We took the Metro into DC yesterday to wander about. Went to a luncheon talk on hunger by a panel of people who know about hunger (They weren't hungry themselves. But they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, and have written books about it. Almost the same as having first hand experience. Looks better on a resume.).
It was sunny and about 40 degrees or so. It made for a good day to walk about. So after that free lunch we went to the Newseum. One of the better museums I've ever been to. Six floors of displays of new reporting and the key events that reporters have covered. Very informative and moving. I eventually had to leave one theatre (one of many they have) that was exploring television news in the 1950s and 1960s. 1968 just got too intense. Martin. Robert. Vietnam. Riots. Bad year. It ended well, though with Apollo 8 circling the Moon on Christmas Eve. We needed that after a year of death.
By then it was nearly super time. And as luck would have it, the Newseum is just a half block from the Capital Grille. Turns out it is a steak house. So much for my vegitarianism. And turns out it's expensive. But we decided that this would be Kate's birthday dinner. So in we went. Great steak. Likely the best I've ever had. And very nice service. It's supposed to be a place where the government big whigs go but I didn't see any I recognized.
By the time we finished dinner we had about an hour to get to the Kennedy Center with two complimentary symphony tickets Kate scored. Just because she's a minister and ministers score free things like that. It's a good thing that we had an hour to get there because there was a huge traffic jam around the Kennedy Center. Because the President decided to go to one of the three events there: the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. That was in the Opera House. We were in the adjacent concert hall. So Barack Obama didn't get to see us. I imagine he was disappointed. The concert was nice. Two pieces, each of which got a standing ovation (I liked the second).
We eventually got home after 12 or so hours traipsing about DC. And settled in for a long winter's nap.
And you know the nice thing about it all. The whole day was done without a car! Very shiny!
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About Me
- Mark Gorman
- I was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, along the banks of the Susquehanna River, in the valley made up by Bald Eagle Mountain to the south, and gentle hills and valleys to the north. That place that sheltered me, gave me food and friends, and both physical and spiritual nourishment for 18 years. That is the space where I was physically and emotionally formed. Ever since growing up there . . . because of growing up there . . . I have been inexorably linked to nature . . . to the earth and to all life.