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.
You May Also Enjoy
I am still struggling with the phenomenon of the so-called underclass — struggling with the…
"Crime Must Not Go Unpunished" — Or Was That "Unpaid"?... The "Seven [Remaining] Dirty Words You Can't Say on TV" just became six... The Game Plan for Sudden Death
It is time for us, as individuals and as Catholics, to stand up and be the kind of people who always put faith first.