Presidential predicaments Pt. 2
An unlucky lunch and a melting statue
There are a lot of factors around creative collaborations that I find stressful like varying levels of commitment, different styles and tastes, and handling disagreements. One big benefit, though, is the inspiration that comes from working with someone who is excited about the same things as you are. When my sister, Char, sent me her recent presidential predicaments post, I immediately knew I had a few stories of my own that I wanted to share.
If you read Char’s post, which was about William Howard Taft’s trip to the Grand Canyon and Lyndon Johnson getting stuck in an elevator at the Pentagon, you know that we’re not trying to dissect any major challenges presidents faced. Rather, we’re looking at smaller, more personal incidents that give a sense of the time and the president’s disposition.
TR narrowly escapes a lunch for 13
Last July, in order to jumpstart my historical fiction writing, I spent the month reading daily either an Atlanta or San Francisco newspaper from the same date in 1906. I ran across a number of interesting stories, but a presidential one I was intrigued by was this article in the July 2nd edition of The San Francisco Call and Post about a meal President Teddy Roosevelt had at the Capitol in DC.
Roosevelt had been invited to lunch by Senator Warren of Wyoming, but when the group sat down to the table, they realized there were thirteen people present. This was thought to be unlucky, so Senator Warren’s secretary, Joe Breckons, who had not expected to dine with the president, was called upon to join the lunch because Roosevelt was “ravenous.”
There are a couple of things I find fascinating about this incident. One is that even though today we still associate the number thirteen with being unlucky, I can’t imagine current political leaders halting a lunch over the superstition. The other thing that interests me is that this incident is characterized in the headline of the article as “Mr. Roosevelt Escapes the ‘Thirteen Hoodoo’.”
Hoodoo is a term that refers to spiritual practices that were developed from African traditions by Black people enslaved in the Southeastern United States. It has also been used to refer to bad luck. For instance, a team that suffers a long losing streak might be said to be under a hoodoo. Although this word appears to have been used frequently in this way in Roosevelt’s era and beyond, my thinking is that today we would consider it inappropriate given its connection to religious practices among a marginalized group.
A melting monument
In present presidential news, I ran across a New York Times article this morning about a wax statue of Abraham Lincoln, by artist Sandy Williams IV that melted during the recent heat wave in Washington DC.
The concept behind Williams’ work is neat. They reproduce famous monuments in wax that can then be purposefully melted down, unlike the monuments themselves, which are not supposed to be touched. Apparently, the Lincoln sculpture had a number of wicks in it and would have melted slowly over time, if it had been able to withstand the scorching heat of the sun.
The link below is a video on the artist’s Instagram page that shows what the monument looked like lit up.
This in another ongoing installation by the same artist at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.
You should really read this book I talked about Archie sometime! I couldn't believe how much thought they put into every little detail, I want to say he mentioned that lunch too! Great post!
The superstition carried to that degree -wow. Although circling back to the elevator story, even today many hotels don't have a 13th floor. The wax statue thing, so clever and yet, so ... transitory. Then again, more staying power than an ice sculpture.