CONSTANCELY HOPING

(Ride to the Sunshine)

Dear Readers,

Welcome to a weekly trip through my memories, mementoes, and musings. I collected some great experiences over 4 decades in Washington DC and through my good fortune of being associated with two great institutions, The National Archives and the Legal Services Corporation. I hope to introduce you to some wonderful people and to make you smile.

Note: Blogs are organized by categories so that you may go directly to those that might be of most interest to you.

Now ride with me toward the sunshine. There is something good about today. We just must be open to its signals.

Best,

John Constance

Who Am I?

John Constance

Feb 19
11 min

Bert, Chapter 2 (of a two chapter profile)

Local Preacher and Student With the Welsh Revival chapel attendance dramatically increased. There were many opportunities for local...

100 views5 comments

John Constance

Feb 12
8 min

Bert, Chapter 1

Minutes of the Baltimore Preacher’s Meeting re the Death of Bert Constance “The news of the unexpected death of the Reverend Bert...

115 views0 comments

John Constance

Feb 5
7 min

This Land is Your Land

There were two reasons that John Carlin, Archivist of the United States, and I were travelling to the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde...

131 views0 comments

I Believe in Science - Political Science

John Constance

Jan 29
10 min

I Believe in Science - Political Science

Senator Charles (Mac) Mathias (R-MD) Governor Theodore R. McKeldin (R-MD) Ok folks, the topics today are political patronage and...

134 views1 comment

John Constance

Jan 22
6 min

Church with 41

During my tenure at the National Archives, I got into the habit of attending St. John’s Lafayette Square each year on Good Friday. As an...

186 views3 comments

John Constance

Jan 15
2 min

The Boy from Troy

I think the first time that I met Congressman John Lewis was at the opening of the Eyewitness exhibit at the National Archives in June...

110 views2 comments

John Constance

Jan 8
4 min

Turd Blossom

Karl Christian Rove, or “Turd Blossom” as he was christened by George W. Bush, is probably the most well-known Republican political...

186 views0 comments

John Constance

Jan 1
5 min

The Senator from Searchlight

As I emerge from my writing hiatus, I am channeling my dad who was an early riser and read two newspapers before my mom had opened her...

90 views1 comment

John Constance

Dec 12, 2021
4 min

Filial Piety

It is xiào in Mandarin, haau in Cantonese, hiêu in Vietnamese, and Kō in Romanized Japanese. It traces its roots to ancestor worship back...

127 views2 comments

John Constance

Dec 7, 2021
4 min

Bob Dole

We lost another political giant this week. Robert Joseph “Bob” Dole. 98 years old. He was a son of Russell, Kansas, war hero, longtime...

95 views0 comments

John Constance

Dec 6, 2021
5 min

Wet Leaves

November 1958, a rainy day in Catonsville, Md. My dad was at home having just returned from the hospital with the first of what would be...

124 views0 comments

John Constance

Nov 28, 2021
4 min

Keeping Christmas Well

And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that truly be said...

135 views6 comments

John Constance

Nov 24, 2021
2 min

Pass the Sauerkraut, Please

The first time my wife heard that request at the Constance Thanksgiving table she almost fell out of her chair. Sauerkraut at...

146 views2 comments

John Constance

Nov 21, 2021
14 min

A President's Casket

As a long-time employee of the National Archives in Washington, DC, I had learned to never utter the words, “well, now I’ve seen it all”....

278 views2 comments

John Constance

Nov 18, 2021
1 min

Baby Shark

Zoom Bible study with old buddies at 7am, long walk on the beach with Mo, remote November board meeting for Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar...

102 views0 comments

John Constance

Nov 18, 2021
0 min

Sunrise at Corolla

70 views2 comments

John Constance

Nov 16, 2021
1 min

30 Months of Mo

OK. Get Ready. Here come the shameless dog photos. Those of you who have followed me on that other site (let's just call it Head Shot...

109 views2 comments

John Constance

Nov 14, 2021
4 min

Matador

First week back at school, 1964. Eighth grade at Catonsville Junior High School was already a little weird. We weren’t the youngest kids...

127 views5 comments

John Constance

Nov 8, 2021
2 min

Ich Dien

In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks still bravely...

103 views1 comment

John Constance

Nov 4, 2021
1 min

Happy Anniversary

Forty nine years ago today, I awakened at the Davis home in Suffolk, VA still feeling the effects of my bachelor party from a week prior...

180 views11 comments

CONSTANCELY HOPING

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