View From the Top

1976.9.17 (cont.)
Washington, DC

Today we handed out papers and fliers for the rally and I got rid of my stack at a traffic light near the monument, so I decided that I just had to go to the top. At the base near the orientation center I ran into Noah, the Principle lecturer at Boonville, but he was sort of spaced out because he had just lost his camera. But he did remember my name, which surprised me.

At the top I saw Commander Hayashi. At first I was afraid if he saw me he'd get angry, but I decided I had a responsibility to say hello to him. By the time I got around to where he was he was going down the stairs. I called to him, but he didn't hear me, so I went and looked out toward the Lincoln Memorial.

Below me, on the edge of the monument lawn, they were building the stage where the messiah would give his final speech to the entire world. I tried to comprehend the magnitude of what was about to happen. What would people around the world think if Jesus were going to speak the next day at the Washington Monument? How would the world react? It was almost too much to think about.

I went down and got some more fliers and began handing them out at the light. I met Loyall and Kristina from Oakland driving in their car. The entire Oakland family was in Washington.

That night back at the Ambassador Hotel, where MFT was staying, we were gathered in the dining area to eat dinner. I saw Commander Hayashi and asked him what he was thinking about at the top of the monument. He was very surprised that I knew he had been up there, so I explained that I had gone up too and had seen him and called to him but he didn't hear me. He said he was thinking about God's history and that now our mission was to defeat Communism.

Then he asked me how old I was. I said 22, and he said I was still young.