And so the possibilities abounded when I departed Oak Park around 9:15 AM CDT on Saturday, July 13, for a weekend road trip in Michigan.
About an hour and a half later, around 11:45 AM EDT, my journey on Interstate 94 brought me to a sign that welcomed me to Pure Michigan, my first time in Michigan in 14 years. It gives me pause to think that half of life as of this point had elapsed since I was last there, despite the relative closeness to home. Having that realization settle upon me was just the start of how I got a whole new outlook on life during this weekend trip.
About an hour later, I stopped just outside Portage, MI, for lunch at Culver's, enjoying a nice, limited time only Strawberry Fields salad with grilled chicken. I gassed up and then headed back onto I-94, determined to stay on track to reaching Lansing in time for a later afternoon tour of the Michigan State Capitol, yet recognizing I would be back in Portage later.
I exited I-496 and drove around in the downtown streets, until I found a parking space on Allegan Street between the Capitol complex and the Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building. I walked to the capitol entrance, arriving in time for the start of the 2:30 tour. I couldn't help but notice how deserted downtown Lansing appeared, even though the city, in general, had a rather prominent feel for a medium to large-sized city.
A docent named John led our tour: He started us off in an orientation room with a short spiel, and then we made our way to the rotunda, where there are replica battle flags on display from Michigan regiments.
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| You can see the battle flags on the level of the rotunda just above the glass floor. |
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| Looking up into the rotunda |
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| Looking out from the balcony one level above the rotunda glass floor |
From there, we looked at the Governor's Room, please see the photo below, which serves a more ceremonial purpose nowadays, since the governor's primary office is across Capitol Street in the George W. Romney Building.
Then we went to view the state House of Representatives chamber, please see the photo below, where we also learned about procedural matters.
In the ceiling of the House chamber are the 50 state seals, and the Great Seal of the US.
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| The Great Seal of the United States |
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| Toward the top of this photo, from left to right, are the seals of Florida, Michigan, and Illinois. |
We concluded with a visit to the former Supreme Court Chamber--please see the photo below--which is now used as a committee room, but is still where the Supreme Court has its formal opening of each new yearly session.
After the tour concluded around 4 PM, I lingered around in Lansing for a while, getting pictures outside the capitol, walking over to the Grand River, and then walking around the capitol.
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| As John, the docent, was walking out of the capitol, he kindly granted my request for a photo in front of the capitol. |
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| The Grand River |
It was around 4:30 when I got back in Avila and headed to my next destination, tracing my path back to Portage, MI, where I had stopped earlier.
I got sidetracked when I didn't get off at the right exit, but I got myself turned back in the right direction eventually. It was around 6:15 when I pulled into the driveway of my cousins' home in Portage.
Greg and Melissa are a truly wonderful couple, and I always enjoy visiting with them. I was glad that I had an opportunity to be in their neck of the woods, and could make it part of this Michigan weekend.
Upon arriving, they were enjoying the warm day outdoors, and their three children, Ava, Emma, and Micah, were playing outside along with some neighborhood children.
As Greg finished grilling hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner, Melissa requested that Ava and Emma give me a tour of the home. They showed me around the rooms on the main level and then took me downstairs where we ended up in the guest bedroom, which would be my accommodations for the night.
Then, Melissa called out that it was dinnertime. All six of us gathered at the table in their kitchen. After Ava led us in prayer, we enjoyed the grilled food. Later on, a bowl of mixed fruit came to the table, with lots of sweet peaches and berries. All throughout dinner, Greg told the children about my travels for this weekend. He mentioned how I went to Lansing to see the state capitol, and then prompted Ava to ask me what the capitol is, which led to my discussing civics with them. Then he mentioned about my plans to travel to Grand Rapids the next day, which is the area where Emma was born. And then Greg brought up my library work, which gave me a chance to talk about what I do, and a way to take delight in it. Greg mentioned to Ava that we get shipments day after day, which makes every day like "Christmas". I was glad that I was able to make connections with them based on what's happening with me.
Following dinner, I played a memory card game with Ava and Emma that had a Dora the Explorer theme. As their bedtime drew near, Ava and Emma requested I read them a bedtime story. I'm pretty certain it was Ava who selected the book Hans in Luck, a Grimm brothers' story. If there was a highlight to this magical evening, I think it was definitely sitting on that couch right between Ava and Emma, reading them a book, which touched me deeply in so many ways. It gave me new insight into helping form lifelong readers, which connects with my work as a librarian, as I made my small contribution in reading this one book to them. I was also so delighted that establish rapport with Ava and Emma, to the point that they would request I read them a book. And I was able to experience a strong sense of familial love in the act of reading them a book.
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| Greg took this picture of me with Ava, on the left, and Emma, on the right in the strawberry pajamas. |
As Ava and Emma went to bed, serenaded by Melissa's beautiful singing, Greg and I visited, and then we took a loop walk around their neighborhood. Upon returning, I took time to settle in, and then I joined Greg and Melissa for some dessert, a peach crisp. They offered to make some homemade ice cream in their ice cream maker. We spent a while visiting and talking about things going on before we three went to bed.
I was up early the next morning, and visited with Greg over breakfast. Around 7:40, I departed, feeling so uplifted by a truly wonderful visit. Visiting with the five of them in the course of the evening was truly profound and magical. It reminds me of what Pope Francis discussed in his homily at the Concluding Mass of the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia: "Faith opens a 'window' to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures....These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family....They are little signs of tenderness, affection, and compassion....Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to grow in faith." Greg and Melissa truly make Christ a cornerstone of their family, and the love I sensed during my visit at their home is truly borne of faith in the God Who loves us so much. In the midst of everything I have going on in life, for a few precious hours, I found myself so present in the moment, recognizing God present in the living out of family life in the Steinsdoerfer home.
The air had a delightful, cool, and refreshing feel to it, and I soaked it in by keeping the windows down as I drove due north on US 131 toward the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. I arrived there Grand Rapids just after 8:30, in time for the wreath placing ceremony at the gravesite of Mr. and Mrs. Ford. Susan Ford Bales, their daughter, offered introductory remarks. There were several wreaths placed, one on behalf of the President, another on behalf of the Ford family, another on behalf of local law enforcement officials, and another on behalf of the crew of the USS Ford ship. It was a dignified scene as the members of each group quietly placed the wreaths and adorned them with additional flowers. It is customary for the President of the United States to have a wreath placed at the grave of deceased presidents on their birthdays. After Mr. Ford passed away in 2006, Mrs. Ford requested the annual placing of a wreath at his grave in Grand Rapids, which is carried on by the Ford descendants.
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| Susan Ford Bales offered the welcoming remarks. |
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| The Boy Scouts present the colors after Susan spoke. The Boy Scouts counts Gerald Ford as one of their members, and he attained the rank of Eagle Scout. |
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| Crewmembers of the USS Gerald Ford place their wreath. |
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| Later, I took this photo of all the wreaths lined up at the gravesite. So far as I remember, the wreaths are, from left to right, on behalf of law enforcement, the family descendants of Gerald and Betty Ford, the President of the United States, and the USS Gerald Ford. |
Something mentioned in the remarks offered was the motto of the USS Gerald Ford: "Integrity at the helm", which embodies an important character trait Gerald Ford display throughout his life, and I was to get a greater sense of the values he demonstrated in his life when I visited the museum exhibits later.
The ceremony was over around 9:30. I then decided to drive to the Cathedral of St. Andrew to attend 10 AM Mass. Inside, I looked up in the ceiling and saw stars, which reminded me of the stars in the dome of the Michigan State Capitol. As I drove around to and from the Cathedral, I got a sense of Grand Rapids as a city with a prominent feel.
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| The exterior of the Cathedral of St. Andrew |
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| The altar area inside the Cathedral |
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| The stars in the ceiling of the Cathedral |
Following Mass, I stopped for some food at a taco place called Adobe and then at Tim Horton's.
I returned to the Ford Museum shortly after noon to visit the exhibits. I was delighted to see that in celebration of Gerald Ford's birthday, there was free admission.
This is the third NARA presidential museum I've visited, and like the others, it's fascinating to see all the items from the president's life on display. I get a real sense of the person and his experiences that highlight the information in the displays.
There were many items related to athletic team participation, the desk from his days as a member of Congress, and lots of commemorative items from the Bicentennial of US independence, which happened in the final year of his presidency.
It was also intriguing for me to get a better sense of the tragicomic shenanigans of the Watergate scandal that propelled him into the presidency. And it was fascinating to see the paperwork related to the major events from his becoming vice president into the early weeks of his presidency. While all this happened before my time, seeing the exhibits at the museum about his presidency gave me a sense of the times in which my parents' generation came of age.
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| Here is a display about his earliest years. He was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., but got his new name after his mom remarried. |
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| Above and below are displays about his service on the USS Monterey. There is a plane behind a screen of sorts. |
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| Here's a display on Betty Ford. She wore the black dress on her wedding day. |
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| Gerald R. Ford's Congressional Desk |
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| This display has artifacts from when he became vice president. Toward the bottom is the swearing-in Bible. |
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| President Ford was the first sitting US president to visit Japan. During that trip, he received this vase. |
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| Display of commemorative items from the Bicentennial of the United States and its Independence in 1976 |
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| Model of the USS Gerald Ford |
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| Gerald Ford's Profile in Courage Award |
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| This piece of the Berlin Wall on dispaly on the first level of the museum. You can see the exhibits in the level above. |
As is typical for the presidential museums, there is a model of the oval office from the time of that president's administration, as you can see in the two photos below.
The Ford Museum also has a replica of the cabinet room, as shown in the two photos below.
There was a special temporary exhibit featuring photos by David Hume Kennerly, the official White House photographer during the Ford administration.
I spent nearly 4 1/2 hours soaking in everything, shortly before 5 PM, I walked outside to view the gravesite again. It's a splendid setting with the museum set right along the Grand River in the heart of Grand Rapids.
I also made sure to pose for photos with Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, who is #32 on my second Illinois 200 list, since she was born in Chicago. She moved with her family to Grand Rapids, MI, as a young child.
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| Above is me by Gerald Ford, and below is me by Betty Ford. I thank those nearby who I stopped to request they take my photo. |
By 5:30, I was on my way southwest back to Oak Park. I stopped near Holland for some cherry pie and peaches at Dutch Farm Market, right off I-94. And I continued along I-94 until I reached the Jane Byrne-Circle Interchange and after a short drive on I-290, I was home in Oak Park around 8 PM CDT.
As I reflect on this weekend in Michigan, it amazes me to think of the wonderful experience I had after having been away from Michigan for 14 years. And just a couple hours or so away from home, I was able to encounter so many wonderful experiences. I was able to tap into deep-seated interests when visiting the Michigan State Capitol and the Gerald Ford museum. It was also so special that I have a family connection now in Michigan and that added a richly meaningful touch to my weekend.
Indeed, as is stated in Michigan's state motto, I went to a pleasant peninsula and looked around me to gain a new outlook on who I am.
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