We country mice have done it again;
we have left our small-town lair for another big-city adventure. This time we were sojourners in Washington ,
D.C., and once again we were wide eyed and a bit overwhelmed. After all, small-town street smarts and a
country sense of direction could get us only so far on a metropolitan
subway. Once we were deep in the bowels
of the Metro Transit system, our perception of north and south was not always
really north and south nor did our country courtesy always get us a place on
the train. We had to learn to rely on
signs and transit maps and to develop an “every man for himself” attitude. However, by the end of our week’s stay in
Washington, we were maneuvering through the transit system like we were born to
it. Apparently old dogs (or mice) can
learn new tricks.
We stayed in a hotel in a
residential area of downtown Washington, a choice that gave us a glimpse of
everyday life in the nation’s capital.
Everyone in that neighborhood lives in a small apartment and either
walks to work in a downtown office building or walks to a subway station and
takes a train to a job. What a contrast
to western Oklahoma’s wide-open spaces and our SUV/extended- cab pickup
culture! Is it any wonder that everyone
appeared slim and fit? Sidewalks and
subways might help shrink my Oklahoma waistline too.
Since we were going to be in
Washington for only one week, we tried to pack every day with sights and
activities. We started our itinerary with
a satirical political comedy show at the Wooly Mammoth Theater in downtown
Washington. Chicago’s Second City comedy
troupe presented “America: All Better Now.”
We laughed as the performers poked fun at some of our society’s foibles
and contrasted the here and now with the so-called good old days. They were equal opportunity satirists , and
no tradition, institution, or group of people was left unscathed.
Next, we tried to tour as many
museums as possible. We started with the
National Archives. Of course, we saw
those famous iconic documents such as the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of
Independence, and the Bill of Rights, but I was amazed to find that the
National Archives is much more than famous documents. People research their family histories and
anything else that requires primary sources.
We moved from the National Archives
to the National Gallery of Art where I stood within inches of original Monets
and Renoirs. Then it was on to the
Newseum, a museum dedicated to the history of the press in the United
States. We were there at the end of the
day, so we had only enough time to explore the top two floors. The top floor is dedicated to the Kennedy
assassination, and the videos and artifacts bring that terrible day in history
back to life. The next floor down dealt
with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Again
artifacts, including the mangled broadcast tower from the World Trade Center, and
videos of that horrible day left me in tears.
It was like opening an old wound.
Our next tourist attraction was a
Monuments by Moonlight tour where we visited the FDR Memorial, Arlington
Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial,
and the Vietnam War Wall late in the evening. Fading light and stillness gave
the monuments an eerie, other worldly feeling.
The most impressive memorial to see at night is the Korean War
Memorial. Lights along the path cast
shadows on the granite wall where soldiers’ faces are illuminated. Then life-size sculptures of Korean War
soldiers patrol a field. Each gray,
ghost-like face bears a different expression.
Our Saturday was spent at George
Washington’s Mt. Vernon. The mansion,
gardens, farm, and out buildings are all meticulously preserved. Most Americans know the stories and legends
of the father of our country, but Mt. Vernon gives a very up-close and personal
view of the man himself. One comes away
with newfound admiration and gratefulness for his courage and vision. Washington, of course, was a slave owner
although he did free his slaves in his will.
I think what this says of him is that he was a man of his times, and all
people are a mixture of good and not so good.
On Sunday, we attended church
service at the Washington National Cathedral, a magnificent place that has to
be seen to appreciate. We finished our tour
of the city with the Library of Congress, The Holocaust Museum, The Supreme
Court, the Capitol, and Ford’s Theater and Petersen House. Each attraction was impressive in its own
way, but the one that totally immerses the visitor in horror is the Holocaust
Museum.
It takes at least three hours to
walk through the main exhibition that tells the story of the Holocaust from the
beginning to end. While in the museum,
viewers are absorbed and engulfed in an unimaginable world. Artifacts, films,
letters, photographs, and survivor stories hold visitors in an evil
trance. At the end of the tour,
visitors’ sensibilities are shocked even further when they view a huge pile of
the victims’ shoes. Clothing and shoes
were taken off the bodies of the dead from the gas chambers. Shoes of every style and size were heaped in
a grim mountain. Needless to say, I was
emotionally spent at the end of the tour.
For elegance and beauty, the
Library of Congress would surely rate at the top of the list. It surely says something profound about our
country when the most magnificent building in the capital city is devoted to
knowledge and learning. Aside from being
awestruck at the beautiful building, I was excited to see Thomas Jefferson’s
original library, which was the beginning of the Library of Congress.
Next the Supreme Court and the
Capitol gave us a good look at the workings of the Judicial and the Legislative
branches of government. We actually sat
in the courtroom where Supreme Court cases are heard and decided, and our
Capitol tour gave us an up-close look at statues and rooms that we had only
seen in pictures. While these sights are
impressive, it is Ford’s Theater that gets visitors both intellectually and emotionally
involved.
First of all visitors tour the
museum and learn about the times leading up to Lincoln’s assassination. The horror of the Civil War and the
brokenness of our country are difficult to fathom. Then inside the theater a park ranger relates
in vivid detail the events of the night Lincoln was shot. The tour concludes with a visit to Petersen
House, the boarding house across the street from the theater where Lincoln
died. Viewing the bed where Lincoln had
lain dying transported me back to 1865, filling me with sadness and a sense of
futility.
Then it was time to board the plane
for our journey home. Our Washington
D.C. trip will live in our memories as one of the best vacations. Our vacation spirits are sated for the time
being, but soon this country mouse will put on her white sneakers and grab a guidebook and become a totally
unabashed tourist again.
