Eli graduated from West Point on Saturday (and we're all so very proud, despite the fact that the Go Army, Beat Navy thing everywhere - even on the water bottles - got a bit old!), and so the whole family was together for the first time since - well - a long time ago. Eli (and his fiancee, Lee) got to meet Josh & Amanda's baby, Esther - and Josh & Amanda got to meet Lee - and everyone got along great (which is good news, since we're giving neither Esther nor Lee back). Eli turned over his fancy digital Nikon to me for the weekend photography project, which I loved, and hopefully I'll get some of those pictures to post soon.
One of the most memorable images of the weekend for me was at the graduation banquet on Friday evening. Eli took Lee, Matt, and me as his guests. General Casey - current Chief of Staff, Army, and recently commander of the multi-national force in Iraq - was the speaker. Afterwards, another general (whose name I have forgotten, and I am thoroughly embarrassed about that, as this is probably the only time in my life that I can say I shook hands with a general!) was meeting cadets in the crowd, and watching my little brother interact with this far superior Army officer was really remarkable. He stood up a little straighter and stiffer - very politely and properly introduced us as his guests - and, when asked by the general what he would be doing after graduation, said something like "Sir, I am one of the few cadets with the privilege of being chosen to attend graduate school in Cambridge......." etc. Of course I had heard much from Eli over the past few years about Army protocol and how things were done at West Point, but this was the first time I had witnessed him in that role, up close and personal.
Another interesting note - on how things that are reported in the news are often not completely accurate: Vice President Cheney delivered the graduation address, and "He received standing ovations before and after he spoke to a crowd of about 20,000," the AP reporter wrote - having failed to mention that the crowd was specifically instructed to stand when the VP approached the podium to speak, as well as when he finished.........
The Patton thing - his statue is currently displaced from its proper location at West Point as their library building project is underway (apparently he stands with binoculars looking at the library - to which he never went, as he graduated last in his class). So his name came up several times over the course of the weekend, and his movie is on TV this evening, and since I have never seen it, I'm currently learning a bit more about military history. Apparently, learning about history is good for me. (Who knew?)
Oh, and thanks to everyone who e-mailed & posted after my first entry........ I'm even more excited about this blog thing now!!!
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1 comment:
I know, the first time I saw Eli in uniform at West Point and approached by an officer I was both shocked and relieved that he knew what to do :)
HUGS,
Mom
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