This Tuesday will go in my book of days as an exceptionally good one. We played tourist all day and it’s something that we’re good at…at which we’re good. Okay, we enjoy it. First, a tour of the White House never disappoints. To be able to stroll the same hallways, run your fingers along the same window sills, and take in the same views that so many presidents and first ladies have - well, it’s no small thing. To imagine conversations that took place and the decisions that have been made within those historic walls, it’s dumbfounding to me. Construction began in 1792 and the first occupants were John Adams and his wife, Abigail. A few things have happened between now and then. If you’re planning a visit to D.C. I highly recommend emailing your representative well in advance and securing a tour. Unfortunately (and obviously) there’s no photography allowed on the tour. And before you blame President Obama for that, the rules were the same when we toured the Bush White House. Just standard security.
From there we walked to the Holocaust Museum. We’ve been to this wonderful city several times and never been - my fault, I just didn’t know if my heart could stand it. I’ve read too much and watched too many documentaries to doubt the impact of what I’d see there. I wasn’t wrong. It’s powerful. Very, very powerful - but also necessary. I don’t regret going. The most humbling moment was learning that there are Holocaust survivors volunteering at the museum every day just to make sure that what happened is never forgotten. They’re willing to share their stories so that the world knows what happened. I watched a tiny, white-haired woman stretch her arm out to hand information to a visitor, and there was a number tattooed on her left arm. Tears streamed down my face as I thought of what she saw, endured, lost….you walk away from the museum a different person than the one that entered. We all know the general information, the history we’ve been taught, but to see the interviews and footage of people who were there is entirely different. To see the piles of shoes, the eyeglasses, the diaries that abruptly stop, and in the center of the museum the the three-floor high Tower of Faces was nothing short of heartbreaking. The Tower of Faces is a collection of 1,500 photographs of the Jews of the Lithuanian town of Eishyshok. It was a thriving Jewish town for over 900 years. Only 29 of the town’s 3,500 Jews survived the Holocaust. The photographs provide powerful proof of the beautiful lives snuffed out by the Nazis - couples posing proudly with a new baby, school children in a class photo, wedding pictures, musicians, scholars, physicians, smiling families around a birthday cake…in other words, normal, happy people leading normal, happy lives who were executed for no reason. On survivor spoke of crying when a ten year old boy tearfully asked him “What is a Jew? Why do they hate me? Why did they kill my parents?” There’s no answer for that. I’m not doing an adequate job of portraying the power of this museum. I don’t have the words to make you feel what I felt. We were there for four hours, and neither of us were aware of the passage of time. The museum walks you from the first rumblings to the liberation of the death camps. It was awful, terrifying, and humbling. I can’t believe there was ever a world that allowed it to happen. Another survivor interviews stated that she raised her children to always operate from a place of love and never hate, to fight against all forms of persecution - because she wanted them to live in a world where nothing like the Holocaust could ever happen again. Can you imagine how survivors who came to the U.S. must have felt when they arrived and saw signs on bathrooms and water fountains stating “Whites Only”? That’s exactly how things started in Germany. Again, there aren’t words - you must go.
Sorry for the rant, the experience was big. When we exited into the sunshine and cool air it took a bit to adjust to real life. But on we went. This beautiful city offers something at every turn…
Look, even the IRS building is pretty! Your tax dollars at work!
After finding a deli for a late lunch (and having the best darn corned beef on marbled rye that I’ve had in ages!) we headed for the National Gallery - Mickey’s idea , probably because he knew that looking at incredible art might balance me. Once again, he was right. I’m easy. I won’t bore you with every sigh and exclamation over each painting and sculpture - but I will say that I never, ever tire of visiting the National Gallery. Ever. Who wouldn’t love to walk through beautiful spaces like this…
to view everything from the works of 13th century Italian masters to 21st century Americans. Whether your tastes run to Byzantine art or Edward Hopper’s diners, there’s something here that will make your jaw drop. Mine always does. When such beauty exists it’s hard to believe that the world is a bad place. Balance.
We walked out of the gallery just before 5pm and this is what we saw.
The place was crawling with cops. My first thought was that I knew I shouldn’t have tried to touch that Ostade painting. Then I figured that it wouldn’t take eighteen cop cars to haul me off to the pokey, and I doubted that the story was worth the three news vans that pulled up. So we did what any hillbilly visitors from Tennessee would do - we sat down on the steps to see what played out. We didn’t have to wait long before the sounds of chanting and marching drifted toward us and we spied a mob waving signs and flags. They were one street over and heading closer. There was only one thing to do, get out our cameras and check ‘em out! Turns out it was a harmless group of “Occupy” protesters headed for the capitol building. So we tagged along. Not for any political reasons, but to see how things unfolded down the road. It was quite diverse crowd, old and young of all colors - even one older fellow in an airline pilot’s uniform. My pictures were all blurry because apparently I can’t march and snap photos at the same time.
Best of all, while they did their thing the D.C. police were in front and back of them, blocking traffic to make sure they were able to make their way peacefully and without incident.
Once at the Capitol, there was singing - a bit more chanting, then some more singing, and then people sort of started to drift away. No angry exchanges, nothing the media could latch onto. I doubt this display will have any impact or change anything - but as protests go, it was a nice one.
This is what it looked like when we left, a few stragglers on the lawn -
Whatever your leanings, it was cool to see democracy at work - especially considering that there’s not much work going on in that building behind them. Oh, did I say that out loud?
Much better coverage of the event here : http://www.wjla.com/
At the end of a long day we were happy to head back to our hotel and pick up dinner at a little Irish pub on the corner. Fish and chips for Mickey and mulligan stew for me - perfect for a chilly night. Now we’re in our room with our feet up, planning for tomorrow. We’ve got National Geographic and a Pentagon tour on the schedule - everything else is up to chance. Have Metro card, will travel.
Until tomorrow I’ll leave you with one of the paintings that cleansed my soul today. It’s Andrew Wyeth’s “Wind From the Sea” and as I stared it it I felt peace wash over me. Hope it does the same for you. Put yourself in the room, smell the salt air, feel the breeze….and breathe. Yep, It works.
