A Place of Pride Once Again

Wow! The leaves are changing color faster than McCain can say pro-life, oil-drilling and tax breaks for the rich right now. That's fast. But 'change' happens and that's never a bad thing, especially in New York.

I visited the largest mausoleum in North America on Thursday. It overlooks the Hudson River from Riverside Park and is the final resting place of one of the greatest American Civil War Generals and Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.

Inside this fortress of granite and marble are two gigantic twin sarcophagus where he and his wife are entombed. The crypt is decorated with busts depicting Grant's most esteemed lieutenants during the Civil War, painted murals and a room with preserved battle flags.

Grant's tomb wasn't always so polished and safe. It fell to vandalism and neglect in the 80's and 90's and it wasn't until 1997 when funds were finally found to remedy the cause. This included the cleaning of graffiti, repairing the roof, replacing the granite plaza and ridding the area of prostitution, homelessness and drug and alcohol use.


Today it's once again a place of honor and remembrance for our 18th president of the United States, a man who spent over two years traveling the world with his wife. No President should be without that.