Monday, December 25, 2000

The Spirit of George Washington LIVES! at Washington's Crossing (Trenton) and Valley Forge...










On Christmas Eve, in the Year of Our Lord 2000, the Millennium Year, as the Man for the Millenniums,
George Washington, The Spirit of George Washington rode his horses and carriage from Mount Vernon to Valley Forge to the Washington Memorial Chapel to share a Washington Prayer at the traditional Midnight Christmas Service.

Some time later after all had gone home, the Spirit of George Washington knelt in the snow outside the Washington Memorial Chapel in the rolling hills of Valley Forge and prayed for our Nation in the same spirit as General George Washington had done so many times so many years before.

All across America, patriotic Americans are proud to say "I have one of those paintings of Washington praying at Valley Forge..." and often add, "with the horse." so I know immediately that they mean the beautiful work by the artist Arnold Friberg.

Here you see some screen shots of the artists website where you too can buy your very own copy of that wonderful scene of America's greatest leader, George Washington, humbling himself and kneeling in prayer to Our Father Who Art in Heaven for mercy for the life of his men, and for the life of our infant nation.

Some interesting linkages are that if you read Artist Arnold Friberg's biography you see that he was an artist for the Ten Commandments movie by Cecil B. DeMille.

When in April a.d. 2000, George Washington LIVES! did a Prayer Pilgrimage from February to July of over 30,033 miles four times from Sea to Shining Sea, he discovered in Washington, North Carolina an historical marker that as a boy Cecil B. DeMille grew up in that town of Washington, that claims to be the first named for George Washington (but then so do the towns in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Georgia.)

On 20 September a.d. 2000, the Spirit of George Washington LIVES! was the keynote speaker for over 100 college presidents and deans talking about this Constitution for the United States of America, and its relationship to the Ten Commandments and other of God's Law, as Divine Providence would have it the Master of Ceremonies told about a little boy in a small town during Holy Week who arrived at a church on a rainy Tuesday a quarter before the Noon time scheduled service.

No one else was there until 3 minutes before noon, and the preacher came in to an empty church. The little boy expected the preacher to say, "Well Sonny, there is nobody here, so you can run on home now." But instead, the preacher came and gave a stem-winder of a sermon and an inspired service that the boy said changed his life forever.

The boy was Cecil B. DeMille. The town was Washington, North Carolina.

And so as Paul Harvey would say, "And now you know the rest of the story."







Further, note that Arnold Friberg studied with the man who has been called "America's Favorite Artist" -- Norman Rockwell. In a.d. 1948, for the Boy Scouts, Norman Rockwell painted "Our Heritage" showing a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout looking up through the blue fog of History at General George Washington kneeling in Prayer for America.

















The illustration shows the original Rockwell painting and the banner that the aide to General George Washington James Renwick Manship, Sr. prepared that removes the blue haze of History and the horse so the praying General can be more clearly seen. This revised image was placed on a banner that served as part of the backdrop to the C-SPAN televised George Washington Man of the Millennium Book Festival in Alexandria on 26 February a.d. 2000.


And a personal note is the much beloved grandfather of Washington's aide, "Major" Manship, was like Arnold Friberg, a student at the Chicago Art Institute. Ledlie William Conger, Sr. produced a book in a.d. 1971 called "Sketching and Etching Georgia" dedicated to his grandchildren, including James.

Thursday, December 07, 2000

"George" and George - the General and the Senator in Roanoke


"General George Washington" meets with Senator-Elect George Allen at the Roanoke Hotel in December a.d. 2000, weeks after the General Election and weeks before the Senator was sworn into office in Washington.

George W. had just given George Allen a charming children's book by Mrs. Jean Fritz titled "George Washington's Breakfast" that shows George Washington and a little boy named --- George Allen! (George W. Allen, George Washington Allen, whose birthday was the same as George Washington...).






George Allen gave a great good laugh at the fact that the boy hero of the story was George Allen, and a portion of his bright, broad smile is captured in this photograph.









Later a video was made of the aide to General George Washington, namely "Major" Manship, doing a GrandPaPa George Revolutionary Reader Read-along reading of "George Washington's Breakfast" to his beloved boy, Jamey Manship in a red sweat shirt like the boy, George Allen, George W. Allen, George Washington Allen, on the pages (but not the front cover) of the book "George Washington's Breakfast".


Jamey likes to get PaPa's powdered wig, put it on his very own "noggin", and go "joggin'" around the house with an American flag between his legs like a stick-pony, calling out with joy, "Little Georgey, Little Georgey". Like Father, Like Son, Like "father of His country". (See the picture in the lower right of eight on the left side of the video cover.)




Here is a screen shot of the Hotel Roanoke entrance, and below is a screen shot of the Hotel Roanoke complex with the Blue Ridge Mountains and the George Washington National Forest in the distance.

Come and enjoy the Hotel Roanoke, enjoy reading the classic book with your child or grandchild, and even enjoy having breakfast with George Washington at the Hotel Roanoke... or even over a campfire in the George Washington National Forest. (advanced reservations required, email for more information.)

By the way, Senator George Allen, is George Felix Allen, and his birthday is March 8, 1952, his wife is Susan, not Martha, though they do wisely live in Mount Vernon like George and Martha. George and Susan are blessed to have three children, Tyler, Forrest, and Brooke. Senator Allen reports that his political heroes are Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan, fine choices, and one would expect George Washington as his political hero goes without saying!








Also, see the joy in the boy's face another time George Washington's Breakfast was read by his loving father to Jamey, or "Little Georgey", as you can see "Little Georgey" wearing a powdered wig and waving the American flag in the middle, and in the upper right, Jamey is doing the upright, right, and righteous thing to do, as he was taught as a toddler to do, to pray, so to be a Prayer Warrior, as is his father and the father of His country, George Washington. Jamey was taught that he is just as powerful a Prayer Warrior as George Washington, because Our Father in Heaven listens to all of our prayers equally. Teach your children the same powerful lesson.





Below is an Amazon.com book review of "George Washington's Breakfast" that shares why this book is so good to read to children because it teaches them the value of work and persistence in gaining knowledge. That is always a good lesson, and in this story Jean Fritz teaches the lesson in a most charming way. Last time I checked, there were 81 used copies of the book on Amazon.com for less than $5 for you to buy along with buying a DVD of the Aide to George Washington reading the book to his son for the price of $17.35 for when GW was a three year old boy in a.d. 1735.



Below the Amazon.com review is a recipe for Amazin' pancakes that are "Age defying", and a picture of Washington Brand pancakes...

Maybe that is the secret to Washington's long life, and how it is that...

George Washington LIVES!

(P.S. The real secret is engraved in stone over where George Washington rests each night at Mount Vernon. If you want to know the secret, click on the envelope icon below and send me a note requesting the secret...)