Worth a Giggle

[L Verge]

Too Good Not To Share...

It seems that once Surratt House became a crime scene in 1865, it has continued to be one! We have become used to the police chasing speeding cars into our parking lot, finding stolen cars abandoned in our parking lot, sitting for hours on surveillance of the neighborhood, handling drug deals and overdoses in our parking lot. However, this morning (even though it was a mild incident), it happened at a most inappropriate time.

We had just unloaded 35 students from the Russian Embassy, and they were getting snacks and climbing on our cannons in the picnic area. Out of the blue, in comes a red car followed immediately by a county police car with lights flashing. They decided to stop right by the Visitors’ Center and block any other cars from coming in off Brandywine Road. Of course, they got the attention of the children.

For the next 15 minutes, four occupants of the car were asked to get out, the car was searched, and our kids walked past the action to get on tour. I had called Park Police, but this incident ended before they arrived. However, while I was beating my head against the wall, I was also laughing!

One of the instructions that the camp leader told me from the very first was that they wanted the children to know what American life was/is like. Well, here was one example… Union troops and authorities (and Confederate spies) all over the place during the Civil War and law-breakers here now. Lincoln said “we cannot escape history,” so there we have it…

P.S. It also seems that Russia may be redacting parts of their history from their educational programs also. Three of the older students (ages 9-12?) wandered into my office, and I tried to converse with them despite the language barrier. I pointed to a statue of Mr. Lincoln and asked who that was. No one knew. I suggested that, 150 years ago, he would have been similar to their Tsar. None of them knew what the word "Tsar" meant...!