Cherry Pit
Sometimes life hands you a cherry and sometimes someone else has eaten the good parts and you are handed the pit. The Bible often tells us to be happy with the pit. As you stand there with the pit in your hand it is very hard to see how in the world it could ever be a blessing.
It was an absolutely beautiful spring day. I had taken the day off from work, not because it was a beautiful day, but because it was my birthday. I decided to make my way up to Washington DC. I had never seen, unless it was when I was a kid and I don’t remember it, the Washington National Cathedral before. The cherry blossoms were starting to bloom around the Tidal Basin, too.
I drove my car to a VRE (Virginia Rail Express) station and parked in the commuter lot. I love riding the train because it is so much easier than driving in traffic and finding parking. There are two VRE stops in Washington: L’Enfant and Union Station. I decided to get off at the L’Enfant Station because it was the closest one to the Tidal Basin. I wrote down the intersection of where the VRE Station was (7th and Virginia) and put it in my wallet. When I got off the train I started walking toward the Tidal Basin. As I walked a block or two I noticed the L’Enfant Metro (DC’s subway) Station.
It was a little bit of a walk to the Tidal Basin, but it was well worth it. On this day I would say the cherry blossoms were at about one third of their peak, but they were so beautiful. When I arrived at the Tidal Basin I could see the Jefferson Memorial across the water. Because of how early I went, there was no one at the Jefferson Memorial when I arrived. The sun was just starting to rise. It was beautiful. I walked up the steps and inside where Thomas Jefferson stood. It was just a statue of him to many, but personally, I stood there in awe. It was just me and old Tom in the quietness of the brisk spring morning with the sun just coming into the day to remind everyone, in a glamorous way, that a new day had arrived.
From the Jefferson Memorial I walked around the Tidal Basin to the FDR Memorial. All around the Tidal Basin there were lots of people, with cameras set up, taking pictures of the sunrise over the Jefferson Memorial with the cherry trees blooming in the background. Several couples had professional photographers snapping wedding or prom pictures. Others were just admiring the beauty of this time of year. There were a few people at the FDR Memorial, but several times I was in this area alone, too.
As I continued my Tidal Basin journey I came to the very tall Martin Luther King Memorial. The sunrise colors were about to expire, but it was still a beautiful view. I then headed to the White House. There were a few tourists and a few protesters, but it wasn’t a very big crowd here either. There were more Secret Service agents than anything. I found out later that there was a subway attack in Belgium and that probably lead to tighter security. It probably wouldn’t have done me any good to ring the doorbell because President Obama wasn’t home. He was in Cuba.
Next I had to find a bus stop where the number 30 bus line picked up. I had printed off that line’s schedule because it was the one that went to the Washington National Cathedral. I found a number 30 bus stop and when the bus arrived I hopped on. I was on my way to the National Cathedral. The Cathedral was a towering structure. The steeples seemed to reach into the sky. Its massive interior had stained glass windows everywhere. There were a couple of statues of Lincoln and one of Washington. President Wilson’s sarcophagus was inside, too, about half way down the long aisle and to the right as you look at the main pulpit. The sarcophagus is in a separate hallway but the arched opening makes it clearly visible from the pews.
It was another March day many, many years ago when this man stepped onto the Presidential Inaugural stage. His inauguration speech wasn’t very long. At the beginning he would say:
“…but when I reflect that the acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed imposes the discharge of the most arduous duties and involves the weightiest obligations, I am conscious that the position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities.”
And so he would begin his tenure as President of the United States.
It was another beautiful day in the Biblical world. It was a great day to go for a walk. Like most days at the beginning of spring, she decided to go for a walk and enjoy the fresh, crisp air.
When you wake up in the morning, usually, you have no idea how the day will transpire. You can have the whole day planned out and something will come up and ruin it or change its direction. Other days start out boring and without any notice they turn into some of the most memorable. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes that is a bad thing.
Today was one of those days that started off real well for her. It was a picture perfect day. The flowers were in bloom and their aroma was so sweet. A little chipmunk crossed her path and looked up at her, almost like it was seeking directions. Through the clover filled field she noticed a fox bouncing with its bushy tail waving almost like a music conductor. Through the trees she caught a glimpse of a pair of multi-colored parrots relaxing. Every step she took required stopping because with each step she noticed something new. You might say this place was paradise. Around her soul was the comforting blanket of peace.
After the National Cathedral I hopped back on the Metro bus and headed southbound. I got off in Georgetown and was looking for Woodrow Wilson’s house. It was a very long walk of about 15-20 blocks from where the bus let me off. There were several embassies nearby. To my disappointment, it was closed on Tuesdays. I walked the 15-20 blocks back to Georgetown because I had only printed off the Route 30 bus schedule. By this time I was getting really hungry, so when I got back to Georgetown I stopped in a restaurant to eat lunch. I picked a spot that was close to a Route 30 bus station. After I ate I hopped on the Route 30 bus heading south and toward the VRE station, so I could head home. I pulled out my Metro Bus map and I saw L’Enfant Square and I followed the map noticing every stop it was making.
I departed the bus when it got to L’Enfant Square. As I stepped off the bus I realized this wasn’t the nice neighborhood I started out earlier that morning. I was in what some might call the bad side of town. I headed across the street to wait so I could catch the bus back up to the National Mall.
As I stood at the bus station I began to notice that these people were not like me. So I did what I normally do, I started talking to them. The more I talked to them the more I realized their plights were not all that different than mine. And they talked back. We talked football and politics and, without realizing it, I was having a pretty good time. But soon all my new friends boarded their different buses and I was at the bus stop all alone. Truthfully, standing alone at the bus station was scarier than standing there with people I thought were so different than me.
As I stood there I looked over my bus map again and decided to get off near 7th street Northwest. My bus finally arrived and I hopped on. As we were heading up the road I pondered the events of the day. I looked back at the morning that I was pretty much alone, but in a good, reflective way. I thought about the regal, almost royal, Cathedral I visited. Then I thought about Georgetown and I thought about the well to do people who crossed my path. No one smiled. No one looked you in the eyes. It’s hard to say “Hi” to someone who isn’t looking at you. Then I thought about the people I met at the bus stop and who, without knowing anything about me, were willing to have a conversation with me. I began to wonder whether being financially well off was a better lifestyle. The Georgetown people had the “better” life but they didn’t seem all that happy. The southeast people didn’t have many earthly things but they were much friendlier.
At the 7th Street Metro bus stop I departed the bus. I looked down the block and I saw the VRE station. Although I arrived there a lot later than I planned, I felt like it was a very good day. I hopped on the VRE train and I headed home.
It is probably the most controversial Presidential death. The “official” cause of his death was gastroenteritis, or “cholera morbus.” This was a popular term used in the 19th century when someone died of an indeterminable cause. But many people weren’t so sure there might not be more to it. Some thought he might have actually been assassinated by poisoning with arsenic or some other hazardous material. Before we get into that, let’s explore what got us to that point.
Our nation was deeply divided by the issue of slavery. The Northern States thought that slavery gave the Slave States an advantage since they didn’t have to “pay” for their labor. The Southern States, or Slave States, thought this was an issue that the states and not the federal government should decide. To the Southerners, slaves were not considered people, but instead were thought of as property. Before we come down too hard on the Southerners, most Northerners did not consider the slaves their equal, but for moral or financial reasons, they did not believe a person should own another person. We were at the brink of war over the issue. Throw in the challenge of new states coming into the Union. Both sides were concerned about tipping the political balance in the other’s direction. This presented the Secession Crisis of 1850, in which Southern States were considering leaving the Union if the balance of power was shifted in the North’s direction. In this election he seemed like the perfect person for the Presidency.
He was a popular General in the Mexican War. His ruthless charges made the rout look easy. He lived in the North, in Indiana. Yet he also owned slaves on his plantation in New Orleans. He had never voted in an election in his whole life, so no one was really sure where he stood on the slavery issue. So he was elected President.
The South was sure they had pulled a fast one on the North by his election. After all, he owned and understood the slave holders’ position. After he become President the issue came to its collision point. When newly acquired Western lands decided to become states the North and South feud escalated rapidly. The South wanted each new state to decide whether it wanted to be free or slave. The North didn’t want slavery extended into any of the new states. Then in January of 1850, Senators Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas devised the Compromise of 1850. This compromise basically had enough in it to keep both sides satisfied, at least until the Civil War started eleven years later.
To the utter surprise of the South, this President believed that slavery should NOT be extended westward. He was going to veto the bill.
It was a hot July 4th day in the Nation’s Capital. The President was attending a fund raising event at the Washington Monument, which was under construction. The President consumed some raw fruit and iced milk. Legend says the fruit were cherries. Hours later he became seriously ill. Five days later he would die. Was it indeed the food and drink he consumed that killed him or had someone poisoned him?
Eve took a walk in paradise. In front of her stood everything she could ever want. It was all hers. The trees, the flowers, the animals, the cool breeze, the fresh air, the adoring mate, were all hers. She didn’t have to work for any of it. God gave it all to her and Adam. At that time He had only one rule: Do NOT eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. The Bible never really says what kind of tree it was. It could have been an apple tree that is usually associated with this story or it could have even been a cherry tree. Whatever type of tree it was, Eve decided, with a little prodding from the evil serpent, she had to have a bite of its fruit. Eve would now fall ill to that sickness we call sin and this sin would cause her death.
The debate over President Zachary Taylor’s death has raged for well over a century. Some believe he was poisoned by arsenic by some of those who were upset by his veto threat of the Compromise of 1850. Millard Fillmore, his successor, would sign the bill into law. Others believe it was just a bout with some bad food.
On June 17, 1991, Clara Rising, a retired University of Florida humanities professor, with the blessing of Taylor’s relative, the Jefferson County Coroner, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the administrator of Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, had Taylor’s body exhumed. As 200 witnesses watched, Taylor’s heavy, black walnut casket was removed from its musty crypt and placed into a waiting hearse. At Dr. Greathouse’s laboratory the body was to be examined for traces of poisoning. This proved difficult because “the wood had decomposed, and all that remained was a sealed, metal sarcophagus, which the staff had to maul with a power saw.” Various tests for arsenic were sent to three different laboratories: State Toxicology Laboratory, University of Louisville, and Oak Ridge National Lab.
Several weeks later, Kentucky State Medical Examiner George Nichols released the following statement:
Cherry or other trees or even other things can really draw our attention. Their fruit can be quite tempting. Our eyes can sometimes see things, like people being different than us, that may not be absolutely true. Our hearts may want things, like that tempting fruit on a tree, that we really shouldn’t have. Our brains may want answers, like why do people die, that just aren’t there for us to understand. I guess sometimes holding the pit is better than eating the fruit.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Sometimes it is really hard not to know all the answers. Sometimes it is easy to look away from those who are different from us. Sometimes it is tempting to think we know what is best. In those times, please always let me look to You first before I step out on my own. Amen.
Wow!! You had a very busy and interesting day!!! I’m sure you will remember this day. Happy birthday!!