imported_mosborn9
New member
Sitting here today thinking about the cruise my family will be taking in a couple of weeks over Presidents Day, I began to wonder how this vacation could possibly top last year. Our family vacation last year was a rekindling of spirit and hope for me personally.
Last year I got to tour the White house where history is made. I walked through the halls of our Capitol were the decisions are made everyday that affect millions. I got to view the highest court in the land and witness where individuals can protest peacefully without risking bodily harm. I got to see where George Washington himself probably sat while looking out over the Potomac from a hill at Mt Vernon. I got to walk through the bedroom where Abraham Lincoln took his last breath on this earth. I got to see hills and valleys of white crosses where our Nations heroes are laid to rest. I cried in front of the eternal flame of JFK and wondered what might have been. I stood on the very spot where Martin Luther King made his famous “I have a dream� speech. I got to celebrate our Nations birthday on the 4th of July by watching the parade and fireworks show on the mall. I got to see where Pierre L'Enfant laid out the city of Washington from a view inside the Washington Monument. I got to see more money than I will ever acquire roll off printing presses from inside the Federal Reserve building. I got to stand in front of all 19ft of Abraham Lincoln and view Jefferson in the rotunda. I wept silently while viewing the names of the young men who gave their lives in Vietnam. I got to view our National Cathedral which stores the tomb of Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller. I got to view our beautiful flag flowing gently in the wind at night immortalizing the Marines at Iwa Jima. I watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and realized brothers in arms do everything humanly possible to protect each other and bring the bodies of those that don’t make it home. I got to see planes, rocket ships and even touch moon rock in the Air and Space museum. I got to stand inches away from our Constitution that is the framework for our democracy and imagine the ideals and principles these men must have had. I got to see the Gutenberg Bible in the Library of Congress and marvel at the handwork, time, and patience it took the Monks to write it.
I have only scratched the surface of the things I got to see and experience on my vacation to Washington D.C. My life is richer by going and I can only hope my children’s lives are richer as well. Now hopefully when they study about our American Constitution they will not think of it in terms of some worn out document some men signed many years ago.
I’ve never served in the military and in many ways I regret not doing so. I salute all those that have and continue to serve. I realize Freedom is not Free. It has been paid for in blood at Yorktown, Antietam, Korea, Vietnam, Pearl Harbor, Iwa Jima, Afghanistan, New York, Iraq and hundreds of other places.
I realize we have many problems in our nation today; healthcare, corporate crime, protecting our citizens, lobbyists, education, the disparity between rich and poor, crime, and drugs just to name a few. However, after my trip I’m hopeful that middle America (not left and not right) will preserve and continue to be a beacon for other nations.
Last year I got to tour the White house where history is made. I walked through the halls of our Capitol were the decisions are made everyday that affect millions. I got to view the highest court in the land and witness where individuals can protest peacefully without risking bodily harm. I got to see where George Washington himself probably sat while looking out over the Potomac from a hill at Mt Vernon. I got to walk through the bedroom where Abraham Lincoln took his last breath on this earth. I got to see hills and valleys of white crosses where our Nations heroes are laid to rest. I cried in front of the eternal flame of JFK and wondered what might have been. I stood on the very spot where Martin Luther King made his famous “I have a dream� speech. I got to celebrate our Nations birthday on the 4th of July by watching the parade and fireworks show on the mall. I got to see where Pierre L'Enfant laid out the city of Washington from a view inside the Washington Monument. I got to see more money than I will ever acquire roll off printing presses from inside the Federal Reserve building. I got to stand in front of all 19ft of Abraham Lincoln and view Jefferson in the rotunda. I wept silently while viewing the names of the young men who gave their lives in Vietnam. I got to view our National Cathedral which stores the tomb of Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller. I got to view our beautiful flag flowing gently in the wind at night immortalizing the Marines at Iwa Jima. I watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and realized brothers in arms do everything humanly possible to protect each other and bring the bodies of those that don’t make it home. I got to see planes, rocket ships and even touch moon rock in the Air and Space museum. I got to stand inches away from our Constitution that is the framework for our democracy and imagine the ideals and principles these men must have had. I got to see the Gutenberg Bible in the Library of Congress and marvel at the handwork, time, and patience it took the Monks to write it.
I have only scratched the surface of the things I got to see and experience on my vacation to Washington D.C. My life is richer by going and I can only hope my children’s lives are richer as well. Now hopefully when they study about our American Constitution they will not think of it in terms of some worn out document some men signed many years ago.
I’ve never served in the military and in many ways I regret not doing so. I salute all those that have and continue to serve. I realize Freedom is not Free. It has been paid for in blood at Yorktown, Antietam, Korea, Vietnam, Pearl Harbor, Iwa Jima, Afghanistan, New York, Iraq and hundreds of other places.
I realize we have many problems in our nation today; healthcare, corporate crime, protecting our citizens, lobbyists, education, the disparity between rich and poor, crime, and drugs just to name a few. However, after my trip I’m hopeful that middle America (not left and not right) will preserve and continue to be a beacon for other nations.