The Capital

I made it, no plane crash. I hate flying, so this was a big deal for me, but Oh, so worth it. Washington is fantastic, awesome, extraordinary. When I win the lottery I am so moving here. Plus, as a bonus, the DC United team was on the flight.



I walked from the hotel at 15th and Rhode Island down to the Mall Thursday morning. I made my way past the White House



and walked down the Mall past various memorials and the Washington Monument to The Wall. The memorial was emotionally overpowering. I stood there for awhile amid the crush of tourists and watched several groups find the names of loved ones on the Wall. People slowed to run their fingers over the names of the honored dead. My heart stops when I think of the over 2500 names that will someday be engraved on some future memorial to those killed in the War on Terror.
Next I took in the Lincoln Memorial. There were people from all over the world visiting this American version of a Greek temple, judging by the variety of languages I heard. All had come to pay homage to the great man who strove to

finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.