Much is happening in Washington D.C. this month. We’ll have a new President and Cabinet. And my brother is going on vacation there this weekend.
We lived outside DC for three years, from when I was a young teen. My brother was in grade school at the time. Our parents dragged us to every memorial and museum on weekends, to Monticello, Georgetown and Mount Vernon. I hated it, but visited the new Hirshorn museum on my own with a girlfriend (same one born on the same day and time as me) shortly after we moved away.
So brother Kevin probably didn’t remember much of some of the experiences we saw. He has an astounding “to do” list of art museums and national treasures to see during his brief visit. I hope he can prioritize it and do what he really wants most this trip, plus eat good food and Mike from Notions Capital is helping with a few neighborhood places. Please check out his blog. Our interests align on several issues (politics, food, Buffalo NY and Tim Russert, and people parks that allow off-leash dogs) so he’s a great guy and has far more hits than I, but mine is a specialty blog.
What would I see if I went back now? The Library of Congress. The Lincoln Memorial, yet again, because it makes me proud to be an American. The Vietnam Memorial, to remind me of the horrors of war. The FBI, if they even do those tours anymore after 9/11 simply because it’s informative and cool. The Smithsonian, stuff I missed after the Air and Space Museum and First Ladies’ inaugural gowns. Hey, I was a kid! The AME church where we drove from NY to celebrate the first-ever Martin Luther King Day. That’s just off the top of my head. I would hire a taxi to drive us around the city to see the most famous landmarks. And I’d save time to go perhaps to Philadelphia and New York for a few days, perhaps Boston as well, to try to get a glimpse of who we were and why we fought to be who we are today.
Today, as the USA finally gains a foothold in our culinary traditions, our national history is often forgotten. The Bill of Rights (#1) is in danger of being forgotten by both politicians and the people. I am pleased and proud to have been born in the USA. With war and the economy in crisis, now is a time to renew our faith in our country, our people, our troops on the ground.
So, Kevin, you have a big task ahead of you. When you visit Monticello, think not only of me but our nation. Dee
Cooking with Dee 