Yesterday was the start of an intrusion and nightmare for the future, Obamacare. Government involvement in our health insurance and therefore our health care. Both Bob and I are without our plans at the start of the year. I truly dislike what they have done here and can truthfully say that I hate it. On the same day, the government has shut down because of this program and trying to fund the government overreach. I blame the President and Democrats for where we are though the Republicans don’t improve their brand either. Washington DC is a mess and it spills over on us with the power grabs.

Tags: Washington DC, Presidents

A sad day in Washington DC. There was a mass shooting at the Navy Yard in southeast DC. This area is close to the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium. I have not been there though Bob and David did see a baseball game there.Twelve people are dead and then the shooter was also killed in a gun battle. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families.

Tags: Disasters, Washington DC

It was very upsetting to hear that vandals splashed green paint on the Lincoln memorial statue and the granite around the it inside the larger Memorial building. This is such a wonderful, historical site in Washington DC. It is beyond criminal to do such damage to this spectacular part of U.S. history. Here is a link to a recent post on Lincoln and the Memorial.
Lincoln looking over his people at the Memorial

Scott at Lincoln’s statue (in memory of Abraham Lincoln) in July, 2007

Tags: Lincoln, Washington DC

The family all met down at the Lebanon IOOF cemetery yesterday to place flowers on the graves there. I have photos of the site that I will probably save to show in later years’ posts. Nicolas was curious about the headstones and who were the people associated with them. First Scott, then Grandpa Bob, and then I told him of his new found great and great-great grandparents he had acquired. The cemetery is always so beautiful yet solemn at this time of year.

Here are more photos from Washington D.C. and remembrances of honoring the dead and remembering the fallen.

From an Ace of Spades blog post………..

I have seen this ceremony more times than I can count. I never cease to be humbled by it, by the sentinels of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, US Army at Ft. Meyer. The Old Guard. 21 steps. Hurricanes. Snowstorms. Or the brutal summer heat in Virginia.
This tomb will always have a guard.

Vietnam War Memorial, 2007
“When I was a kid (1984 or so), we visited the Vietnam Memorial. I remember my dad searching for his fallen comrades. He looked in the book, found the panel, then I remember him tracing the names with his fingers, tears in his eyes.”
Read the full story here.

Tags: Photography, Memorials, Washington DC

If one cannot stay home and enjoy Memorial Day weekend with family, I believe one of the best and most special places to visit is Washington D.C. on Memorial Weekend. Watching Rolling Thunder ride into town. Well over 60,000 people on motorcycles roar onto D.C. streets. I will never forget watching these big men in leather jackets, looking tough and serious while shedding a tear at a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. Everyone should experience Memorial Day at this hallowed area at least once. It is unforgettable. Another spot that caught my heart was then going to the World War II Memorial and reading the testimonials left behind by sons or daughters written to their beloved fathers who served in that war. In memory of what military service people mean to us, please read this story here and also watch the video here. Please consider thanking a military person for their service at the next opportunity. They deserve our respect.




Arlington National Cemetery

Tags: Washington DC, Memorials