I’ve been to every state east of the Mississippi, but I’ve never to Washington, D.C. Well, thanks to Pi Beta Phi, that situation has been rectified. I left home on Wednesday at 3:45 a.m. to arrive in D.C. at about noon. My daughter, who is also my roommate, was on a plane that arrived at about the same time. Our goal was to see some of the sights after we checked in to the hotel.
A conversation with a Pi Phi friend who also arrived early was very fortuitous. She had planned ahead and had secured tickets to Hello Dolly at the Kennedy Center. Betty Buckley, an alumna of Zeta Tau Alpha, is the star of the show. How did I not know that it would be in D.C. when we were there? That’s a rhetorical question as I know very well why I didn’t know and that’s because there are a 1000 things going on in my life right now and it’s mighty amazing that I am even here. But the second I realized that it would just take a couple of clicks and a charge card to secure some tickets, we were on it. A night of walking the Mall turned into a pleasant surprise. It’s a wonderful production and well worth seeing. Kudos to Ms. Buckley!
Yesterday I enlisted my daughter to help set up the convention historical display. It’s about Pi Phi’s ties to D.C., specifically Grace Coolidge, Margaret Truman Daniel, and Barbara Bush. It also covers the 1924 Eastern Conference of Pi Beta Phi when the Grace Coolidge portrait was given to the Nation and the 1962 Convention. That convention was the first one “Sis” Mullis attended. She has not missed one since then!
After that we headed out. The Library of Congress was tops on our list. We toured the Shall Not Be Denied exhibit. Carrie Chapman Catt greeted us. She was also on display at the National Portrait Gallery, another stop on our travels.
There, I had to see the portrait of my favorite Phi Gamma Delta Calvin Coolidge painted by Joseph Burgess. Not only was it a gift from the fraternity, but Burgess was an initiate of the Syracuse University chapter.
As I headed to dinner, this wonderful elevator door historical display greeted me. What a wonderful surprise! At some point during the past few months, the copy had been run by me, but I had no clue how it would be used. And it warmed my heart when I saw it. Kudos to the creative staff at @PiBetaPhiHQ!
