Washington DC Walkabout for Wednesday

about 3 years ago (Edited)

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. ~ Mark Twain

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I love my country, the United States, and crowded as it usually is, I love the Washington, DC Metro area. So much to see and do, although it can get hairy here with the politics, on a normal basis, it is an interesting place, offering up free concerts/events at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on their Millenial Stage at 6:30 pm every single night. Members of the National Symphony Orchestra will be playing chamber works in celebration of World Freedom Day, this Friday. I will be attending that, the only reason I know that one. To be honest, almost everything of the public nature is free here. The Smithsonian Museums, Art Museums, except private ones, usually have an entry fee.

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The Jefferson Memorial is always the right place and the perfect time.

"...I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800
(inscription under the dome)

Let's step into the day for our #WednesdayWalk with @tattoodjay, even though I am a day late and a dollar short. This particular challenge is a great way to get out shoot some photos, focus your thoughts, and see what you can see, giving in to a short distance to take a walk. Don't forget to look up and down, and all around. You never know what you might be missing! The walk down to the Tidal Basin brings me in view of the Jefferson Memorial, a beautiful piece of architecture on the Eastern Potomac River. It is dedicated to the third president of the United States and is the perfect place for a cup of coffee and your thoughts any morning. I can see the cherry trees that surround the Basin, almost leafless and unadorned, laying in wait for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, next spring turning this town into a crowded traffic jam for a month. Oh, beauty! Welcome to Washington, DC!

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Do you look up when you take a walk
Leaving the sidewalk for a peek at the trees
Craning your head, chin in the air
Do you look up when you begin to talk
Remembering to ponder what you will see
As you take this walk, this walk with me
Do you look up when you take a walk?

Supporting a long window, the architecture is a robustly-carved lion head. I love the artistry! Just beautiful.

A little further down Constitution Avenue is the Department of Commerce... Its reason in life is to function as a Cabinet in the government that promotes economic growth, mainly by creating jobs. Always looking up because there is something remarkable just waiting to be seen.

Walk on up to Constitution Avenue, where you would almost miss the Sculpture Garden if you weren't looking, I would have to say that the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is one of my favorite places to go ice skating, it is never too crowded. That is a huge bonus in my book. It is also not what I consider your typical sculpture garden but rather a garden of sculptures. Just look at the tree. A real sculpture.

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Joined together at the trunk, radiant in the polished winter shine. The gift of persistent shimmering, day or night, unites no truth to the alteration of its reality. Share their distinctive works of art — at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.

Walking the paths of Arlington National Cemetery has long been a place I love, despite its being a cemetery, I find peace walking within its confines.

Life is like a changing tree, with brilliant colored leaves
Beauty in each season with peaks of intense shows
Life is meant for living and delighting in each new day
Even as I watch the change
Before my very eyes
One by one I see them go
Until the branches release them all.

For years, Rolling Thunder participants all came together to pay tribute to the servicemen and women. Thousands of bikers rolled through the city on their motorcycles to show respect and say thank you to all of those who have served the country. They ended its run in the nation's capital in 2019, citing a lack of cooperation from Pentagon officials and “increased harassment to our supporters and sponsors.” To be fair, there was no motorcycles, just the memory of why they aren't here, however, I did walk the Memorial Bridge.

All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.

It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.

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The Washington Monument. Can you see where the building stopped during a war, then continued after the war ended with Different colored bricks? I want to thank @tattoodjay for hosting the #WednesdayWalk and ElizaChang for the #MakeMeSmile Challenge. Have an amazing day!

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The Naming of Cats

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

TS Elliot