February 2017 Part Two The Tale of Two Presidents

No visit to Dallas is complete without a visit to the Texas School Book Depository, a seven story building built in 1902.  This infamous building has been restored to its 1963 glory, and is now a museum of the time and circumstances of the Oswald assassination of Kennedy. The Depository is on the sixth floor. Other floors are used for city offices.  

There were no pictures allowed in the Depository, so I found some online. The Depository corner window area looked much like this on November 22, 1963. There had been an oil spill and many of the boxes had been moved to this area while clean-up was going on. In addition to this room, there were a number of exhibits describing the shooting, the aftermath, and information about Oswald. 

Picture from here.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Kennedy killing, but I learned a lot at this interesting museum. For example, Oswald was only 24 when he killed Kennedy, and as he left the building after the shooting, he was stopped by a policeman, searching for the shooter. Oswald's boss identified him as a worker, someone who belonged in the building. Both the policeman and boss later said Oswald was so calm when stopped they couldn't believe he was involved. He worked in the Depository, earning $1.25 an hour.

Picture from here.

After leaving the building we walked to the spot, marked by an "x", where Kennedy was shot. 

Here is the same spot in 1963, taken from the Zapruder film.

Picture from here.

This is the area of the "grassy knoll", a slight incline originally owned by John Neely Bryan, the rounder of Dallas.  He later donated the land to the city.

 Looking back at the Depository corner window, second from the top,

 the spot from which Oswald shot Kennedy.

We walked to downtown, passing this little house.  It turned out to be an early cabin, built in 1842. Moved and rebuilt in several places, it was finally settled on this spot, the place Bryan originally lived and donated for use as the original courthouse. Bryan came to Texas in 1839, looking for a good spot to set up a trading post. The post idea fizzled out, but Bryan stayed and established the city of Dallas. He would have built a cabin very similar to this, but all original log cabin homes in this area burned and were rebuilt with bricks. It's hard to imagine this tiny cabin housing a family.

He became postmaster, a store owner, a ferry operator, and was instrumental in having the city surveyed and plotted. He donated land for government use, married and had five children, participated in the gold rush, shot a man (not fatally) who insulted his wife, became a local political figure, and saw to the needs of the less fortunate. He was a colorful man who died in an insane asylum in 1877 at the age of 66. 

Our next stop was the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum. It was opened in 1913 on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU).

This is the first Presidential Library I've been to.
I love this simple, heartfelt tribute to Bush's dad.

As I wandered around, I was struck by the messages 

and displays. It took me awhile to figure out what was so different here. Finally it dawned on me that every single thing in this museum was glowing in tone and message, totally positive.

Even the horrible, evil 9/11 display highlighted Bush's strengths. I've got to be honest, Bush wasn't my favorite president, but I enjoyed this upbeat depiction of his presidency. I came away liking him a whole lot more.

One of my favorite Laura dresses.

 

I gift painted by and from Ted Kennedy to Laura Bush acknowledges her influence on education. He signs off "your friend". Seriously, it's heartwarming to know that even opposing politicians can acknowledge the good in others. In the age of Trump (also not one of my favorites on a whole other level), it's good to see this expression of sincere appreciation. And the painting is quite good.

 We stopped by the Oval Office to chat with the prez,

and enjoy the view (Wait! Where's the Rose Garden?).

We admired the desk, a copy of the Resolute desk used in the White House. The Resolute desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. Franklin Roosevelt modified it with the presidential seal covered center panel to conceal his leg braces. The name "Resolute" comes from the source of the oak timbers used to make the desk. Resolute was a British Arctic Exploration ship. 

Finally, we got an audience with President Jones. It didn't last long.

He had to take a call from Putin. We've been told President Bush occasionally stops by, but we didn't see him today.

 The Library/Museum is full of gifts given to the president, like this lion from Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete during Bush's trip to Africa in 2008 ("Honey, where should we put the lion?" "I don't know George, but it's not staying in the bedroom!")

There were several displays of gifts from foreign countries, full of beautiful, weird, or unusual presents to the "American people". This struck me as an odd custom. Beautiful creations, stuck behind glass, seen by only a small percentage of "American people".

 Some of my favorites: pet dishes for dogs Miss Beazley, Spot, Barney, and India, the cat.

 This impressive necklace from Africa. It is huge, very intricately detailed, and probably weighs a ton.

Look at its size in comparison to the other necklaces in this case.

This silver and gold craving of the city of Jerusalem has a liahona-esque feel to it.

I feel I can say with a great deal of authority that Montana is never going to house a Presidential Library.  I'm delighted to have children who live in interesting places to go visit. I'd come just to see the grand kids, but don't tell them that.