Untermyer Gardens

Magda and I celebrated our September birthdays with Joe on a bicycle trip to the Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers.  It's easy to find.  Just follow Hudson River Park to the George Washington Bridge, turn right until you reach Broadway and then pedal north 10-15 miles up & down some pretty hilly terrain.

30,000 people visited these gardens on a single day in 1939 but we had the place to ourselves on a Saturday afternoon.  This is the view north when you enter.     

Would you believe we were able to picnic beneath the sphinxes after Joe and Magda waltzed briefly?

Lilies and other vegetation floated in the pool just below us.

The west sphinx shaded us from the intermittent sun.

Lovely colors and patterns could be found in the plantings behind us.

The Circular Temple occupies the western side of the gardens, which first bloomed in 1912 and required 60 gardeners to maintain. The City of Yonkers acquired the property just after the second world war ended and pretty much let it fall into ruin.

Even the water in the basin at the far end is beautiful.

Medusa gazes up from the center of the temple. She seems like an odd choice until you learn on the website that she was the progeny of two water gods, in this case the fountains and the Hudson River.  Sounds like a stretch to me.  Maybe the designer just liked women with snakes in their hair.  I know I do.

The temple overlooks an empty pool.

Creatures of the sea appear in disintegrating mosaic.  Don't tell Samuel Untermyer--who was the first attorney in the United States to earn a million dollars in fees from a single case--but I picked up a tiny wedge of loose tiles and brought it home.

 

A wave mosaic ringed the top.

Magda snapped Joe and me doing a Sistine Chapel pose on our way out.  Man is on the right.

Joe took this lovely portrait of Magda at the Temple of Love.  It's outside the garden proper and overlooks the Hudson River.

The temple is best seen from below.  There used to be waterfalls and pools but now it's mostly broken beer bottles and trash that people have tossed from above. Sad.

Fortunately, the grillwork remains undamaged.

"America's Greatest Forgotten Garden" proclaims the website.  Maybe, but I don't think the three of us will have any trouble remembering our visit for a very long time.  Thanks, Sam!

Zoltan's Big Day

It began really early on a perfect Friday morning.  We were among the first guests to arrive at Gaston Hall at Georgetown University.  Zoltan and his fellow cadets were already seated stiffly in the first row. 

He refused to look at us, or at his friends Aaron and Paul who told us they had stayed out the entire night partying.  Zoltan, displaying the strength of character that will serve him well in the military, had declined to join them.

At 7:30 a.m. sharp, the sound of trumpets and the posting of the colors began the 94th annual commissioning ceremony for senior members of the Hoya Battalion.  Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets from Georgetown, American University, Catholic University, George Washington University and the Institute for World Politics comprise the battalion.

An unidentified female introduced the official party, which included the president of Georgetown University and the former director of the FBI.  Both Audrey and I thought it was an oversight that no one bothered to include her name in the program.  

The Honorable Louis Freeh gave a stirring speech about military honor, citing the behavior of Ulysses S. Grant after the Civil War.  General Grant gave Robert E. Lee his word that Confederate soldiers would not be arrested and tried for treason if they returned to their homes and abided by the law.

But after President Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson steered the country toward retribution when he became Commander-in-Chief.  He told General Grant to arrest General Lee, but Grant declared he would sooner resign than go back on his word.  Rather than face the embarrassment of losing the victorious Union general, President Johnson rescinded his order.

23 cadets, including Zoltan, took the Oath of Office, administered by Colonel Gregory Bendewald, Professor of Military Science at Georgetown, and the battalion’s adviser.

The anonymous master of ceremonies announced the name, school and academic major of each cadet who was being commissioned as he (or she) approached the stage.  Zoltan majored in history at American University.  Thanks to the US Army, he got a “free” ride and a stipend in return for a commitment to serve his country upon graduation.

The Hoya Battalion Alumni Association honored Zoltan for outstanding his leadership and contribution to the Hoya Battalion ROTC program.

John DeGioia, PhD, presented Sean Freeh with the Georgetown University President’s Award.

Sean’s father also received an award from Georgetown, presented by Second Lieutenant Daniel Kim, the battalion’s valedictorian.

Here’s a brief video that captures the commissioning ceremony’s highlights.

Afterward, members of the Hoya Battalion, which is the nation’s top-ranked battalion for 2012, gathered in front of Healy Hall for a photo on Georgetown’s sunlit campus.  Even with a buzzcut, Zoltan is a head taller than any of the other cadets. 

Next came the 9 a.m. pinning ceremony  in the Copley Formal Lounge.  As an Army brat, you would think that I would have known what to expect.  I didn’t.  My father—Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth B. Hon—achieved his highest rank before I was old enough to understand what it meant. When he retired I believe he was the senior warrant officer in the entire Army.

Freshly commissioned members of the Hoya Battalion were called individually to the front of the room, where family members pinned a single gold bar on each of their shoulders to signify their new status as Second Lieutenants.  Much to my surprise, Zoltan invited me to join them.  Being introduced as his godfather was one of the proudest moments of my life!

The night before, Tom, Audrey, Magda and Zoltan rehearsed at their suite in the Willard Hotel.  Magda completed the task more quickly than his parents, so she performed the honor—perfectly—on Friday.

Each Second Lieutenant also receives his first salute from an enlisted man as part of the pinning ceremony.

The ceremony concluded with a light buffet brunch and plenty of pictures of Lieutenant Losonczy.

With friends:

With proud mama:

With proud papa:

With snarky sister:

All together now:

With proud godfather:

I couldn't resist this shot of his shoes.  They reminded me of something my father used to say:  “You can judge a man by the firmness of his handshake, the cleanliness of his fingernails and the shine on his shoes.”  

In addition to meeting that superficial standard, Lieutenant Losonczy has many other fine qualities, including tolerance.  The US Army is a better place for having an officer like him.  He reports to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training in January 2013.  May his career be as safe as my father’s.  He retired in 1972 with 35 years of service after surviving both the Second World War and the Vietnam War.  Lieutenant Losonczy already outranks him!