On Saturday, at a wonderful Mother of the Year ceremony at the Oakland Rose Garden honoring the Editor Emeritus of the MacArthur Metro, a friend told me that the Magna Carta is in San Francisco at the Legion of Honor. Yes. That Magna Carta, the one we all remember from 1215 at Runnymede.
I intended to get right over to the Legion on Sunday and have some pictures along with a good story to relaunch this long-delayed Blog. But, arriving home Saturday afternoon, we found the doors open, the house burglarized, computers taken. All those good things that put a major crimp in one's plans.
So, I can't give you my take on the document or the exhibit. It is one of the Magna Carta copies that is considered to be an original. It's hand-lettered on parchment. Imagine doing that. Why, it's sometimes difficult enough for folks in our era to make a decent photocopy.
But those are some of the physical details. The real value of the document is what it stands for, and its inspiration for the U.S. founding documents, especially the Bill of Rights. Especially the right of due process. You know, the right we all enjoy not to be thrown in a dungeon without access to a lawyer, without being told the charges against us, without the right of habeas corpus, without a speedy trial. Whoops. Going too far. Forgot what century I was in for a moment.
And, o.k. I am being a bit sarcastic. But, I'm dead serious about wanting to see this document and to bask in its presence for a bit.
Meanwhile back to changing locks and passwords.
The Legion of Honor is open Tuesday through Sunday.
The Magna Carta | Legion of Honor
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