Re: See what happens if you go to the wrong jeweler? The Curse of the Hope

In the Spring of 71', courtesy of what was still a yearly rite for 6th grade Patrol Boys nationwide, I made a 3day tour of the D.C.. A good hand full of snippets of memories remain beginning with the trip being delayed a week to allow demonstrations by "hippie, war protestors" to blow over. Upon arriving on day 1 I recall the charred remains of park benches gathered in clumps on the walkway approach to that tall white pointy phal ... monument. Its mostly a blur after that but do remember sitting a few minutes at the stone feet of Lincoln ... the nice woman at the whitehouse who explained and then demon-strated that funky disk placed in the floor of a corner hallway ... the one that when somebody standing over it talks in low voice they can still be overheard from many feet away ... the solemn ambiance at the eternal flame of Arlington, and the robotic-like changing of the guard nearby and the knuckle-headed boy who challenged the guard by stepping inside that special roped-off spot .... and what seemed like hours of boredom at the Smithsonian except for the allure of staring at the contents inside the special glass case. Back then I did not know the history, did not understand why it was called the Hope diamond. All these years later, after reading the history from Julie about all the other hands & lives it passed through, I have better reason for not understanding why its called the Hope diamond.