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6 days ago9 min read
Oh So Happy Retreat
Mrs. Adelaide Close Riggs (1908-1998) In a continued effort to prove to my friend Susan Rountree that maybe I am Forest Gump, here is...
Oct 316 min read
Reggie
In the midst of the joyful anticipation on this crisp September afternoon, I don’t remember who first noticed, but word spread quickly....
Jul 89 min read
One Stubborn Irishman
Senator Joe Biden, 2002 While Joe Biden came to the National Archives on more than one occasion during my tenure, outside of social...
Jun 252 min read
Mr. Huffington Goes to Washington
Billionaire Republican Congressman, heir to the HUFFCO Energy fortune, husband of Arianna Huffington (Greek-born founder of the...
May 224 min read
Routine
Routine is something that has eluded me in my retirement years. I felt badly about it until I realized that I had been rebelling against...
Apr 114 min read
Farewell Joe
As is often the case in recent years, when a high-profile member of the US Senate or House of Representatives passes away, friends ask me...
Feb 227 min read
Wait, I asked to see a tailor
relax you copyright attorneys. I am not charging anyone to see this image, so it is not enriching me in any way, shape, or form. I wanted...
Oct 23, 20237 min read
And We Were Singing...
Rugby: 1. a city in Warwickshire, central England 2. famous school for boys located there; founded 1567 3. a kind of football, a...
Sep 29, 20235 min read
Brooks
I just returned from a week in Belgium and France with a head full of blog ideas, but the passing of a Baltimore legend requires a pause...
May 30, 20236 min read
Passing of a Teacher
We just learned of the passing of our beloved Professor David L. Holmes. Hayden and I took New Testament from Mr. Holmes at the College...
Feb 17, 20233 min read
Shakespeare of the Divines
My rector and friend Reverend Samuel Gregory Jones recently introduced Jeremy Taylor to our parish in Raleigh. Jeremy is not a new...
Oct 14, 20226 min read
Bosses II
Dr. Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Dr. Michael Kurtz, Adrienne Thomas Michael Kurtz Michael Joseph Kurtz was born on March 8, 1949, in Leesburg...
Oct 5, 20224 min read
A Cold Evening in Camelot
My grandmother, Lillian Mackenzie Loeber, had one sister, Mary Clarke. Mary was married to Frank Clarke who, after the Great Depression...
Sep 2, 20225 min read
Bosses
John Constance and Herb Angel, Deputy Archivist of the United States, August, 1971 I recently received a note from a young lady who...
Aug 27, 202210 min read
Talkin' Baseball
(Brooks Robinson, by Norman Rockwell) What is it about baseball that has inspired poetry, song, art, storytelling, and writing like no...
Aug 9, 20228 min read
Silver Bullet?
(Capitol Reflections, photo by John Constance) Congress is broken. Politics is a vicious blood sport. There is no such thing as a...
Jul 15, 20227 min read
Eye of the Tiger
Among the first words I ever heard uttered by Congressman Tom Lantos of California were, “Mr. Constance, if you dare to take this action,...
Jul 8, 20224 min read
Art Donovan, Master Storyteller
In the early 1990’s a friend asked me to join him for a round of golf at an iconic Baltimore course where he was a member. Sparrows Point...
Jun 23, 20221 min read
Balkans Cruise 2: On to Budapeszt
Magnificent skylines, rich history, heartbreaking memorials, delicious cuisine, skilled horsemen, proud young folk dancers; the memories...
Jun 16, 20222 min read
Balkans Cruise 1 : Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
The most frequent question you get from friends when you announce your intention to take a river cruise through Eastern Europe is “why?”...
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