Gone to the Capitol

The Reflecting Pool is muddy, littered with noisy tractors and cranes.   I entered the park and strode up to old Abe, hi I said, smiling at seeing my old friend, turning around to inhale the shining beauty of the Reflecting Pool behind me, and then.....  mud and trucks and hard hat workers.  So my morning was off to a not so great start, and along with the fact that DC was experiencing one of its hottest April days in history (it was in the 90s), my fantasy three days was turning into something very different than I expected.  But there is the rub, you see, the expectation.  Expectation always ruins me.

We (my man and I)  left Lincoln and walked down past the Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial, stopped to see the statue honoring the women who served in that war, and tried to stay out of the sun.  Halfway between Lincoln and Washington a new memorial to World War II veterans has been erected.  On the day we were there, red and blue tee shirts dotted the plaza.  Some of the red shirts were in wheelchairs, authentic, real-life World War II vets, being wheeled by the blue shirts, authentic, real-life Viet Nam Veterans.  I walked up to one man in a wheelchair who reminded me of my mom, now also unable to walk much, and I held out my hand.  I said, thank you so much for your service and your bravery.  He took me hand and smiled and shook it really really HARD.  No slacker this guy. No wonder why we won the war.

World War II Memorial

The younger man who was his escort, pushing the wheelchair, held out his hand.  I said, you can't be a veteran of the second World War, and he said, no, I served in Nam.  So I thanked him as well. Then with tears in his eyes he said, "We just came from the Viet Nam Memorial. First time I've seen it.  It brought back so many memories" and he cried a little.  So I touched his arm and he smiled.  We said goodby and much later in the day we crossed paths again.  He and the man in the wheelchair were smiling ear to ear, really having a great day.  Remembering the morning's encounter, we greeted each other like old friends.  "Have a great day", they said to us and waved goodby as we walked in opposite directions on the winding memorial park's path.

So.... you know what I'm gong to say, right?  Even though the day started out a little disappointing, I made memories I won't soon forget.  Did you know the museums of the Smithsonian are free?  There is a box in the entrance of each building for a donation, but there is no forced ticket price.  What a breath of fresh air -- 90 degree air, but fresh and clear.
  

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln