SwitchSwitch to white text on black.Switch to black text on white.
Draplin Design Co., North America
October 09, 2004
DDC 50: Day 20, Washington DC
Posted at 11:46 PM

DAY20.gif

The United States National Archives is a �must stop and check it out� sort of deal for all who pass through Washington D.C. Mandatory viewing for all citizens, hell, all humans. I WILL NEVER FORGET looking down at that Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, behind the glass, the original documents upon which are country was founded, and rest today. Heavy pieces of paper, those are. Gazing down, looking at the founding fathers� names and the almost surreal/divine quality of those words�feeling thankful and patriotic for the life I have been so lucky to lead, it can be a bit overwhelming. I almost broke into song, or did a cartwheel, or saluted something, or, well, let�s just say it really gets you whipped up and I for one, find myself very proud to be an American, even with all the things that make me sick to my stomach nowadays going on.

The original documents. The best. Mindblowing. Inspiring. Good work.

And coming out of that historic archive, glowing with pride and patriotism, I couldn�t help but look down Pennsylvania Avenue and get fired up�really fired up�at that White House and the buffoon at the wheel. Being so close to the source, it�s almost painful to know that such a shame is calling the shots at the highest level of power. A silver spoon cowboy. Yay.

It made me sick to my stomach, to be so ashamed of our leadership, and so afraid of what might come next with Bush on top. I want to be proud. I want to have faith in my/our America, again. Give it back to us.

D.C. was a powerful stop for me. I hope that fucker gets voted out. I hope hope hope.

- - - -

The Holocaust Musuem was somber, sad and more or less leaves you feeling very empty. Man, the sheer enormity of it all is just too overwhelming to put into words. Never again, I’d hope.

- - - -

After a very busy morning we did manage to get in a good hour at the Museum of Natural History. Lots of stuffed shit, and some big-ass dinosaurs. Love those dinosaurs, always have. Compared to the aging, dilapidated Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Washington offering comes off as modern, clean and respectful. My favorites were the swordfish skeleton (jeepers!), the brown bear, the living black widows in the insect section, and of course, the 8� bird spider. That is a big spider. Imagine that shit under yer covers. Eight inches in diameter! Take a piece of �letter� paper, make it into a 8.5� x 8.5� square and there you go. Fuck. The thorax was the size of a 8-year-old�s fist. Yikes.

- - - -

After much viewing, we jumped on the expressway and headed due south for Colonial Williamsburg. We hit Richmond a little while later, passed it up quickly and headed down towards Norfolk. We made it to Williamsburg, locked down a Motel 6 and called it a night over a late-nite meal at Friendly�s family restaurant. Harmless eats, harmless. Whitney did some soup and salad, I had a sandwich. All was right in our little road-worn world.