In the middle of our move, Amber and I took an hour to drop into Harry S Truman NHS, but we were stuck with the only time available - Sunday morning. Services were limited, and I inadvertently pulled the "I'm a ranger, what can you do for me," card to squeeze onto the tour that was just forming up a few blocks away.
We got to take a guided tour of Truman's house on Delaware Street, the only way you can see the inside of the house. As we entered the house and looked around, I got the feeling of an intense kind of intimacy with the family. There are no barriers, no ropes, just a refurbished carpet runway to adhere to, and it truly feels like one is being welcomed into their home. The kitchen is quaint and harks back to a time gone by, and the rest of the first floor of the house is elegant and refined without being pompous. The upstairs is not currently open to visitors.
There are some details that are monuments to Truman's frugality: ripped linoleum nailed back down, a super-long pull chain to turn on the light at the top of the stairs. Then there are hints of the man's greatness: gifts from royalty and huge portraits of the family. And there are reminders of his interests, a baby grand piano and mammoth bookshelves.
My favorite detail was Truman's hat and coat hanging from a hook in the alcove where he took the phone call telling him the Korean War was beginning. I went back for a second look.
Harry S Truman NHS is an interesting site and worth a look if you're in the Kansas City area. Find out more on www.nps.gov/hstr.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Big Move
While working for the National Park Service over the past few years, I've become very efficient at moving. However, the stakes were high as we attempted a multi-park transfer to get me from my detail at Theodore Roosevelt back to Fort Larned and then over to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was a logistical challenge involving multiple parties, multiple U-Haul vehicles, eight days, and 2,000 miles of travel.
The mission was completed successfully.
We packed up in North Dakota and had the benefit of reasonably warm weather - above freezing - for packing the cars. There was a big sheet of ice at our bottom step, so I had to be very cautious. Accidents at this point would really throw off the whole tight itinerary we were on. After finishing cleanup in the morning, I towed the U-Haul trailer down the road some distance behind Amber and Alison, who got a head start to make up for time lost during feedings and diaper changes. We made it all the way to North Platte, NE that first day, which was very far to go with a baby but necessary since options are very limited in western Nebraska.
After arriving in Larned the next day, I got checked out of Fort Larned NHS, returning materials to the park, cleaning out my locker, and visiting with everyone there. We opened up the storage unit and I began to fret over how everything was going to fit in our rental truck. Amber had (in retrospect, wisely) rented a 20 foot U-Haul truck, a new size in their fleet, on the premise that if it didn't fit into the truck, it wasn't going to fit into our apartment.
The next day was dedicated to packing the things from the storage unit and the trailer into the truck. I was at my wit's end by the time Amber's parents showed up to help, having flown in for just that purpose. With help from a couple folks from Fort Larned who came over to help at the end of the work day, we got nearly everything loaded onto the truck, sorted out for the auction house, the giveaway pile, or the dump, leaving us with a minimum of mopping up to do.
The next day, we got out of town in the late morning and made it to Independence, MO. The next day, Effingham, IL, then a full day of driving in non-stop rain to St. Clairsville, OH, where it started snowing as the sun went down. The snow wasn't a big factor as we cruised across the snow-covered mountains in Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, PA, where we dropped some exercise equipment and lawn & garden equipment for her sister in her new house.
Finally, we drove to Alexandria and got checked into our apartment and, rather remarkably, got the truck unloaded just as it was getting dark in the evening. It was rather exhausting moving everything up two stories in a building with no elevator. There was a tense moment when we tried to get the big couch through the door and into the living room, a maneuver that left us with millimeters to spare.
We're still working on finding a place for everything, but it looks like we will do just fine. Paring down the amount of stuff we have made all the difference. Last summer, I offloaded half of my books and half of my DVD collection. We got rid of games and other things. We just gave them away.
One thing we've learned is that we are tired of having things. We are all guilty of saving things that have nostalgic value, and these things tend to accumulate. Then they start to weigh a person down. The struggle is to recognize that the thing is not the same as the memory and to let the thing go. Getting rid of old things is not a rejection of the past. The acquisition of new things is not a portent of the future.
So far, we have enjoyed being in the big city. Our apartment is remarkably quiet and the residents friendly. We like all the options for dining, entertainment, and shopping that are so easily accessible if you can brave the traffic. I'm learning what it will take to get into the city to work in the morning, centered on the metro, but maybe expanding to include a short bus ride to fast forward my morning commute.
This is going to be interesting.
The mission was completed successfully.
We packed up in North Dakota and had the benefit of reasonably warm weather - above freezing - for packing the cars. There was a big sheet of ice at our bottom step, so I had to be very cautious. Accidents at this point would really throw off the whole tight itinerary we were on. After finishing cleanup in the morning, I towed the U-Haul trailer down the road some distance behind Amber and Alison, who got a head start to make up for time lost during feedings and diaper changes. We made it all the way to North Platte, NE that first day, which was very far to go with a baby but necessary since options are very limited in western Nebraska.
After arriving in Larned the next day, I got checked out of Fort Larned NHS, returning materials to the park, cleaning out my locker, and visiting with everyone there. We opened up the storage unit and I began to fret over how everything was going to fit in our rental truck. Amber had (in retrospect, wisely) rented a 20 foot U-Haul truck, a new size in their fleet, on the premise that if it didn't fit into the truck, it wasn't going to fit into our apartment.
The next day was dedicated to packing the things from the storage unit and the trailer into the truck. I was at my wit's end by the time Amber's parents showed up to help, having flown in for just that purpose. With help from a couple folks from Fort Larned who came over to help at the end of the work day, we got nearly everything loaded onto the truck, sorted out for the auction house, the giveaway pile, or the dump, leaving us with a minimum of mopping up to do.
The next day, we got out of town in the late morning and made it to Independence, MO. The next day, Effingham, IL, then a full day of driving in non-stop rain to St. Clairsville, OH, where it started snowing as the sun went down. The snow wasn't a big factor as we cruised across the snow-covered mountains in Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, PA, where we dropped some exercise equipment and lawn & garden equipment for her sister in her new house.
Finally, we drove to Alexandria and got checked into our apartment and, rather remarkably, got the truck unloaded just as it was getting dark in the evening. It was rather exhausting moving everything up two stories in a building with no elevator. There was a tense moment when we tried to get the big couch through the door and into the living room, a maneuver that left us with millimeters to spare.
We're still working on finding a place for everything, but it looks like we will do just fine. Paring down the amount of stuff we have made all the difference. Last summer, I offloaded half of my books and half of my DVD collection. We got rid of games and other things. We just gave them away.
One thing we've learned is that we are tired of having things. We are all guilty of saving things that have nostalgic value, and these things tend to accumulate. Then they start to weigh a person down. The struggle is to recognize that the thing is not the same as the memory and to let the thing go. Getting rid of old things is not a rejection of the past. The acquisition of new things is not a portent of the future.
So far, we have enjoyed being in the big city. Our apartment is remarkably quiet and the residents friendly. We like all the options for dining, entertainment, and shopping that are so easily accessible if you can brave the traffic. I'm learning what it will take to get into the city to work in the morning, centered on the metro, but maybe expanding to include a short bus ride to fast forward my morning commute.
This is going to be interesting.
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