The "Jeopardy Answer Led To Astonishing Story" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching two of my favorite TV Quiz Shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I know that Wheel of Fortune is seen all over the world, but not sure if Jeopardy has the coverage that is given to it's sister program.  Many may not know that at the end of the quiz show Jeopardy, a final answer is given to which the three contestants must think of the question that could be asked to yield the final answer.  As the show was coming to a conclusion, I watched and listened to see how many of the three contestants had the correct question to "Final Jeopardy".  In this case the final answer was...How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  For those not knowing what the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier may be, it is a monument in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA that holds the remains of those who died fighting for the USA without ever being identified.  The U.S. Unknowns who are interred here hold the award of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross and several other foreign nations' highest service awards.  Well, all three contestants missed it and Alex Trebek, the host gave the final question of "What is 21".  The 21 also refers to the twenty-one gun salute which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.  But that doesn't begin to tell the tale of those who guard the tomb.  

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, USA

The soldier guarding the tomb also takes 21 seconds to hesitate after his about face after crossing in front of the tomb and heading back across once again.  He carries his rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb and moves the rifle to the other shoulder as he executes the about face.  The guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.  Now, I kind of knew most of that information, but as I read on I learned more about the guards that I found remarkable.  To be a guard the person must be between 5' 10" tall with a waist size no larger than 30".  They must commit 2 years of their life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives.  They are not allowed to swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way.  After two years the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb.  

The tomb has been guarded every minute of every day since 1930.

If they disobey any of the rules, they must return the pin.  There are currently 400 who wear the pin.  A few interesting facts about the uniform they wear are: (1) The shoes are made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet, (2) There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt, (3) The uniform may have no wrinkles, folds or lint on it. (4) The guards dress in front of a full-length mirror and must spend five hours a day getting the uniform ready for guard duty.  Another rule of being a guard is the first half-year a guard cannot talk to anyone or watch TV.  All off-duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery and the guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred in the cemetery.  One thing I read was that in 2003, during Hurricane Isabelle, and with TV stations broadcasting the danger of the hurricane, the guards never missed a beat.  The tomb has been patrolled every minute of every day since 1930.  I only hope those interred in the tomb appreciate the service these unique individuals give to their country.  One thing I couldn't find was whether all guards are males.  I'm not sure that any of the rules would keep a female from being a guard, but I might be missing something.  I'd like to believe that any one of my grandchildren, male or female, could one day become a guard at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Woman's March On Washington - A Personal Experience" Story

Marg's story framed by newspaper articles.  Notice Marg's beautiful
cursive handwriting.  They no longer teach that skill in our schools.
Click on photos to enlarge them.

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that Marg, a close friend of my wife, gave to Carol to pass along to me.  Marg and her daughter and granddaughter were part of "The Woman's March" in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2017.  I thought it might be interesting to hear about the experience so I wrote a few questions on a sheet of paper which Carol gave to Marg.  What follows is Marg's story on her exciting day in Washington, D.C. as part of "The Woman's March".  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"The Women's March" of January 21, 2017 was the largest group of people I have ever been among in my 71 years.  Because I don't like crowds I did not plan to attend, even though I agree with the reasons why women wanted to march.  But, when our twelve year old granddaughter passed me a note during church asking me to please join her and her mother, I had to say yes.   So at 6:30 a.m. on January 21, Alice, Becca and I boarded one of the many buses leaving from Lancaster.  There were two men on our bus, which led to an amusing situation when the bus stopped for a bathroom break.  A 15 minute stop didn't allow much time when there was only one ladies room, so women lined up at the men's room too.  

Speakers stand

The only time all day I heard someone say "no" to someone was when the men thought they could walk right up to the men's room door without waiting in line.  Everyone was in such a good mood the men just laughed and got at the end of the line.  As we got closer to Washington people got more excited.  There was conversation about how hard it was to sleep the night before, because we couldn't wait to be part of an historical event.  Looking out the bus windows we saw metro stations with long lines mostly of women waiting for transportation into Washington.  What we noticed were pink hats on many women, even some men.  The bus parked among hundreds of other buses at the R.F.K. Stadium.  As we got off the bus a woman we didn't know greeted us with a large box of pink hats.  She said, "I stayed up all night making these hats.  Please take one."  She did not accept our offer to pay for them.  That spirit of friendliness we saw all day.  

One of many posters.

There we were, a group of mostly 40 somethings, a few girls, a few old ladies, all wearing pink hats and wondering how to get from the stadium to the mall area.  A large friendly policeman said not to walk because it wasn't a good neighborhood.  He suggested we take a shuttle.  As we stood waiting for the bus, cars drove by honking and passengers waving and cheering us on.  We felt welcomed to Washington.  Talking to people on the shuttle bus, I realized there were many teachers.  The woman sitting next to me was a teacher from North Carolina.  At the mall area there were people everywhere.  It was hard to know how many people there were, but it was easy to know why they were there.  The signs people were holding represented their concerns.  I've never seen so many interesting and creative signs.  Lots of the signs spoke of Trump being a sexual deviate.  There were many dignified, older women holding signs concerned about the future of planned parenthood.  There were groups concerned about the environment, lots of signs saying "show your taxes"; native Americans with signs saying "keep the oil in the soil"; etc. etc.  

Marg, Alice (photographer) and Becca.

The first event of the day was the rally.  We stood shoulder to shoulder listening to many speakers.  They were activists, authors, television hosts, film makers, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., singers, etc.  I never thought I'd see Madonna, but there she was talking and singing.  The second part of the day was the march.  I don't know the route, but it had to be changed because there were so many more people than expected.  We heard all kinds of chants.  "Refugees are here to stay!" and "This is what a democracy looks like", and many more.  When we got to the Trump Hotel the march stopped and the chants were "Shame on you" and "Pay your taxes".  I don't know how long we marched.  We were getting tired and hungry.  We hadn't eaten in a long time, but we had candy bars in our pockets.  At the end of the march we found a metro station.  Even with hundreds of people we were surprised how quickly the line moved.  Once we were back at R.F.K. Stadium, it was hard to find our bus in the dark among the hundreds of buses.  Once on the bus we felt we had one of the most exciting days of our lives.  I would do it again.  It was thrilling!

I want to thank Marg for writing about her experience.  I certainly couldn't have written about it as well as she did, since she experienced the event.  Years from now, she and her daughter and granddaughter will be able to talk about that day in history when they marched in Washington, D.C. for a cause greater than any other in history of women.  I only wish I had been part of it myself.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.