100571
Send to:  PAPENFUSE, EDWARD
          MARYLAND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
          501 W FAYETTE ST RM 1102C
          BALTIMORE, MD 21201-1768

           

Print Request:   Current Document: 2

Time of Request: October 27, 2004  07:58 AM EDT

Number of Lines: 33
Job Number:      1861:17486337

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 The Washington Post
"Penne Laingen" and ribbon

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 of 5 DOCUMENTS

Copyright 1989 The Washington Post  
The Washington Post

July 1, 1989, Saturday, Final Edition

SECTION: EDITORIAL; PAGE A16; LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LENGTH: 292 words

HEADLINE: Favorite Oak Trees

BODY:
It was with special interest that I read science writer Robert Engelman's piece on the "venerable denizens," the oak trees in the Washington area, which have been severely damaged or destroyed in recent storms ["Fellowship of the Rings," Outlook, June 25]. My husband and I have been anxiously nurturing our big oak for several years, which has suffered first from drought stress, then from the onslaught of cicadas and gypsy moths, and more recently from wind and lightning damage. 
Last year's storm felled a neighbor's giant oak similar in age to ours, which in one violent instant crashed down, demolishing three cars and damaging the electrical system of our entire area. But our concern for our oak's survival is rooted more in its historical significance, because it is the original Yellow Ribbon Oak of the 1979-81 Iranian hostage crisis. Shortly after the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran, I draped a large yellow ribbon around the tree to symbolize my faith that my husband, Bruce Laingen, who at that time was charge' d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and his colleagues would one day be released from captivity to return safely home. And, of course, they did!
I've been wondering, too, how the other trees in the area have fared, trees I also festooned with yellow ribbons during that crisis, such as the Wye Oak in Eastern Maryland, the Sam Rayburn Oak and a Wisconsin red oak on the Capitol grounds, a white oak on the grounds of the Naval Academy in Annapolis and a Georgia maple (in honor of President Jimmy Carter) at the White House. Bruce and I have an almost mystical attachment to our lovely oak, so -- like Mr. Engelman -- "even the forecast of a thunderstorm makes us edgy."
PENNE LAINGEN Bethesda

                                                                         100571
**********  Print Completed  **********

Time of Request:   October 27, 2004  07:58 AM EDT

Print Number:      1861:17486337
Number of Lines:   33
Number of Pages:   

Send To:  PAPENFUSE, EDWARD
          MARYLAND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
          501 W FAYETTE ST RM 1102C
          BALTIMORE, MD 21201-1768