Let me begin by saying…. Happy Birthday Kristi! I miss our weekend shifts like a crackhead in rehab misses crack.
Today I took public transportation into downtown Washington DC. I got off the subway at the National Archives / Navy Memorial and headed to the White House. It was exactly what I expected. White and guarded.
Everywhere you go in the National Mall area there are classes of kids. What a privilege. I hope someday they understand their experience is one that the majority of people (let alone children) in the United States will never get. I’ve got some thoughts about something I saw – but I’ll tag that rant onto the end of my blog so you don’t have to read it.
From the White House I caught a bus to the Smithsonian air and space museum. I really wanted to see the space shuttle. Duh. It’s at the other space museum out by the airport. Still, I did enjoy looking around. I’ll try to get to the space shuttle on Friday – along with Arlington and the changing of the guards.
Then I walked through the National sculpture garden.
The last video is a Lichtenstein- completely flat. I know my video is bad but it does capture the remarkably clever illusion.
Then on to the Smithsonian museum of natural history. Soooo good. It breaks down everything from beginning to end. There is no way to absorb all of it in a day or even two. I really enjoyed the rocks and gems and jewels, the photography, the butterflies and animals (I had no idea that an aardvark is as big as a regular sized pig!). I skipped humans and ocean and probably much more.
I left, got a beer and sat a while. I must look like I belong here because people asked me for directions a lot. I like it. I like it a lot. Washington DC is very, very clean and organized. At least what I’ve seen so far. I’m proud to call it my capital.
You know how to get your bus to come after waiting 40 minutes in the cold wind? For me it used to be lighting a cigarette. Now? Calling an Uber. Tomorrow I’m taking a tour of all the memorials at night. Whoop!
Onward ♋+♊
🏃 Nasty Boys 🏃
Today was a non-holiday regular school day. I guess maybe Boy Scout type groups could all take time off from school – but that doesn’t seem reasonable. So I deduced that all groups of kids were school-related. There were groups ranging from elementary school — 9 & 10 year olds — all the way up to college kids. Most groups were boys and girls – and perfectly normally behaved (slightly rude, unfocused, in your way). My problem were a few all male groups. All male and all white.
What kind of school would have all white, male students? Religious? Military? Some of these kids had on freshly purchased Trump garb – t-shirts and hats. I just don’t understand. If they go to a religious school, where is the separation of church and state? I assume they’re getting either tax breaks or tax money.
Military school? I find it hard to believe that a military school would let their students buy political attire during a learning experience. Or be so misbehaved. It’s vexing.
These were clearly chaperoned groups. The older kids were allowed to choose their museum led by one chaperone. Little kids were herded with like 20 kids and two adults – perfectly reasonable.
Several groups collided in front of the White House. At first it was interesting to watch this group of prepubescent boys all riled up for Trump. Like watching animals in a zoo. But then a large group of voting aged African American people joined the group in front of the White House. We were all taking pictures and watching peace performers. Taking it all in.
The little boys started chanting Trump. Then they started aggressively yelling – one side hollered Donald and the other side yelled Trump. I began to feel uncomfortable. Then I realized the people around me were feeling the same way. A few tried joining the chant. One of the advisors looked me in the eye and said we gotta get out of here.
The kids started grouping up and confronting their elders. It freaked me out. In my life, I have never seen a more disgusting display of racism. Why did these kids think that the people they were screaming at: a) were going to vote for Hillary (some were Trump supporters) b) were an acceptable target at whom to scream c) were going to change their mind because of a misbehaved 12 year old? And shouldn’t their teachers be teaching them this principle?
AND WHO WAS IN CHARGE???? There were adult men in charge. They seemed pleased with their wards. I hung around for a long time chatting with the fellow manning the White House peace vigil (24/7/365 since 1981). These kids kept up their crap for a full 30 minutes! My biggest fear is that my tax dollars went to pay for those little beasts’ “educational” trip.
The Lolo Down 