April 11, 2012
Hello again from DC. Since we couldn’t set up until 3:00, I had the morning free. I got up (sort of) early, and took the Metro (subway) down to the National Mall. Holy Cow!!! It’s huge! I knew it was a pretty large area, but considerably larger than I expected. The size is deceiving because the monuments (Washington, Lincoln, etc) are so large that they don’t look that far away, until you realized you’ve been walking for 10 minutes and are still only half way there.
I started off at the Washington Memorial. Unfortunately it’s closed due to the 2011 earthquake on the east coast. There was fencing around it, so you can’t get close. It was very large, and pretty cool. I have to get back at night, when the spotlights are on it. I think it would be more impressive.
Next up was the WWII Memorial (it was “next up” only because it was next in my line of vision). You may remember that there was a lot of controversy prior to the memorial being built, as it crept into the space of the Reflecting Pool, and would obstruct the view between the Lincoln and Washington Memorials. All of these obstacles were overcome, and the result was a well thought out, and beautiful monument to our WWII veterans.
After the WWII Memorial, I was off to the Reflection Pool – again, this is because of the geographic order when walking from one end to the other. I turned around (as it’s right behind the WWII Memorial), and there is was . . . sort of. I saw where the pool was SUPPOSED to be. Unfortunately, due to leakage and the problem that the pool is actually sinking, it is under construction or repair. But I did get to see where it should be.
After this I saw the Lincoln Memorial, and heard a good presentation by one of the Park Rangers. He is a former history teacher, and now gives memorial presentations to park guests (I’m thinking he’s got a great gig). I also saw the Vietnam Veterans' and Korean War Memorials, along with the MLK Jr and DC War Memorials.
I noticed that a Ranger presentation at the WWII Memorial was coming up, so headed back that direction – which led to the high point of my day. When I arrived I saw about 100 guys in red jackets. Looking closer I realized they were part of an Honor Flights trip (Honor Flights is a group that takes WWII veterans to visit the WWII Memorial, free of charge). All of the guys were from South Carolina. I got to talk with them briefly (they were getting on their buses to leave, so didn’t have a lot of time) – and had my picture taken with a few of the guys. It was an honor to meet them and thank them for their service to our country. One thing that was cool was when one of the veterans, along with his escort (who I think was his daughter, as the escorts are usually family members) passed me, I said – “Thank you, sir. I just wanted to say thanks.” He thanked me, but once they were past his escort turned back to me and gave me a heartfelt “thanks.” She seemed to be truly moved and appreciative that a complete stranger would just give a shout to her relative (perhaps father).
After that – I headed back to the hotel, grabbed some lunch and set up for the meeting. As you can guess – after meeting the Honor Flights guys, everything else was . . . “whatever.”
I do have one regret in that I kind of rushed through things, as I didn’t know how long it would all take, and I was trying to be mindful of the time. On the other hand, had I not rushed, I never would’ve met the Honor Flights guys. I hope to get back and see and read more. But if I don’t, I’ll still be fine.
Anyway – this is getting long. Gotta run.
Bye for now.
JBD
No comments:
Post a Comment