Crazy's Back!
Okay, enough of the somber Corrie, let's bet back to crazy! I shall tell you perhaps the most ridiculous tale of absentmindedness to date!
One lovely evening along the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C., my delightful group from Anaheim, California, & I were dropped off at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial from which we were then walking to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial followed by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Because buses cannot park anywhere nearby for extended periods of time, my driver, as usual, asked if I would call him when we were ready for him on other side of the Tidal Basin at the T.J. Memorial. Yes, of course I would! Once unloaded at MLK, I quickly gave my spiel about Civil Rights and then sent my group off to take photos in front of the 30ft "Stone of Hope" as well to choose a favorite quotation from along the sides of the "Mountain of Despair."
Fifteen minutes later, we were standing at the entrance to the FDR Memorial, and I was giving my spiel about how even in our weaknesses (like FDR's disability due to polio), we can still be used of God for great things! And of course I rattled off some facts & figures about the Memorial & FDR, reviewed the Great Depression, the New Deal, & WWII, and gave them more photo assignments which include a hunt for his dog Fala, his wife Eleanor, the bread line, the fireside chat, & the "Four Freedoms" quotation.
Twenty-five minutes later, we were strolling along the Tidal Basin under the Japanese cherry trees making our way to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Upon arriving at the base of the impressive Neoclassical structure, I again gathered my group for my last spiel of the night: what is your legacy? We know much of TJ because of the 1,000's of letters that he wrote throughout his life; what if all we knew of you was the texts & emails you'd sent in the last few years? or the Tweets Tweeted? or the Facebook statuses posted? What would that say of your character? With that, I then sent them up to admire both the 19ft tall Jefferson and the marvelous view of the Tidal Basin & the White House (because FDR had the trees blocking the view chopped down).
Once the group had begun scampering up the steps, I reached in my bag for my phone...Not there! Suddenly, I remembered that I'd left it lying on my seat on the bus! There would be no calling my driver for the pick up! I didn't have his correct phone number on my itinerary from the office with me; the only place I had Stuart's number was in my phone. But perchance, he'd already guessed my stupidity or at least the timing and had pulled up already. I ran the several hundred yards to where the buses park at Jefferson. No bus. I waited....No bus. I knew the kids would be gathering back at the memorial, so I ran back. Maybe if I called my phone, he'd figure out that I didn't have my phone and come save us! I borrowed a teacher's phone and called. and called again. and called again. No answer. I tried calling the ACTS office (the number was on the back of the students' name badges). No answer. The students had all assembled, and the teachers & I agreed we might as well wait at the pick-up stop as there! So we walked. And waited. No bus. Knowing that the buses simply drive around and around till we call them, it was useless for us to wait anywhere else. But the lead teacher thought for sure that he would be waiting for us where he'd dropped us. Feeling completely stupid and helpless, I agreed we might as well give it a go! So we walked back along the Tidal Basin more or less. I must have looked a bit flustered at that point, because one of the teachers came up to cheer me by saying,"Don't worry! In football, we call this a fumble!" :)
As we walked haphazardly across the baseball fields on the southwest side of the Basin, we saw far ahead what looked like our bus! A large, white Coach with no markings sure enough was parked along Ohio Dr. One of the teachers and several of the 8th graders took off running: I followed with a quickened step! At last! However, the closer we got, the less the driver standing outside the bus looked like Stuart. But the teacher & kids had arrived and were all smiling and laughing with him, so that must be good... Finally, I was close enough to see that it wasn't *our driver; but it *was one I'd had before - he was the first driver I'd had with ACTS back in February!! I ran then! I was truly glad to see him! How wonderful to see a familiar, friendly face - and one likely to have my driver's phone number handy!
"Where've you been!?" was the first thing he said in his sweet North Carolina drawl after he gave me a huge, warm hug. "Everyone's lookin' for you!"
"Everyone?"
Apparently, my message to the office had gotten through after all and they were trying to locate me! And my driver Stuart had been driving around as well looking for me. He'd actually gone to the pick-up spot twice! So David (this driver) had been put on high alert for the crazy girl with a trail of 8th graders meandering along the Tidal Basin with orders to detain her until such a time as her driver could arrive to pick her & her group up!
Only a couple of minutes later, our group was happily situated on our comfortable bus. Stuart *had heard my phone and figured, "that crazy corrie left her phone on the bus!" And so he hunted us down! :) Yes, I felt ridiculous! But, bless those hearts of the dear people from Anaheim, they forgave me! Though, they never let me get off the bus after that without checking to see that I had my phone!
*note: none of these pictures were taken at the time of the story: my escapade occurred in the daylight, fyi.
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| "Out of the Mountain of Despair A Stone of Hope" |
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| Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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| the "four Freedoms" |
Fifteen minutes later, we were standing at the entrance to the FDR Memorial, and I was giving my spiel about how even in our weaknesses (like FDR's disability due to polio), we can still be used of God for great things! And of course I rattled off some facts & figures about the Memorial & FDR, reviewed the Great Depression, the New Deal, & WWII, and gave them more photo assignments which include a hunt for his dog Fala, his wife Eleanor, the bread line, the fireside chat, & the "Four Freedoms" quotation.
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| Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin |
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| Thomas Jefferson: Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Founder of the University of Virginia ( & the 3rd President of the USA) |
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| Thomas Jefferson Memorial |
As we walked haphazardly across the baseball fields on the southwest side of the Basin, we saw far ahead what looked like our bus! A large, white Coach with no markings sure enough was parked along Ohio Dr. One of the teachers and several of the 8th graders took off running: I followed with a quickened step! At last! However, the closer we got, the less the driver standing outside the bus looked like Stuart. But the teacher & kids had arrived and were all smiling and laughing with him, so that must be good... Finally, I was close enough to see that it wasn't *our driver; but it *was one I'd had before - he was the first driver I'd had with ACTS back in February!! I ran then! I was truly glad to see him! How wonderful to see a familiar, friendly face - and one likely to have my driver's phone number handy!
"Where've you been!?" was the first thing he said in his sweet North Carolina drawl after he gave me a huge, warm hug. "Everyone's lookin' for you!"
"Everyone?"
Apparently, my message to the office had gotten through after all and they were trying to locate me! And my driver Stuart had been driving around as well looking for me. He'd actually gone to the pick-up spot twice! So David (this driver) had been put on high alert for the crazy girl with a trail of 8th graders meandering along the Tidal Basin with orders to detain her until such a time as her driver could arrive to pick her & her group up!
Only a couple of minutes later, our group was happily situated on our comfortable bus. Stuart *had heard my phone and figured, "that crazy corrie left her phone on the bus!" And so he hunted us down! :) Yes, I felt ridiculous! But, bless those hearts of the dear people from Anaheim, they forgave me! Though, they never let me get off the bus after that without checking to see that I had my phone!
*note: none of these pictures were taken at the time of the story: my escapade occurred in the daylight, fyi.
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