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Visit trex.com to order samples. Good morning. I'm Jane Pauley, and this is Sunday morning.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember all who have died in military service to our country. Annette Bening has long made her home in the movies. Now, after a long absence, she's back on Broadway and talking with Serena Altschul. Welcome. I'm Carolyn Burnham.

For decades, Annette Bening has been a leading lady on the big screen and off with movie star husband, Warren Beatty. There were skeptics in the beginning. What do you say to them? Oh, what can I say? I don't know. We've been married 27 years.

We have four children. I think that sort of says it all, doesn't it? Like the roaring of his engine. Later on Sunday morning, Annette Bening. Just about every statue you see on a pedestal in our country is a statue of a man. Faith Salie has found some women who want to change that. Walk through New York City's Central Park, and it's hard to miss all these statues of all these men.

So what is wrong with this picture? How can you have statues of men everywhere, and the only statues of women are Mother Goose, Alice in Wonderland? We needed real women. Breaking the bronze ceiling. The nationwide push to put more women on pedestals later this Sunday morning.

Which are incredible. Connor Knighton watches an Iraq war veteran perform music from the heart. Steve Hartman salutes a very special school bus driver. And more all coming up when our Sunday morning podcast continues. And now a page from our Sunday morning almanac, May 26th, 1897. 122 years ago today.

A day to chill the blood. For that was the day the Irish author Bram Stoker published his horror novel Dracula. Loosely based on the sinister Transylvanian folk legend figure Vlad the Impaler, Dracula told the story of a human vampire who thrives for centuries by feasting on human blood.

Stoker never enjoyed much commercial success from his book. I am Dracula. But in 1931 Dracula made it big as a motion picture.

With the Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi in the title role. Listen to them. Children of the night.

What music they make. With his cloak mesmerizing stare and of course that accent. I didn't know but that you might be hungry. Dracula's exploits became the stuff of movie legend. Aren't you drinking?

I never drink. Why? Shocking in its time the movie made Dracula a fixture of popular culture. Inspiring literally dozens of movie and TV vampire dramas over the years. Like the legendary figure on which he's based, Count Dracula and his vampire ilk seem destined to endure.

They call me the count because I love counting things. Pleasing young and old alike. Something's missing from parks and landmarks all across America. Can you guess what it is?

Maybe Faith Salie can help. If you are among the millions of visitors to New York City's Central Park each year, you've seen the statues that dot the landscape. Shakespeare, Alexander Hamilton, Christopher Columbus. So who's missing? How can you have statues of men everywhere and the only statues of women are Mother Goose, Alice in Wonderland. We needed real women.

That's right. There are 22 statues of men and one dog who is, you guessed it, male. The women who have played such a vital part of history are invisible until now. Pam Elam and Colleen Jenkins run the Monumental Women campaign. Their goal? To erect a monument in Central Park honoring women's suffrage pioneers Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

And their effort hasn't exactly been a walk in the park. They said immediately no, there will be no new statues in Central Park, it's a historical collection. No, we persisted. Then they said well can you pick another park and do you really want a statue?

How about a nice garden? We persisted. To have two powerful women and a powerful movement represented here, that's important. Colleen Jenkins, who we should mention is the great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, says breaking the bronze ceiling isn't easy. Consider this, when a monument depicting suffragists was donated to the United States Congress in 1921, its torture journey became something of a metaphor for the battle for equal representation. The gift was moved into the rotunda but very shortly thereafter moved into the crypt, the land of the dead. In fact, the statue was moved one day after it was unveiled and remained beneath the Capitol until 1997 when it was finally returned to the rotunda. What does it say about the way women have been viewed that this monument was put in a crypt for years?

It's the wrong message. One needs to see role models and inspiration in order to understand where we came from but also what our basic values are that will dictate where we're going to. And if you think the lack of statues honoring women is a rarity, think again. Nationwide there are more than 5,000 outdoor statues of people of all sorts, but estimates show fewer than 400 of them are of women. Of course, the debate over our public monuments is becoming a familiar one. We've seen those protests over statues of Confederate figures. Even as some of those statues are coming down, Jenkins says it's time to put more and more women up on a pedestal. Statues are symbols and furthermore it's my money, your money, our tax dollars that are building those monuments.

They breathe life into history and because of the cost and massive size, they say this person is really important. Psychologist Lynette Long heads the group Equal Visibility Everywhere and she says it's about a lot more than statues. One day I said to my son, how would you feel if you looked at every statue and it was a woman and on all the coins it was a woman.

And you walk down a street. And all the streets are named after women. And national holidays. National holidays.

There's not a single holiday named after a woman. And he's like, I get it. How do you get people to care? Well, you have to make them believe it's hurting them or hurting their children. And it is. 80% of communication is non-verbal. So you can tell girls, and I hear it all the time, you can be whatever you want to be. But what do they see?

They see you can't. Chicago is taking steps to change that. Earlier this year, a street was renamed for Ida B. Wells with civil rights activists who documented lynchings in the 1890s. To have an African-American woman honored in such a high profile way, in such a large city, it just makes me feel we've arrived.

It'll be at least 12 feet tall, maybe up to 20 feet tall. And Ida B. Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster, is raising money to erect a monument honoring Wells.

Right here. Yes. But, Duster adds, as new statues like the one proposed for Central Park emerge, it's important to take off our rose-colored glasses. These women were suffragists and they believed in the women's right to vote, but they didn't believe in black women's right to vote, and they didn't believe in black men's right to vote.

Tell the whole story. How do we do that? I think there could be a plaque that's put near the statue or on the base of the statue or something that just kind of gives like an asterisk caveat, you know. Which brings us back to Central Park and the new monument of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. What will it look like? Let's just say it's still a work in progress.

Sculptor Meredith Bergman. When people see these two women, I want them to feel inspired and encouraged to fight for what they believe is right. The project has already inspired a small army with big ideas. Girl Scouts who have raised money and awareness.

I hope that one day there will be a 50-50 ratio. Women need the recognition for doing what they do, and we've done so, so many great things. The statue will be unveiled in August of next year, which marks the centennial of women gaining the right to vote. Change. Chiseled. One statue at a time.

But there's still a long way to go. Back in Washington, Michelle Cohen curates the collection at Statuary Hall in the nation's capital, where each state gets to designate two statues to represent it. Out of a hundred statues today, we have nine that commemorate women. But now, Kansas plans to replace one of its statues with a tribute to a certain aviator. Amelia Earhart is in the pipeline.

We hope you'll see her soon. And we have to say to Senator Ingalls, it's not you, it's history. Charged with bringing the pioneering aviator back to life, brothers George and Mark Lundeen. We wanted to convey her as a strong woman, which she was. Soon, Amelia Earhart will take her place alongside all those men. You might say, history is the world.

You might say history is looking up. Talk about special delivery. Steve Hartman has been tracking a school bus driver in a class by himself. You can see why someone might hate being a school bus driver.

The early hours when the weather sours, the abundance of responsibility combined with the absence of eyes in the back of your head. Yeah, have a good day. Nevertheless, Lincoln's loves delivering these little ones to Lake Highlands Elementary in Dallas, Texas. Yes. Emily Gruninger is the principal.

He goes way beyond the outline responsibilities and duties of a bus driver. I mean, that bus is like a family. These are my children. These are my community.

I love them all. To establish community. What's your job, man? He starts by giving everyone responsibility. This is one of the police officers. It's an elaborate flow chart.

She's administrative assistant to the president. Yeah. Everyone working together to build a yellow bus utopia. And we're going to care about each other and we're going to love everybody, right? I put time, effort, love, care, understanding. Understanding each and every one of those kids. Omar. To show his love and understanding, Curtis gives presents throughout the year.

When you say you like baseball. Each gift personally selected with that child in mind. He gave this girl a t-shirt. Her first book. With a picture from a book she made.

I'm hoping this t-shirt inspired her to keep on writing books. Over the years, he has bought these kids bikes, backpacks, handed out cards on birthdays, and even turkeys at Thanksgiving. He has spent thousands out of his own pocket.

And yet, if you ask the kids what they like most about Curtis, the gifts don't even come up. He really cares about us. He's really kind. And he helps anyone in need. Ethan Engel is a fifth grader. He means a lot to you.

Yeah. He says the bus ride is often the best part of his day. My mom got divorced when I was only four. He's the father that I always wanted. In some ways, I just, I wish my dad could have been like that. We make the mistake sometimes of thinking certain jobs are more important than others. But Curtis Jenkins made his job important. And in doing so, even created his own salary. That's the paycheck right there.

If I can get that, then you can keep the money. With roles in movies such as The Women, Annette Bening has never failed to demonstrate her range and versatility. Talent's now on full view in her Tony-nominated role on Broadway with Serena Altschul. We pay her a visit. For 32 years.

Welcome. I'm Carolyn Burnham. Movie star Annette Bening. What's your pitch? The long end. Big Colin.

Has always stood out. The way you were staring at me, I thought you were gonna ask me for something a little more exciting. Like what? Use your imagination.

I'm using it. Let me know when you're finished. Even earning four Oscar nominations along the way. I've been asked to do really interesting characters in the midst of great stories with great writing. I never know when you're acting. I'm not acting. I'm near to having a breakdown.

I feel as though my life has come to an end. All right. All right. And great writing usually involves flaws. Just be honest with me, okay? Don't make me feel crazier than I feel right now.

It's not about playing people who are strong. It's about trying to find the humanity in people. I woke up. It's so funny.

And she's at it again. Like the roaring of his engine. This time on Broadway in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. This is Sunday morning. It's now sunny and beautiful.

For Benning, being on stage has been a kind of homecoming. My family's from the Midwest. I was born in Kansas. And of course, many of my relatives in Iowa had this very backyard. You're asking me again.

Both she and the play have been nominated for Tony's this year. You've got a family. I'm simply telling you, I have no strength to think anymore. Set in 1947, All My Sons centers on the Keller family, whose two sons were in World War II. She's Larry's girl.

And I'm his brother. After one, a pilot was reported missing, their mom, Kate, can't accept even the possibility he could be dead. Nothing.

You have nothing to say. Now all I say, he's coming back. How do you feel about Kate? I love her. I love her. That's the pleasure we have as actors. We get to love the characters because we don't have to judge them.

Benning says this is a role she always wanted to play. In part, because the story mirrors events in her own history. My mom's family had two sons that went to the war, my uncle Russell and my uncle Roy. They both enlisted after Pearl Harbor. They were both in their late 20s. Roy became a Marine, Russell a pilot. His plane crashed from mechanical failure.

The body of his co-pilot was found, but my uncle Russell's body was never found. So there's a lot of personal connection in my family to the world that Arthur Miller was writing about. And she says she draws on that connection each night. No, I'll never let him go and you'll never let him go. Do you get a certain catharsis when you relive what Kate goes through every night? Are you working through that loss? I have a theory that maybe if you're working in the right way, it is a cathartic experience.

So afterwards, you feel unburdened. Her first and only other time on Broadway was in 1987's Coastal Disturbances. She earned a Tony nomination then too, and soon Hollywood beckoned. It touched me! It's been touching you for 12 years, you never freaked! Not you! What? A sad thing! Seems like a steady flow of great opportunities and good choices and not the kind of classic bumpy road to Hollywood.

I want Jaquor to discover on his wedding night that he didn't get there first. I was lucky and I also didn't start doing movies till I was almost 30. So I had done, you know, I wasn't a kid.

In 1990, she met actor and heartthrob Warren Beatty on the set of the film Bugsy. I brought nothing but trouble to every man who ever went on the line for me. Good.

That's what they get for trying to steal my girl. He married in 1992. That's a long time.

How does one make a marriage work for 27 years? Well, I think mutual respect and that we very much want the same things. He's very tolerant of living with me. And you of him, right? Yes, I would say yes.

There were skeptics in the beginning. What do you say to them? Oh, what can I say? I don't know. We've been married 27 years. We have four children. I think that sort of says it all, doesn't it?

It does. And she says together they created the life she dreamed of. I always wanted children from when I was really little, like a little girl, I don't know, seven or eight years old. And my children, who are now adults, are so interesting, and they're in the stage of their lives where they're getting their education, and they're working, and they're falling in love. And it's also a very cool stage of parenting that I'm really enjoying. Benning prefers to let her kids speak for themselves.

For instance, her oldest, Steven, is outspoken as an advocate in the transgender community. What can you say to other moms wanting to help their children find themselves and be exactly what they feel they are? Well, it's what we all want to do as parents, and I think that the tricky part is that your kids have to go through difficulties and pain. And I didn't even know it, but there was a part of me that thought, if I got it right, I could maybe parent my kids in such a way that they wouldn't have to experience pain, which is, of course, ridiculous. Right, you want to protect them from everything.

Right, but what you learn is how powerless you are. You have a lot that you can do to help and love your kids, and of course you do anything you can to support them and love them, but they have to go through what they're going to go through, and they have a right to do that. And there's a dignity to that.

As her children move on, she says, for Beatty and herself, it seems like old times. My husband and I now, we have more time just for each other and for work, and I can come and do this play in New York, so. Has he come yet? Yes, yeah, I know he's been incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. And he's not the only one. Because if he's dead, your father killed him. Do you understand me now?

Critics, audiences, and of course the Tony Awards nominating committee are raving about Annette Bening in All My Sons. We don't talk about it. We don't. No, we don't talk about it.

We just focus on the work. An Iraq war veteran is coping with his experience by creating music straight from the heart. Connor Knighton has his story. On stage, Army veteran Michael Trotter Jr. is fearless.

Together, he and his wife Tanya perform as the duo The War and Treaty. But 15 years ago, when Trotter deployed to the war in Iraq, he was understandably terrified. I was afraid. I want everybody to know I was afraid because I hoped that that fear would say, all right, let's send him back home.

The Army's like, you signed up, you're here, let's bite. Trotter dropped out of high school at 16. At 19, he became a father. He enlisted in the Army as a way to support his daughter. I thought like, wow, I have really made the mother of all mistakes.

Then you meet the boys and the gals, and if you're lucky, you meet your missing family members, and you connect. One of Trotter's commanding officers, Captain Robert Sheets Jr., could tell that he was struggling. Sheets heard Trotter liked music and suggested that Trotter learned to play a piano that had been discovered in the palace where their unit was based.

He's like, whenever you're here, on your free time, come here and find home. Trotter practiced regularly, his thoughts never far from the piano's former owner. He said, you know what, it had been owned by Saddam Hussein. You know, I found it very interesting that I was learning on an instrument owned and touched by such tyrannical hands, and it's now serving me for peaceful healing means.

But peace doesn't last for long in a war zone. On May 30, 2004, Captain Robert Sheets Jr. was killed by an IED. Trotter wrote a song for Captain Sheets's memorial service. When commanding officers saw how the performance inspired, Trotter says, they saw an opportunity.

The powers that be decided that that is what I would do. I would literally write songs about the fallen for memorials. After almost two years in Iraq, and far too many memorials, Trotter returned home. He continued to write and perform, which is how he met Tanya Blunt at a music festival. Tanya Blunt had an early brush with fame.

That's her in the film Sister Act 2, performing with Lauryn Hill. I kind of just lost the zest for it, but I wanted to be able to give the audience that fire, and I just didn't have it anymore. But when she met Michael and heard him perform, sparks flew.

What was it about those songs that spoke to you? They were honest. That's the thing that I love about Michael is that he's honest. That's not something you can make up on stage.

The two started working on songs together, got married, and had a child. But Michael was having trouble adjusting to civilian life. On 4th of July, he was just up under the bed hearing the fireworks, and I said, what's wrong? He didn't tell me that time, but then it happened again. And I sat him down and I said, whatever is going on, you know, I really want to know.

Tanya insisted that Michael go to a veterans hospital. They told him that he had PTSD, and we went home and they said, you are a wounded warrior. He's like, well, I'm not wounded. I'm not shot up. I didn't lose a limb.

And I said, but that doesn't mean you're not psychologically wounded. Tanya encouraged Michael to play her some of the songs that he'd written while he was in Iraq. That was the entry point to Michael allowing me to know what was going on through the songwriting. So I started to hear the songs and listen to the lyrics, and it was letting me in without him sitting me down to say, this is what happened. In August, the Warren Treaty released their debut album, Healing Time. Greg Kusil traveled to Nashville to hear his old army buddy perform.

The last time these two men saw each other, they were bunkmates in Ramadi, Iraq. I just have such a positive impression of Michael. I just remember his singing and thinking, wow, I really hope that he continues on with that. Most of the Warren Treaty songs aren't memorials, although in a way you could argue they all are. On my back sits the spirits of those fallen boys and girls, and they're cheering it, go Trotter, go, go.

I feel it. On this Memorial Day weekend, some thoughts on the meaning of citizenship from 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, whose new book is entitled Truth Worth Telling. How many stars in the American flag? 50, you say?

I'm not so sure. If there were 50, then citizens of liberal states and conservative states would join in common purpose on the Blue Field, which is, after all, called the Union. Instead, it seems we are recklessly tugging at the thread that holds us together. Today, liberals and conservatives barricade themselves in digital citadels, where some media with calculated bias assure their viewers that what they already believe is correct.

If we wall ourselves in castles of confirming information, I fear a new cold war, this time a cold civil war. Given this danger, why do both parties promote almost nothing but divisive scandals? Because it is so much easier than health insurance or immigration reform. Taking on actual challenges would require work and listening and thought and union.

Whose fault is this? Not the politicians, really. The Constitution was written on the premise that we the people would be hard-working citizens. But by and large, we don't study the issues. Politicians lie because we don't know the facts. They dangle shiny new scandals because we allow ourselves to be mesmerized. We're asked to vote in federal elections once every two years, and half of us cannot find the time. Have we become too lazy in mind and body to support a democracy?

I don't see that in the Americans I've met. How do you dig this up? Piece by piece, hand by hand. I've witnessed devotion to all of our stars among the firefighters who sacrificed themselves at the World Trade Center. An Air Force nurse in Iraq who opened her own veins to give blood to a dying Marine.

Our job is to resuscitate, to allow the surgeons time to stop the bleeding. Sandy Hook was preventable. The mothers and fathers of Sandy Hook, who dedicated their lives to preventing the kind of mass shooting that took their children. What's required of the rest of us is a small sacrifice to keep democracy vibrant and alive. United we stand is a familiar aspiration, but divided we stand is the secret of America. With all of our diversity, in all of our languages, we should agree on one big idea. We are all woven into the tapestry of stars.

It's time to see that, not as a right, but as a privilege, that each of us is willing to earn with minds that are skeptical, but open, and hands ready to work and willing to embrace. You were right, of course, there are 50 stars. The flag we say we honor is the very icon of compromise. How many stars in your flag? I'm Jane Pauley.

Thank you for listening, and please join us again next Sunday morning. Senate races where you think Republicans have the best chance of taking a Democratic seat away. Nevada, New Hampshire. Not Georgia. Well, Georgia's right up there, but New Hampshire is a surprise. In New Hampshire, people really just kind of don't like Maggie Haskins. For more from this week's conversation, follow the Takeout with Major Garrett on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.