January 17, 2009

#9: In Virginia

The Battle of First Bull Run

We’re staying in Fairfax, Virginia now. Last night on our ride into the state we passed a freeway exit for a place called Manassas. By coincidence, or maybe not, I had just been reading about Manassas in the Civil War chapter of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to American History by Alan Axelrod “…When it began, the battle the South would call First Manassas and the North would call First Bull Run was a picnic. On July 21, 1861, Washington’s fashionable folk rode out to nearby Centreville, Virginia in carriages filled with baskets of food and bottles of wine. Through spy glasses they viewed the action three miles distant. The Union troops seemed similarly carefree as they marched to battle. They frequently broke ranks to pick blackberries.”

But by the end of the day, 2950 Union soldiers (North) and 1750 Confederate soldiers (South) were dead.

Sure doesn’t sound like much of a picnic.

Filed under: Inauguration,Politics,Teens — Tags: American History, Civil War, Manassas — Annie @ 8:34 pm

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#8: Obama mania

Popular photo spot in Union Station

Washington DC’s Union Station is the main terminal for Amtrak trains and the Metro. Busy place any time of year. But just days before the Inauguration, it’s swarming with tourists. They’re obviously here to be part of this moment in history and I’m guessing that they want to take a piece of it home with them when it’s all over.

The face of Barack Obama is everywhere… and everyone selling seems to be doing major business. People were even lining up to have their picture taken next to a life-size cutout of the President-elect. For the moment, in this place, it seems Obama is way bigger than Elvis, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical combined.

And we’re caught up in it too. (No, I haven’t bought a t-shirt yet… I already did that several months ago.)

Annie and David in front of Inauguration site, Capitol Building

We had our picture taken in front of the West Side of the Capitol where the Official Swearing-In Ceremony and Inaugural Address will take place on Tuesday. We know that we’re not even going to be able to see the building from our place on the National Mall, so we figured we’d get a photo of it before the really big crowds arrived. And we weren’t the only ones delighted to be standing in front of that historic backdrop in 12 degree weather. A couple was getting married!

The another couple who appeared to be married for at least half a century, snapped our picture (after we snapped one of them) They had come from Tennessee. Smile!

Capitol Building, preparations for the Inauguration. Notice the thousands of chairs in the foreground.

Filed under: Inauguration,Politics,Teens — Tags: Barack Obama, Inauguration, Obamamania — Annie @ 12:56 pm

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#7: A visit to the Library of Congress

Library of Congress main reading area

The tour guide at LOC said that after the library was completed in 1897, they had $6 million left over. Instead of returning the money to Congress, they decided to bring in a team of artistic masters to brighten the place up. And wow, they totally got their money’s worth!

In addition to being the world’s largest library and having the most books, films, posters, sheet music, maps, audio recording anywhere (130 million items), the LOC also has collections of random stuff donated from around the world. We’re talking baseball cards, personal letters from famous people, Native American cultural artifacts, musical instruments and on and on. When some rich lady heard that the Library of Congress had President Andrew Jackson’s flute in its collection, she wrote and asked, “Do you want my old flute?” To which the Library replied with the answer it always gives to such questions: “Why yes! Thank you!” And that’s how the LOC happens to have 2500 flutes in its collection.

Library of Congress reception area

Library of Congress columns and ceiling

Library of Congress ceiling

Filed under: Inauguration,Politics,Teens — Tags: Library of Congress — Annie @ 12:33 pm

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#6: A visit to the Supreme Court

Annie in front of the Supreme Court Building

I don’t mean to be harsh, but the young woman who gave us a lecture on the history of the Supreme Court was not yet ready for prime time. We wondered if she’d had any public speaking experience at all. Sure, she knew her facts about how many cert petitions the court receives each year (about 10,000) and who was the longest serving justice (John Marshall) and even how old the red British-made drapes were (74 years), but Ms. Mouse’s presentation, especially compared to Paul, was not good. Even with a microphone her timid, rapid-fire delivery was barely audible. On top of that, she kept flailing her arms as if she was trying to generate her own wind energy. And…

Wait a minute! I need to take a deep breath and quit venting. None of this is helpful. Not to Ms. Mouse or to you. I apologize. To both of you. We’ve all been in over our head and it’s scary. Just thinking about how she must have felt makes me sorry that I was so impatient. Before her next speech to a bunch of tourists, I hope she gets a chance to practice. Then she’ll be more confident and I’m sure she’ll do a much better job.

Entry area for the Supreme Court Building

Anyway, the place is impressive. Particularly because despite the actual courtroom being rather small, the decisions that come down from the 9 justices often affect American life in profound and lasting ways.

My take-away from our visit was that anyone can petition to have his or her case heard by the Supreme Court. You don’t need a fancy, high-priced attorney representing you. You don’t even need an attorney at all! In fact, the Court sometimes receives hand-written petitions from ordinary folks… even prisoners in jail. But the motto of the court is “Equal Justice Under the Law” so every petition is treated with the same level of respect and given equal consideration. Now that’s fair!

P.S. Interested in the law? Check this out!