed after a brief late summer recess.

Hunt and his lawyer faced the solemn Senate Select Watergate Committee: Senator Lowell Wicker (R-CT), Senator Edward J. Gurney (R-FL), Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN), Senator Sam J. Erwin, Jr., chairman, Sam Dash, Chief Council, Senator Herman Talmadge (D-GA), Senator Daniel Inoyue (D-HI), and Senator Joseph M. Montoya (D-NM).  I heard recently that Hillary Clinton was present during the hearings as a staff member.

To Hunt's left, a row of television cameras, lights powerful, glaring; photographers bobbing in and out, flashbulbs flashing until Hunt strongly protested; to his right sitting at long tables or leaning against the walls and pillars were reporters, news analysts - Sam Donaldson, Sally Quinn, Carl Stern, Daniel Shore, and others members of the press. 

Hunt read aloud a brief opening statement, his voice dry and lifeless, making it clear that he felt betrayed by his government.  He testified about his part in Watergate.  After the hearing was over for the day, Hunt rose slowly, warmly embraced his grown children, and was led away to spend the night at a Federal Bureau of Prisons "safe house".  Hunt would serve 33 months in prison for the crime and emerge a broken man.

Leaving the Senate Caucus Room, I paused briefly in the crowded rotunda for a last look back, turned reluctantly, and walked slowly down the winding gray marble stairs.  Behind me was almost a year of Watergate - "a third-rate burglary" as the White House once described it; the Senate Watergate Hearings - a "three ring circus" as its detractors referred to it; and E. Howard Hunt, Jr.,, - the spy who came in from the cold and did not like it.

Lessons from the Watergate Scandal

It has been 50 years since the bungled 1972 break-in at the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters by burglars tied to the president's re-election committee set off the Watergate scandal.  The burglars were there to repair electronic eavesdropping bugs they had installed the previous month.

The resulting attempted cover-up, abuse of power, perjury, news of the existence of a clandestine group called the Plumbers operating from within the White House, discovery of other crimes (break-ins, kidnapping, etc.) and the eventual resignation of the sitting president in 1974.

The free press especially The Washington Post played its fundamental role in bringing the scandal to light.  The Senate Select Committee Watergate hearings exposed the depth of the scandal.

A half a century later, as another American president finds himself engulfed in scandal over claims of election misconduct, he and his former staff and cohorts may well want to read up on the Watergate scandal in the bestselling book "All the President's Men".  There are lessons to be learned!

Watergate was basically decent men who went astray.  It was a failure of decent men to follow their conscience.  They made tragically destructive errors and many even criminal conduct.

In the end, the lessons of Watergate contain both an assurance and a warning.

The assurance is that the American system works. The warning is that, no matter how high or important the post, if one betrays a public trust; the system will be brought into play.  Watergate shows that the odds of beating the system are strongly against a guilty person.

After what happened to Richard Nixon, only a fool would take the chance.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

Recently I watched a film about 9/11 - "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".  It is a movie based on a 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.  The movie/book's narrator is a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell.  In the story, Oskar discovers a key in a vase that belonged to his father that inspires him to search all around New York for information about the key.  I read the novel that I checked out from the library.  I watched the film once again.  The novel added a lot to my understanding of the film.

The Official Boy Scout Fieldbook Fruit Salad

This is my very favorite Fruit Salad. I adapted this recipe from a recipe that I found in "The Official Boy Scout Fieldbook".

3 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained and each segment cut in half

3 large ripe bananas. sliced

3 large apples, diced (I use Fuji Apples.  They originated as a cross between two American apple varieties—the Red Delicious and old Virginia Ralls Janet apples).

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Mix together well in a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve (about 30 minutes or so).  Enjoy!

Thomas, WV - A Town doing everything right

https://www.miles2gobeforeisleep.com/blog/2017/11/22/thomas-wv-a-town-doing-everything-right

A couple years ago my eldest son and I found geocache at the Purple Fiddle and then had a delicious lunch on the patio.  A memorable experience!  I wish that I had time to explore the town.

Adding two more states - Alabama and North Carolina

I found three Traditional Caches, six Virtuals, two Earthcaches, five Adventure Labs, attended one Community Celebration Event, found one whereigo, six Benchmarks and DNF two - a Traditional Cache and an Adventure Lab Bonus Cache during my two-week trip.   I added two more states that I had not as yet cached in - Alabama and North Carolina.  I have cached in 36 states.

Trip to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, Greensboro, and Alexandria November 6 - 21, 2021

Saturday, Nov. 6 - I rode Vancouver Cab to Portland International Airport at 4:00A.  I caught the Alaska Airlines flight to SeaTac at 6:00A (seat 18F).  I had a three hour layover so I checked into the Alaska Airlines Lounge.  I left SeaTac at 10:05A for Atlanta (Seat 6F bulkhead).  I arrived about 5:45P.  I took a cab ride to the Hyatt Place Atlanta/Buckhead.  After I checked into the hotel I purchased a Caesar Salad for dinner at 8:30P.  I had a great night's sleep.

Sunday, Nov. 7 - Following breakfast, I rode Marta to the High Museum of Art located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district.  I looked at the art, had a Charcuterie Box lunch with Diet Coke, and found "The Shade" (Geocaching Virtual) in the far reaches of the grounds. 

103 members of the Atlanta Art Association never made it back from their month-long tour of famed European art galleries.  They were among the 130 people killed on June 3, 1962 when Air France Flight 007 crashed off the end of an Orly Airport runway after an aborted takeoff attempt. Mechanical failure caused the crash.  The bronze cast of Rodin's The Shade that stands on the grounds of the High Art Museum, encircled with the names of the patrons, was donated to Atlanta by France in memory of the victims of the crash.

I took Marta back to the Buckhead station and proceeded to get lost.  I took a Lyft from 3495 Buckhead Loop NE (with the help of the security guard) to the Hyatt Place arriving at 4:30P.  I checked in with Road Scholar table and got my welcome packet.  We had an Orientation session.  We went to a local restaurant for dinner. 

Monday, Nov. 8 - Following breakfast, we heard a speaker.  We went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site where we visited the Martin Luther King Memorial and Dr. and Mrs. King's Crypt.  We saw the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where both King and his father were pastors.  We had lunch at Paschal's.  Paschal's was a meeting place for key civil rights leaders and strategists.  After lunch, we visited the Apex Museum.  We had dinner at Louisiana Bistreaux. 

Tuesday, Nov. 9 - Following breakfast, we heard about important people of Atlanta that changed the future of the city.  We traveled to the Georgia State Capital which contains a wealth of Civil Rights History.  I found the benchmark at the front of the capital.  I saw a plaque "The Battle of Atlanta" and a new statue of MLK.  We walked across the street to eat at the local capitol cafeteria.  We traveled to South View cemetery (1886), a historic African-American-founded cemetery located 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta. 

Wednesday, Nov. 10 - Following breakfast, we traveled via bus approximately 160 miles to Renaissance  Montgomery Hotel.  Upon our arrival in Montgomery, we stopped at the Rosa Parks Museum depicting the events that started the bus boycott and early Civil Rights movement.  We had lunch at a local restaurant.  After lunch, we drove by Dexter Parsonage, home of Martin Luther King while he was pastor in Montgomery.  We ended up at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. first preached.  The church was also a center point of the Montgomery bus boycott.  Next we visited the Freedom Rider Museum.  We checked into our hotel in the late afternoon.  I ate dinner at The House restaurant.  I watched "Survivor" on TV.

Thursday, Nov. 11 - Following breakfast, I set out for the former Montgomery Union Train Station to find a benchmark.  I ended up finding two benchmarks.  I attended the Veterans Day Dedication of the "Return from the Argonne" Statue.  The Alabama National Guard did a Fly Over.  There was a 21 Gun Salute.  There were four speakers including the Mayor Steven L. Reed.  Afterwards there was a reception in the Union Station Train Shed.  A military band played as we had lunch which included a grilled ribeye sandwich, sides and a drink.  I returned to the hotel where I joined the Road Scholar group to travel to the next stop.  I wandered around the lovely Peace and Justice Memorial Garden with its Memory Wall - "These bricks were made by enslaved Black people in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1850s".  Later I found "Big Fish Tails" geocache along the Alabama River.   We had dinner at the hotel at the end of a very long hallway.

Friday, Nov. 12 - Following breakfast, we loaded our suitcases on the bus and we were off to Birmingham.  The drive to Selma was approximately 50 miles, taking about an hour.  And then approximately 90 miles from Selma to Birmingham, taking about two hours.  I found a geocache under a metal bench seat at a nearby small park.  We stopped at the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where I found a Benchmark.  The group walked across the historic bridge tracing the footsteps of the civil rights markers.  Selma is best known for the 1960s Selma Voting Rights Movement and the Selma to Montgomery marches.  We checked into the Hampton Inn & Suites-Downtown-Tutwiler in the late afternoon.  We had dinner at Ocean. 

Saturday, Nov. 13 - Following breakfast, we visited a variety of sights aboard the motorcoach, learning about the Civil Rights Movement and its events in Birmingham.  We had lunch at a local restaurant.  We visited the Vulcan Park and Museum on Red Mountain to learn about Birmingham's industrial past.  I found a Virtual Cache and a benchmark.  The statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world.  We had farewell dinner at a local restaurant. 

Sunday, Nov. 14 - The Road Scholar group left very early this morning to return to Atlanta.  I had a late checkout from the hotel.  I left my luggage at the front desk and took a Lyft to the Art Museum.  After visiting the museum, I took a Lyft back to the hotel at 2:30P.  Train car 2010 did not leave for Greensboro, NC until 5:34P.   I took a Lyft to the Amtrak Train Station at 3:15P.  I boarded the Amtrak train about 5:35P.  I had Enchiladas, diet coke and a brownie for dinner.  Uncomfortable night's sleep as the bed was not fully extended.

Monday, Nov. 15 - I arrived in Greensboro, NC about 7:22A.  I was given French Toast breakfast to go.  I took a Lyft to the Hyatt Place Greensboro/Downtown.  I ate breakfast at the hotel.  It was bitterly cold in Greensboro.  I took a Lyft to the International Civil Right Museum at F. W. Woolworth retail store at 1:15P.  The brass footprints in front of the museum were a Virtual Cache.  Afterwards I ate a small sub at nearby Jimmy Johns.  I caught a Lyft at 4:30P back to the hotel.  I wanted to do the Earthcache this afternoon but it was just too bitterly cold. 

Tuesday, Nov. 16 - I rose very early in order to catch the 7:29A northbound train to Alexandria, Virginia.  Evidently a freight train derailed as such Amtrak was delayed.   I was bombarded by messages from Amtrak for several hours giving me updates: 11:24A, 11:36A, 12:03P,  12:15P, 12:27P, and 12:45.  So I got a chance to get the Earthcache after all.   I took a Lyft to Kiser Jr High School on Benjamin Parkway about 7:50, hiked down to the bridge and trail, and walked along the woodsy path to the small waterfall.  Afterwards I took a Lyft back to the hotel about 9:20A.  I took a Lyft to the Amtrak Station at 11:30A.  By 1:00P I was on my way north.  I had free Viewliner Roomettes on both segments.  I arrived in Alexandria about 7:00P.  My eldest son, Jeff, met my train.  We went to dinner at Delias in Alexandria, VA.  Jeff dropped me off at the Comfort Inn.  I was given a corner suite however the bedroom was far too noisy from nearby freeway so I took over the living room.  Both rooms had attached bathrooms.

Wednesday, Nov. 17  - I traveled via Lyft at 10:40A to the Van Dorn Metro Station.  I rode the Metro to Pentagon City.  I purchased a cashmere/wool scarf at Nordstrom, had Cranberry Turkey Sandwich for lunch in Nordstrom Cafe, and ate chocolate dip madelines from Starbucks while I charged my IPhone.  I rode the Metro to Van Dorn Station and then took a Lyft at 3:10P to the hotel.  Jeff picked me up in the evening.  We had dinner at El Paso Mexican Restaurant

Thursday, Nov. 18 - I took a Lyft to Van Dorn Metro Station.  I rode the Metro to Alexandria.   It was warm today.  I had to haul my coat and scarf around all day!  I completed the "Historic Houses of Alexandria, Virginia" five locations including having a private 1 1/2 hour tour led by Liz Wallach of the historic Lee-Fendall House. I noticed the GC number on the Adventure Lab cache page however I did not understand how Adventure Labs work so I did not know to go for the Historic Houses of Alexandria, VA Bonus Cache. Argh.  I stopped at Five Guys to get a grilled cheese sandwich with sliced tomatoes.  I got a large free lemonade drink. I rode the Metro to Van Dorn Station where Jeff picked me up.  Jeff, Donna and I attended the GIFF 2021 Community Celebration Event at the Kings Park Library in Burke, VA.  Afterwards we had dinner at Giardino Restaurant.

Friday, Nov. 19 - I decided to rest all day.  I watched the entire season of "Below Deck Mediterranean" on TV.  I witnessed life at sea inside a luxurious yacht.  I ate the grilled cheese sandwich with sliced tomatoes for lunch that I had bought yesterday at Five Guys.  Jeff and I had dinner at Guapo's of Shirlington.

Saturday, Nov. 20 - Jeff, Donna and I went geocaching.  We did seven Adventure Labs, Virtuals and a Cache in Maryland and Delaware.  I found a Municipal Tank NGS benchmark in historic Denton.  We ate at Agave Mexican Restaurant in Lewes, DE.  We drove through DC viewing the lighted Capital, large blue chicken with its reflection, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial. 

Sunday, Nov, 21 - My trip is coming to a close.  I got my Comfort Inn  "breakfast" - bottled water, a protein bar, a small container of Dole fruit, and a breakfast roll.  Jeff picked me up at 10:00A.  Jeff put my luggage in his car.  We found Zombies love to shop,  Historic Fort Washington Adventure Lab Bonus!!,  Clearwater Nature Center Earthcache, and North Beach - A Sharp View.  We ate at Plaza Mexico in North Beach, MD.   Jeff bought an item at the nearby Antique Store.

Jeff dropped me off at Alaska Airlines at National Airport about 4:00P.  I checked my suitcase and traveled to the Alaska Airlines Boarding Gate.  Fairly smooth flight to PDX.  I sat in 1F First Class (window seat).  I  had a fruit plate - green salad, roll with butter, cheeses, crackers, green and purple grapes, sliced green apples and lemon tart with a side of raspberry sauce - for dinner.  After landing about 9:50P, I retrieved my suitcase with the aid of a man who lives in West Linn, Oregon.  I took a PDX Yellow Cab to Vancouver.  It was a truly great trip but I was glad to be home!