Mr. Smith-Jones Goes To Washington
GUEST COLUMN
It was a perfect summer day when Fred Smith-Jones’s family left the Midwest for a vacation in the nation’s capital.
Fred and his wife, Joyce, both middle-class suburbanites, were excited and had spent several days designing an itinerary. Their two adolescent children — Ashlee and Zodiac — were likewise filled with wonder regarding their first-ever trip east of the Ohio River.
After arriving at the Reagan Airport and checking into their hotel, the family quickly hit the streets. Tour buses took them to the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and Union Station. The family photographed every monument and statue.
On the third morning, the Smith-Joneses, who are Catholic, visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
They toured North America’s largest church in awe. Fred used his camcorder to videotape everything, including the reconciliation chapel where dozens of people waited in line for the Shrine’s two confessionals.
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A former editor of a California diocesan paper says "it's a mistake to refer to us as 'journalists'... We're publicists or PR men for the bishops."
They are like our photos, which can not only reinforce a memory which might otherwise fade but also can make another person present with us in a vividly visual way.