The Monuments of Washington DC

Well, we began our day by figuring out the Metro system with the help of the very nice station attendants. I tell you what, I really felt like a country bumpkin. When you live in a small town, even the metro is an adventure. We now have our smart pass, and one day under our belt, so perhaps we'll become more cosmopolitan - who knows! The weather was sunny and clear for our first day in the city. The wind, however, was quite cold. Fortunately it became more tolerable after noon.

Upon exiting the metro the first thing we saw was the Washington Monument. It really is an elegant piece of architecture. This is a great time to be here because we didn't have a crowd of people. We walked right up to get tickets for the ride without waiting in line, although we did have to come back at 1:30 for the ride to the top. It was nice to just meander around the monument without being jostled or feeling like you keeping other people from getting their chance to enjoy the view.


We then went to the World War II memorial. It is also so striking. When you think of the men and women who gave their lives it gives you pause. War is a terrible thing, but having gone from the memorials of our founding fathers to the Holocaust Memorial in the afternoon . . . let's just say it is difficult to comprehend such evil, and we can be thankful for the men and women who fought against it.



The Lincoln Memorial was next. What a time in our history that was. Family members fighting against each other. Each side thinking they were in the right. Having such passion about a circumstance or a cause to turn you against the people you love--how can I understand that? I always wonder if Lincoln was a lonely man, I think I would be if I was him. I would be agonizing about my decisions, and wondering who I could really trust and count on to be my friend. Yet he stayed to the course that he considered right and true. He was a true man of integrity.


Korean War Memorial next. I was struck here especially by how quiet and respectful people were in this area. I really felt like people were treating it like a sacred place. The way the statues are positioned, half in the shadows, half in the sun, made me feel the tentativeness the soliders might have felt as they walked through the war zone.


Vietnam Wall. What a long wall, and ever so many names. I was brought to tears by a woman and man taking a rubbing of the name of someone they loved from the wall. This is all they have left - a name on a wall. I don't think I can understand the depth of their sorrow and regret.


Holocaust Museum. This is out of the depth of my understanding. How did this little man, who I think looked just like a crazy man while he talked, rise to such power? How did people, who I'm sure must have been people just like you and me, become messengers of evil? It should scare us half to death, because that same capacity for evil is in you and me. The same self-preservation that made them turn their eyes away is in us. Don't we just need good people in the world? People of integrity and who want to shine the light on the darkness. We need to do what is right from the smallest things to the biggest things. I was amazed at the end, first of all at the survival of the human body - skeletons were walking clothed with the most minimum amount of human skin. Second, one of the films showed all these really healthy looking children walking out of a camp, and I couldn't understand it. These were the twins that were used for experimentation. Healthy bodies, but who knows how their spirits were crushed. But then third, that there were rescuers! Brave men and women who did what they could to save the jews, some dying for their efforts. But it just lifted my spirits to see these good people, and I hope that I would have been one of them.