All wars are horrible but not equally so; WWI will always rank among the worst chiefly because of the gruesome reality of trench warfare where opposing sides faced one another for months or years in a static defense. Enemies could be close enough to hear one another and on at least one occasion, get […]

Freedom Gets a Do The dome of the U.S. Capitol, made of iron and bolted together, was assembled during the American Civil War, a sign from Lincoln, they say, that the Union would prevail. It did. Atop the dome is the Freedom Statue, there since 1863, all 15,000 bronze pounds of her. She faces east, […]

Of Willy and Bernie Thanks to knowing the “right” people, for once in my life, I was able to attend the dress rehearsal for Arthur Miller’s legendary play, Death of a Salesman, at Ford’s theater this past week. Set mostly in New York City in 1948, there is precious little difference between Willy Loman’s world […]

Watering Washington Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, Quartermaster General of the Union Army during the Civil War, was the brains and driving force behind the creation of the 12-mile long Washington Aqueduct system which supplies water to the city to this day. The 9-foot diameter brick and mortar conduit begins near Great Falls on the Potomac river […]

The Vietnam Veterans Wall, opened in 1982, is a shade under 500 feet long with over 58,000 names of those killed or missing etched into its shiny black panels. While other war memorials also list names, the Wall stands alone for its enveloping design and enormity. The names take center stage, a tidal wave of […]

This past Wednesday was a glorious day here in Washington with the sky cloudless and the temperature a sweet 75 degrees, a superb day to be out and about. Those familiar with DC will know that the city is full of trees and lushly landscaped with special spring and summer plantings and a huge variety […]

Out and About The snow is nearly melted from the other day’s surprise weather and the pace of the guiding season is picking up. To wit, some images from around town. Scaffolding is up at the Jefferson Memorial as they repair (at least) the interior lighting. Generally speaking, the major memorials are in poor condition […]

Sunset, Saturday, March 4, 2017

Last week I posted this beautiful image asking for ideas where it might be located. Today, the answer. The Second Infantry Division is known as “Indianhead” or 2ID. The Second was created in 1917 in France and fought at Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, the Aisne and Saint Mihiel. During WWII, they came ashore at Normandy and […]

My third career has made a walker of me, first for work and now for exercise and pleasure, as well. Though I never would have guessed it before, there are few places I need to go in the city that are farther away then a 75-minute brisk walk. If you would have asked me how […]