Saturday, May 19th 1973
Got up and took the guys to Washington today to visit Mom left at 6:30 A.M.! I spent the night at 20th street, so we could leave from there in the morning. It wouldn't have been so bad except that Greg started an argument with Donald and Frosty which kept us all up until 1:30 A.M. And ended with Frostie saying he wasn't going to go with us in the morning! I just committed it to the Lord, sent Ronnie to bed (he was sitting in my room talking to me like old times) and in the morning everything was fine.
I really wanted the Lord to control this day and be glorified. It was really neat! Greg, Ronnie, and Frostie were the spiritual leaders! Greg asked me to pray before each trip and the guys reminded me to pray when we ate with my Mom. There was really a nice spirit among us no arguing, complaining, laming or nastiness. Greg really took the role of the man in the group. He paid the gas and dinner bills (with my money), paid attention to Ronnie and Frostie, and insisted on Frostie toeing the mark. He drove well, found his way around, kept his cool, was considerate with us in stopping and picture taking (unlike Uncle Johnny), talked with my Mom easily, and was just someone we could depend on. I think it was good for Ronnie and Frostie to see this example in Greg and me. It was also good for them to be with my mom, who is a quiet, gentle person, and to see me thank her for what she did. She paid $30 for theatre tickets and then gave us $20 to get home on. They all did chip in a dollar to get a plate for Barb, which was really thoughtful of them.
We saw the Lincoln Memorial, ate at the hot dog stand (about 10:00 a.m. and then got tickets for the tourmobile which drives around the mall and out to Arlington Cemetery. Next we went to the White House and through it there was a long line of people. We walked over to the Washington Monument and then to the Smithsonian Institute. After that, we caught the tourmobile back to the Lincoln Memorial and saw the Capitol Building, the Art Museum, and the Jefferson Memorial on the way. Then we walked to Kennedy Center to meet my mom (1:30) and see Story Theatre, a really cool staged version of Aesop’s fables.
The guys weren't too enthusiastic at first.
"You crazy?" Greg asked. "Bringing kids from the ghetto to a place like this!"
But there were plenty of black kids there.
"Hey, Greg, is it possible to sell these tickets here and go see a movie?" snickered Ronnie.
"I don't wanna see this stuff!" Frostie stated flatly.
But it had their attention from the first blackout, and got a lot of laughs from Greg and Frostie. They even talked at intermission about it.
Greg kept saying, "These people are crazy! You mean they get paid to get up there and act like nuts?"
And I noticed they were all right back in their seats ready for more after intermission.
"You can get lost in that bathroom, if you make a wrong turn!" commented Ronnie.
The show was over at 4:00, so then we walked past the Watergate apartments and ate at Howard Johnson's. Then we headed home, bushed. Only we ‘lost’ the car and walked all over the Mall and polo fields looking for it. Ronnie kept throwing himself flat on the grass and looking up at the sky.
"I wanna rumble in the grass," he said.
I think the things that impressed the guys the most were the chicks, the cars, all the policemen (“They've got more policemen than citizens!" was a comment), all the foreigners at Lincoln Memorial, the southern accents, all the Virginia license plates, and how young Mom looked!
"You've got more wrinkles than she has!" said Greg and Ronnie. Thanks, guys.
When we left the city, we had some trouble keeping on New York Avenue and finding the Baltimore Washington Express-way. We got to see the Washington ghetto as a result. It was obvious.
"Is this the Washington ghetto?" Ronnie asked as we looked around at the rundown rowhouses, and abandoned buildings and all the black people.
Greg had me drive on the Expressway for almost an hour! It was crazy! I wasn't too eager, but we pulled to the side and I got in the driver's seat. He put it in first for me as I pushed down the clutch.
"Now, pull over."
I panicked, "Greg!"
"Pull over," he shouted. "C'mon, don't get scared!”
Cars were coming.
I pulled. He shifted the car into second and then into third. It was manual transmission, and I didn't know how to shift.
"Now, drive at the speed you feel comfortable.”
"I think you better lead in prayer again, Greg!" I said seriously.
"I have confidence in you," he said reassuringlv.
Poor Frosty didn't. That was probably the first trip he managed to stay wide awake! Ronnie half slept, and Greg relaxed on the seat next to me and gave occasional cuts, corrections, and compliments.
"Hey, she's almost speeding, would you believe it?"
“Get it up over 40 now!”
"You're getting more relaxed now, right?"
"Well," I said calmly, "To tell you the truth, I'll feel better when you're back under the wheel.”
I was thinking, "Of the stupid things you've pulled in your life, Jeanne…driving down the Expressway, 60 mph, at night, in a strange car, when you haven't driven since Drivers Ed in high school!”
A toll booth was ahead. Greg told me how to stop and shifted into first for me. Boy, was I shaky as I paid the toll. Greg got me going again it was a good lesson in trusting someone, doing what they tell you, and doing it fast. After a while, I was really fighting to keep my mind on what I was doing. I was so tired. So Greg took over at the next toll.
When we got home, Barb asked Ronnie, "What did you enjoy the most?"
"Eating with Jeanne's mother," he answered promptly. He was dead serious. He really thought it was something special to meet her.
We didn’t mention me driving.
Barb had been the sole witness to a man stabbing a woman in the Thrift Shop that day! She saw him walk up, plunge the knife in the lady's back, pull it out, and walk away. The woman kept going because she didn't know she'd been stabbed she thought she'd been bumped real hard. Barb didn't know what to do because the man had a knife, but after he passed her, she yelled, "Stop that man! He just stabbed that woman!"
The manager told her later, "We, didn't know whether to believe you! We have a lot of crazy people coming into this store, and we just don't pay too much attention to them.
Anyway, two managers chased the man down the street with a baseball bat and one went to get the security guard, who was out to lunch! The woman went to the hospital, and Barb went to the police station.
Delores took a bunch of guys Cook, Billy, Bernie, Doug, and Nardy out to Lancaster County today. They saw an Amish Farm, got chased by dogs, went to a stable and rode horses, and then went canoeing. They all got capsized! Delores also got stopped for speeding, but the policeman let her slide when he saw the guys and read "Christian Youth Services" on the owner's card.
Footnote: January 13th 1976
Barb had to go to court on the case a year or so later. The man was insane.
His answers were totally incoherent in court. He had also pushed a woman in
front of a subway. Both women were strangers to him. So the judge judged him
insane, I guess and they took him away somewhere. The court case was kind of
comical Barb said.