HAIL TO THE CHIEFS SOME MYTHS DEBUNKED ON PRESIDENTS DAY.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Frederick Alexander, dressed in a Revolutionary War uniform like the one worn by George Washington, was at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs on Monday, expounding ex·pound v. ex·pound·ed, ex·pound·ing, ex·pounds v.tr. 1. To give a detailed statement of; set forth: expounded the intricacies of the new tax law. 2. on the need for more flag-waving. ``We don't show enough patriotism,`` said the 67-year-old Burbank resident. ``We must not let our origin die. The schools are teaching less and less about our Founding Fathers. George was bigger than life. We was like a god. He set the moral standard which hasn't exactly been lived up to lately, if you know what I mean.'' Alexander, a Washington impersonator since 1994, was one of six ``former presidents'' on hand to greet the 4,000 people who braved the cold, rainy weather at the library's Seventh Annual Presidents Day Lawn Party. He also used his scholarly ax - molded from the numerous biographies he has read - to cut down the myths about Washington, including that tall tale about the cherry tree. Washington also never stood up on a boat crossing the Delaware River Delaware River River in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York, U.S. Formed by the junction of its eastern and western branches in southern New York, it flows about 405 mi (650 km) to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at Delaware Bay. Navigable to Trenton, N.J. , he said, and had three sets of ivory false teeth, not the wooden teeth that legend would have one believe. ``When he died, he had one original tooth left,'' Alexander said. But when asked whether all the exhibitions inside the library present an accurate picture of Reagan or some myth itself, Alexander, who has visited the place four times, danced the presidential side-step. ``What does George know?'' he said. Pamela Yerman, a 44-year-old Ventura resident, made her fourth trip to the library to see the ``Spirit of Tiffany'' glasswares exhibit running through March 19 and to relive Reagan's life through documentary films. ``I cry every time,'' she said. ``It makes you proud to be an American. I don't think it's to be missed. He was a great president.'' While many museum-goers avoided the cold by heading right for the exhibits, others remained outside under large white tents sipping gourmet coffee, munching on hotdogs and watching several performance artists. There were games for children and a presidential trivia contest among Royal High School students. Bill Mogensen, 51, of Shadow Hills said his family had never visited the library before but he thought Presidents Day would be an ideal opportunity. ``I want them to learn about Ronald Reagan,`` he said. ``He was probably one of the best presidents we've had - a very inspiring leader.'' Jay Koch, a 73-year-old Port Hueneme Port Hueneme (wī'nē`mē), city (1990 pop. 20,319), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; founded 1870, inc. 1948. It has an artificial deep-sea harbor and is the site of a huge naval construction-battalion (Seabee) center. resident, generally uses his Screen Actors Guild status to land professional gigs as a Reagan impersonator. But he offers his services free of charge every Presidents Day, particularly now that the real McCoy Real McCoy, the probably originally McKay, a Scotch whisky; the term now alludes to the “first or best of its kind” or “the actual one.” [Pop. Culture: Payton, 409] See : Genuineness is battling Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. and was unable to attend. ``I'm donating my time to see that the people enjoy themselves,'' Koch said. ``I feel like (it's) for a worthy cause.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative and Conejo edition only) George Washington impersonator Frederick Alexander recounts ``his'' tales in the Revolutionary War to onlookers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday. (2 -- color -- ran in Simi and Conejo edition only) Riley Kristina Martinez, 3, left, and sister Karina Martinez, 3, of Arcadia, work on a puzzle of the United States with their grandfather, Pastor Gerry Wilson, at the Reagan Library on Presidents Day. Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion