I spent the morning and most of the afternoon at the National Cathedral. The guidebook said the service was at 10:00, so I left the hotel about 9:10. I walked several blocks to the Metro station at Dupont Circle (which was on the far side of the Circle), took it one stop, then walked uphill to the cathedral. The whole trip took about an hour, so I was a bit late.
But the service wasn't at 10:00. At that time they had a discussion session about the MLK commemorations. The Dean of the Cathedral, a white guy talked with a black pastor from Oakland. They even had a few questions from the audience. A memorable idea from the black pastor: Part of erasing racism and white privilege is proximity. Different kinds of people need to get to know each other.
Before sitting down I spotted this statue of Washington and realized the time to take it was right then.
The actual service was a 11:15. This was very much high church, with all the ceremony. The Dean gave the sermon. His major point: How can we as a church comment on the moral actions of the Supreme Court and Congress when our own house isn't in order? We serve the richest quarter of the city, almost ignoring the other three-quarters. The Episcopal Church as a whole is 87% white. I waited for him to deliver on those comments, and he did. He will be leading a process to root out institutional privilege for white straight males in the Cathedral operations. He got applause for that sermon.
I had lunch at a nearby bistro, then came back for a tour of the Cathedral building. This photo is of the Space Window. The black dot inside the white ring inside the large upper circle is an actual piece of moon rock.
I finished with a trip up to the 7th floor observation area (alas, not into the taller bell tower) to look over the city . Then the walk back to the Metro station.
I decided what I needed most at that point was rest, not a walk to and from the hotel. So I went to the Old Post Office, now a shopping arcade. It was close to 5:00 by the time I got there. I sat and read for a while, then toured the food court for supper. Pickings were mighty slim because most of the eateries closed at 5:00 (the rest at 6:00) even though the building was open until 7:00.
The reason for choosing that place is because my next event started right outside its doors. I had reserved an evening Capitol/Monument bike tour, but since I was the only one who signed up, they switched me to the Monument tour that started a half-hour later. Same price, though I think more monuments. At 6:30 about 15 of us followed our guide to the Ellipse to see the White House. Then it was on to the Washington Monument and memorials: the WWII Memorial and Vietnam Memorial (with a reflection of the Washington Monument).
On to the Lincoln Memorial (pretty sunset while there though the photo is of Abe)
On to the Korean Memorial (didn't photograph well in the dark), MLK Memorial and FDR Memorial. This photo is of one of FDR's sayings carved into the wall. Still appropriate today, alas.
We finished at the Jefferson Memorial. It was after 9:45 when we returned to the rental place.
Monday, August 26
I found the deli on the other side of the circle across from the hotel works quite well for breakfast, at a third of the cost.
The first big event of the day was the Capitol.
When I arrived at the Visitor Center one of the guides directing traffic asked if I had a reservation. I did, for 40 minutes later. He asked if I would prefer to take a tour in 10 minutes. Fine with me. So, he said, hide your reservation and go up to the counter and ask for the next tour. Tours are free. After I made my reservation more than a month ago someone declared me lucky and wondered how I did it. Just went to the Capitol website and got one. I guess the time to visit is late August.
Compared to the last time I visited the Capitol – back in 1974 – this tour was quite skimpy. We saw the crypt (where Washington was supposed to be buried but wasn't), the Rotunda, and Statuary Hall. That was it.
Each state may send two statues to the Capitol. A few more statues are ones that Congress itself chooses (such as the one of MLK). I saw one from Michigan – President Ford – and learned the other is Lewis Cass. Some of the others were ones I didn't expect. Such as Alabama honoring Helen Keller
And Montana honoring the only woman in the Senate in 1941 who was the only no vote when the Senate approved going to war in WWII. I think the name is Jeanette Rankin.
My favorite is Jack Swigert, astronaut from Colorado, who was elected to Congress, but apparently died before taking his seat.
I had lunch in the Visitor Center restaurant, which was good, but pricy for cafeteria fare. Then I spent time in the Exhibition Hall with a history of the Capitol and some of the major events in it. The last thing I did was a tour of the Bermidi Corridors. These are corridors under the current Senate chamber, painted by the same guy who painted the dome in the Rotunda.
From the Capitol I took the tunnel to the Library of Congress, which allowed me to not have to go through security again. That got me thinking about something others have said. Why is it if Congressmen think that concealed weapons are a good idea in most public places they take great pains to make sure they aren't in public buildings in DC? Is it because the crazies might be shooting at them? Then why is it OK to allow the crazies to be shooting as us?
I was in the Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. It is one of three buildings near each other and another 2 out of town. It is the most beautiful and biggest library in the world with more than 100 million items (not just books) with 22,000 arriving every day from around the world (of which they keep 10,000, the rest are donated to other libraries). One learns cool things when one takes the tour.
The LoC is working mighty hard, she said, to digitize its collection. Alas, if they are receiving 10,000 items a day but digitizing less than 10,000 a day you can guess how soon they'll finish.
As for the beauty...
The main hall.
The Reading Room.
I asked the tour guide how do they get 22,000 items a day? Some of the things they search for and specifically buy, some are daily submissions (like newspapers), and some are sent because LoC runs the copyright system and publishers send stuff to prove copyright. Some of that is kept, some is recorded and donated.
Which got me wondering. I compose for handbells and have a few things published. Might my publishers submitted my work to the LoC and might it be in their stacks, or at least in their database? So I asked the tour guide how I might find out. Look for it on loc.gov, she said.
So I did just now. Alas, no matches, though I also searched for handbell music in general. Lots of entries came up, even lots of composers came up (many names look familiar), but nothing for me. A good part of that is because with changes in copyright laws something is copyrighted as soon as it is created and one no longer has to file with the LoC to prove it. So I and my publishers don't bother with the expense.
I walked around outside the Capitol a bit, even though my feet were aching, then on to Union Station to get the Metro to Chinatown. Supper there was in a small place and quite good. Another Metro ride to the station closest to my hotel, which is also pretty close to the White House. So I took a moment to wander through Lafayette Park. Lots of people taking pictures, only a couple lone protesters.
Two days into the vacation and I've already finished a book. It is The Pun Also Rises. by John Pollack. It delves into the definition of a pun and examples of various types. He examines how the brain works and how the brain works on puns. Then it is on to a history of the English language and the role puns played. Around the time of Shakespeare puns were seen as a sign of intellect. Alas, a couple hundred years later they fell out of favor. Today, puns are a strong force in product marketing (I've seen the hair salon in Detroit with the name “Curl up and dye”). Then there is a perusal of puns across time and languages. And finally, a strong defense of the pun. The mental processes that make puns possible are the same processes used in creativity. So there. Of course, the author tosses in generous handfuls of puns as he explains things.
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