My Other Summer Vacation

We flew to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning hoping to help the President celebrate his birthday (in person). Alas, no luck, but celebrate we did.

What a great country despite the ongoing prejudice, sexism, poverty, and political parties who are so ignorant that they can see neither the stupidity nor the lying it takes to equate this President - MY President - and his policies - with Nazi F--king Germany and the horrors they systematically forced on the world. How do you explain to the 13 year old that there is no "good" war; that noble causes are rarely as noble as put forth; and that human beings are capable of such an extraordinary range of evil and good.

I spent half of the day choked up or in tears because of -get this - the juxtaposition of WWII and the Vietnam War and whatever it is we are calling Iraq and Afghanistan, and then seeing an exhibition of Norman Rockwell drawings and paintings and then spending 3 1/2 hours at the Holocaust Museum.

This is the most astonishing place. Revolutionary War, Founding Fathers, Civil War, War, War, War, and scattered in between the remarkable stories of fellow human beings who want to live freely.
Tomorrow we tour the Capitol itself, and will spend most of the rest of the day at Smithsonian sites.