Day 98: Afterthoughts

It was wonderful to worship in Princeton's Chapel this morning. The music was especially lovely, with a large and talented choir accompanied by an incredible organ. Before and after, John showed us around campus, and we were joined for lunch by a friend from home, Walter DeGunya, who has just begun his seminary studies.

We're now checked into a hotel in Philadelphia and are anticipating a big day of seeing the city's Independence National Historical Park. Our hotel is next door to Macy's department store in the Wanamaker building. It contains the famous Wanamaker organ, installed by Mr. Wanamaker in the early 1900s as a draw for his department store. The three-story instrument is operated from the mezzanine console, and we enjoyed one of the many free concerts offered throughout the week. We hope to return some year at Christmas, when the organ is put through its paces in holiday concerts.

In an effort to retain information, here are some additional bits from our recent visit to the Edison National Historic Park:
1. Edison's phonograph did not have volume control. The best method for muting it was to place a sock in the bell...and that's where we get the phrase, "Put a sock in it!"
2. John told us an interesting bit of Princeton trivia yesterday: When Albert Einstein (who lived there for many years) walked home from work, he would stop nearly every day for an ice cream. The fact that he never had money in his pocket didn't deter him...he established a monthly bill at the shop.
3. FDR had a huge fear of fire, due in large part to an early childhood trauma of seeing his aunt die from severe burns suffered in a fire. His phobia was compounded by his paralysis later in life; escape from a burning building would have been impossible to accomplish on his own. His Hyde Park bedroom, located on the second floor, was equipped with a shoot of fabric that could whisk him onto the south lawn in a matter of seconds.
4. Edison's closest friends were Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford. It's ironic that Ford's work in the combustion engine (combined with his development of the cost-lowering assembly line for manufacturing the cars) helped to move the spotlight away from Edison's electric automobile. All progress on that technology was stopped, not to be restarted until many decades later.
5. While touring in NYC, we noticed that fuel stations are almost non-existent. The girls loved the tour guide's take on it: "Where do New Yorkers get gas? At a hotdog stand, of course!"

The Wanamaker organ

the console in the middle of the Women's department!