I love how in the heart of the Capital of the United States of America, we have the vast lawn known as "The Mall" - - granted, its been getting so much traffic that the lawn is looking a lot like an over worn football field. I love it - - I love the ability go go from cement jungle just a block away to lush green gardens. All of the Smithsonian museums have gardens in their courtyards. Above, the Smithsonian Castle garden that big office building is the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Below, some of the detailed areas of the garden.
This is a courtyard at one of the art museums. I don't remember which one. Chains prevent visitors from walking out into the courtyard. Guess they don't want people throwing coins in the fountain or (bleck!) getting too close to the box wood. The only 'nice' thing I can say about boxwood is you can sculpt it - - other than that, I think it is smelly.
Along 'The Mall' side of the Smithsonian Castle is a gorgeous rose garden. So many varieties!
Near the sculpture garden, a shady retreat from the harsh sunshine and humidity.
All along the walls were different garden areas, each with different featured flowers. I liked this area because of the colorful bird houses.
I gotta tell you, nothing de-stresses me quicker than a nice walk through a beautiful garden.
Oh, tourist tip I want to share about DC. The cleanest bathrooms are in the Art Museums because they are the least visited, well the smaller Art Museums, anyway.
Doesn't that just look like an entrance to a fairy tale garden. It was amazing! The garden was a DuPont familiy improvement. It was smaller than what the Madisons' would have had. The big difference for the DuPonts', they grew flowers in this garden, the Madisons' would have grown fruits and vegetables.
Yes, I was making my visit at high noon on a very sunny day.
I love this lion. He looks like he wants to frolick and play. His brother was on the other side of the stairs.
He doesn't look so bothered that he can't go and play. Its like he's telling the first one, "Hey, its o.k. when the fairy magic comes back, we can play again."
By the way, can I just tell you that I HATE boxwood. The bush smells like stinky wet feet. Bleck! It just makes me want to gag! Of course no one else in my family could smell anything. But look at that glorious garden that stinky boxwood path leads to. I just loved all of the Irises and Peonies. I wish I had a yard this big to accommodate a garden like this. My dad of course commented on the wonderful mowing job - - he should know, in his retirement from 30 years of teaching, he mows the golf course at the Country Club.
Does anyone know what the following flowers are? I want to plant a couple of these in my side yard garden.
I also absolutely love Peonies. I want to plant them in my side yard garden also. I really liked this particular pink variety.
The most exciting thing for me on my recent visit to Montpelier, the estate of the 4th President of the United States, was that I could see a historic home being restored to its original state. You can check out the Restoration Blog here.
Restoring Montpelier to the way it was when James Madison and his wife Dolley lived there was not easy feat. The Estate had been purchased in the early 1900s by the DuPont family and they proceeded to add two additional wings as well as second floors over the existing wings of the Madison home. In the picture below, you can part of what remains of the DuPont addition and that is just a small part of what was there. This DuPont remnant is used as a carpentry shop.
You can see a video and photos of what the home looked like as the Madison's added to it and what it looked like as they demolished the DuPont additions here.
When the home was originally built by James Madison's father, it consisted of half of what you see (the right half). After James married Dolley, he built a mirror image half to the left. The center door was not there while the two Madison families were in residence. So, yes, it was a duplex. After the deaths of Jame's parents he created a central hall, connected the two sides from inside and inserted the central front door.
Below is a side and back view of the house.
Since this is on the National Historical registry, I couldn't take photos inside to show you what they were doing. However, their blog shows you the steps they've been taking to bring the home back to its original 1830 grandeur.
Amazingly, many of the original panels, doors, windows and mantels had been recycled by the DuPonts in other parts of the house so they have truly been able to restore it to its original condition. What they didn't have originally, for instance marble from one of the fire places, they were able to find the quarry in England where the marble was quarried and even the same vein from which is was cut to get a replacement. They had a lot of lucky things like that fall in place for them.
Ok, now for the Marine Corps connection. That tree, that's it.
Its a Cedar of Lebanon and the Marines brought it back from their mission against the Barbary Pirates and presented it to James Madison as a gift. At the time, when the Marines led by Lt. Presley O'Bannon were sent to free US ships captured by the pirates, Madison was the Secretary of State. Apparently, he recommended the Marines be sent - - they were after all, the Delta Force of the day.
This past weekend, I was exhausted, but I still went in to the museum to volunteer, they had 600+ OCS candidates in the morning. My final act, was to relieve a fellow docent at the Iwo flag and I have no idea why I started telling the guests that were there about the final Bonzai attack on Iwo. Only, I didn't call it a Bonzai attack, I called it a Kamakazi attack. Good grief. They were looking at me as if to say, "What are you talking about?"
This is what I was trying to tell them about -- ( from Wikipedia) - - what I told them - - garbage.
On the night of March 25, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final counterattack in the vicinity of Airfield Number 2. Army pilots, Seabees and Marines of the 5th Pioneer Battalion and 28th Marines fought the Japanese force until morning but suffered heavy casualties—more than 100 were killed and another 200 Americans were wounded. The island was officially declared "secured" the following day.
Although still a matter of speculation because of conflicting accounts from surviving Japanese veterans, it has been said that Kuribayashi led this final assault,[1] which unlike the loud banzai charge of previous battles, was characterised as a silent attack. If ever proven true, Kuribayashi would have been the highest ranking Japanese officer to have personally led an attack during World War II. Additionally, this would also be Kuribayashi's final act of departure from the normal practice of the commanding Japanese officers committing seppuku behind the lines while the rest perished in the banzai charge, as happened during the battles of Saipan and Okinawa. _______________
After my morning at the museum, I came home and took a 3 hour nap Boy did I need it! I still need more sleep. I don't think I will ever catch up.
Lesson - - don't talk military history when you are tired and hungry.
As you know, when I notice new things, I like showing them to you. There is just so much to see in the National Museum of the Marine Corps. You can't and won't be able to see it all.
Being a regular, you get used to things being a certain way. A lighting level, particular items being in a case, or a display. It is amazing how quickly you notice changes. Or maybe I'm just sensitive. Saturday, the Iwo Jima gallery was darker than usual. The other docent said it was usually that dark. No, not THAT dark. I quickly noticed a string of overhead lights that had not turned on.
Well, we've had some empty cases for over two years. Then all of a sudden, artifacts started to appear.
For instance, these Japanese personal items collected by Marines on Iwo Jima. I don't think US Servicemen can smuggle swords and rifles back in their personal gear any more. Since I am a picture person, I find the personal photographs to be the most interesting. The enemy is always demonized, yet the enemy is no different than we are. There are wives that the men knew they would never see, proud fathers the young men wished to honor by their service, and siblings - a brother - who was also serving in the emperor's army. Memories of stolen kisses, family dinners, boyhood pranks played with a co-conspirator. I wonder how often the owners of these photos looked at them and thought to the days before the war?
In the Korean gallery they have added some items that Marines would have been equipped with while landing at Inchon. That big chunk of rock, part of the sea wall.
Artifacts belonging to Marine Corps leadership at the Inchon landing fill another case. The ribbons on the right, "Chesty" Puller's Korean War awards and his pipe. The map in the back ground is an Inchon landing map and in the middle of the case is an action report about the Inchon landing.
Work continues in Semper Fi Memorial Park, it hasn't changed significantly enough for me to post the pictures I have taken. They are building the road to the chapel before they start anything with the chapel. Construction on the chapel is to begin this fall and should be completed in the spring. Construction on the new galleries is also to begin this fall.
I don't watch much television (um, none at all unless its on while I'm at the gym, which has been next to never the last two months because of work) so I had not seen this commercial but I read about this ad in the New York Times Op Ed section this morning.
This ad is being aired in my home state of Ohio.
The one thing that hit me when reading the op ed piece was, this could have been my mom years ago. This is my sister today. Several years ago, when my nephew as 2, he was fascinated with the pictures I was putting in my scrapbook from the Museum. This was all restoration stuff, up close looks at a lot of aircraft. Nephew sat with me, like all 2 year olds and had me tell him what all the aircraft and weapons were, over and over. By the end of the week, my nephew could ID a UH1E, CH-53, CH-46, Harrier, F-18, and anti-aircraft gun. My sister's comment to me, "If he grows up and joins the military, I'm going to kill you."
My family is not pro-military, nor are they anti-military - - they could just care less.
Yes, I'm a bit of an anomaly. Ironically, my dad, a history teacher, took us to visit Civil War battle fields when we were kids - - getting me interested in military related history. They encouraged me when I read every book about the Vietnam War that was in our Smalltown library. However, when I talked about joining the military, out came all the arguments why I shouldn't and why I wouldn't be a good soldier, sailor or marine. Instead of encouragement, they fed my mind with insecurities and doubts. I think they also looked at my joining the military as a failure on their part to provide. Because the only kids in Smalltown, Ohio that went into the military were the ones who 1) didn't have the money for college or 2) had no other options.
Ironically, I am probably one of the few kids that went to college a liberal and graduated a conservative.
To this day, I regret not joining the military, even if just for a short time.
My family is luke warm about my time at the Marine Corps Museum. I've tried showing my dad pictures of something only to have him say, "I'm kind of sick of military stuff." O.k. it was the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where military stuff was front and center on the news. The fact that I work for a defense contractor brings offhanded jabs. I tried inviting my parents down for a family weekend at work, but they declined. However, they've had no problem driving further south to my sister's to attend things at UVA. Do I feel slighted. Yes, I'll be honest. But it is what it is.
My mom recently commented, "You spend to much time at that Marine Museum, you need a life."
"THAT" Marine Museum. Holy cow, that is like saying "THOSE people."
I have a life. I enjoy the time I spend at the museum and the people I meet, the things I learn. However, this past month, I've struggled with that comment she made. My friends from church were so surprised that my mom made that comment, "Don't they see how you light-up when you talk about it? You really come alive." Her comment has really deflated me. I'm struggling to choose not to let it suck the enjoyment I have out of it.
My parents continue to say, "Not our kids."
The op/ed's author quotes the comments of a soldier's mom, "Does that mean that she wants other people's sons to keep the wolves at bay so that her son can live a life of complete narcissism? What is it she thinks happens in the world?... Someone has to stand between society and danger. If not my son, then who? If not little Alex then someone else will have to stand and deliver."
All I have to say, is, it is a hard life and I respect the men and women who choose that career path. MoveOn.Org is so lucky to have such a strong military backing their right to free speech.
That was the comment an Officer Candidate made to me Saturday. He and two other candidates asked me how to get into a particular gallery and I showed them the "secret door" short-cut.
I gotta tell you, I would hate to be a female candidate. The female drill instructors were really riding these women. Holy cow! I observed one female candidate get "talked to" and the candidate, fighting back tears, had to stand and say how she had messed up.
The men got it just as bad. I asked one officer if he was going to tell his group about the Huey he said he'd gather them up and let me tell them. To one guy he says, "Are you part of my group." The candidate didn't answer correctly. The officer said, "Its yes or no. Are you part of my group? Yes, or no."
For some reason the song Paradise by the Dashbaord Lights just flashed through my head..."Whats it going to be boy, Yes......Or....NO!?"
I wonder how many candidates are praying for the end of time - - or at least the end of the summer. I also wonder how many will choose to be Marine Corps Officers.
I can't believe it! Someone hit me with their car AGAIN!
This happens to me EVERY YEAR!!!! I was driving down an aisle in the grocery store parking lot, was stopped behind a car that was turning left and then BAM! A guy in a Nissan Xterra backed into me. That in itself wasn't so bad I mean it was upsetting. What really made me mad, while I was getting this guys information, a lady across the aisle came out and got in her car - - and she couldn't back out of her spot because my car was in her way. She's yelling, "What the hell is goinging on, why are you stopped?" Some man yells, "I don't know why they are stopped their just standing there talking, pretty rude."
OMGoodness! I yelled back at the lady that I had just been backed into and I was getting the information. She threw up all these hand gestures. So o.k. I had to move my car. What a bitch! All I'm going to say is, what comes around, goes around. However, I'm not quite sure why I keep having people back into me or rear end me EVERY YEAR.
What really stinks. I called one of the leaders for Single's Sunday school to tell her that I wasn't coming in this morning. I was going to go to church and go home to go back to bed. I was EXHAUSTED this morning. I was EXHAUSTED yesterday and took a three hour nap. I felt bad calling at the last minute because they don't have anyone who can run the Power Point. This morning I just felt like I had hit the brick wall. So after church I went to the grocery store on the way home and this happened.
Oh, USAA doesn't have weekend hours. You have to go online and file a claim or wait until Monday. The other guy had USAA insurance too. Well, USAA is having this new online security thing where you have to get a pin number, but you have to have a temporary pin number in order to get the new pin number - - Was this sent to me? Is this some number I already have? ARGH! I'm going to have to wait til Monday morning to call them, which is going to be difficult as I'm teaching a training class.
Here is the one thing I'm the most worried about, that I didn't get all the information that I needed to get.
That was my dilema today at the museum. Explaining a Combined Action Platoon (CAP) to an 8-year old.
Why was I doing this. Well, he asked.
It started out with me over hearing him say to his dad, "Wow! look at that." While looking up at the UH1E (Huey) outside the Vietnam gallery. I told them the story behind the helicopter (flown by Steven Pless, he and his air crew, highest decorated air crew in Marine Corps aviation history). To that the little boy says, "That was one cool story!" Then he pointed to the CAP team display and asked me if this had anything to do with the Huey story.
So - - the explanation of what a Combined Action Platoon is. My attempt:
This is a Combined Action Platoon. You have a US Marine that had trained local Vietnameese on how to defend their village, kind of like a National Guard (no slight to any USNG folks out there, I know you do more than defend your local towns). Then I said, "During this big attack by the bad guys called the Tet Offensive, the villages that had CAPs teams were not taken over by the bad guys."
His parents were amused at listening to me try to explain this too their son. I think he got half of what I was talking about.
One of the other docents said they would have explained it as a Sheriff in the wild west with his posse and how they protected the towns from robbers.
The largest Officer Candidate School (OCS) class since the Vietnam war is visiting the museum, in shifts, over the next couple weeks.
Thanks to an 8 hour floating holiday that I had to use or lose, I was able to help out with Friday night's visit. We had about 400 candidates come through. The first group, got quick overview tours. We, the docents, made our plans on the fly. There were three of us and four platoons of them. We each took a platoon and the fourth was spilt up by squad to the other platoons. The plan, one docent would take his group in the galleries from the beginning of Marine Corps History, the other would start in Leatherneck and I would start at the end (Vietnam) and then come out to Leatherneck.
Best laid plans did not work.
When I finished, the group in Leatherneck was still in Leatherneck. So I took everyone into Korea. Amazingly, I timed it just right and when we were done in Korea, the first group going through Legacy just passed us and the other group was coming up the hall, so I had my group pile on in to WW2 where I quickly walked them through. When we came out, the second group was just walking by. So I took my guys down to WW1 and out to Leatherneck Gallery. Whew! It was a bit of scrambling.
One thing that I found kind of cool, here was little old me, non-Marine, standing in the middle of a circle of an entire, all-male, platoon of 20-somethings, future Marine Corps officers, in utilities, all of them listening to me educate THEM on Marine Corps history. Kind of wild. Oh, and forgive me for that run-on sentence.
Today, an additional 250 came through and next week we'll have two groups of 400-plus each.
Yes, that's around 1600 Marine Corps Officers in the making. Not all of them will be graduating from OCS this summer, some are part of the Platoon Leadership Class (PLC). These are college students who go through 6 weeks of training in the summer between their junior and senior years of college and then finish up with the final six weeks the summer after they graduate from college.
The fun thing about giving these young men tours, they knew some stuff and they asked me questions - - some got longer answers than they wanted - -because I just got so excited about what they were asking me. History excites me. Being able to weave general world history into the Marine Corps story makes it come a live.
On that line, one of the Drill Instructors (and they don't call them drill instructors at OCS, however, I forgot the new title) asked me if I enjoyed working at the museum.
I told him I loved volunteering. He was surprised that we are volunteers, not paid staff. He was even more surprised to learn that I was not a Marine. I asked him what he did in the Marine Corps. Infantry. I asked him if he had been to Iraq, he had, the first battle for Fallujah. I mentioned I had read the book No True Glory. He said, he is in that book. I asked him where and what he did. He told me he is in the middle of the book, that he had won a pretty big award for his action. Of course, I go and ask, "What did you do." To that he replied he didn't like talking about it because he felt like he was bragging.
"I'll just have to look you up in the book." I said, "What is your name?"
"Sagredo."
I told him I actually liked listening to veterans stories because it made things seem more real for me, especially if I was meeting a real person I had read about. There is something personal about meeting the flesh and blood person. I mean words are so two dimensional. When you meet the PERSON, you've got a face, if you shook hands, you've actually touched them.
Now, I know I've mentioned this before. Sometimes I feel guilty after talking to a family member or a veteran - - because at the museum, I am just beaming. I love it here. I love telling the stories about the "things" and about the people I've learned about and met. However, often times, the stories and people they remember, are associated with probably the worst experience of their lives. I've had WW2, Korean and Vietnam veterans break down in tears in my arms because they remember the friends they lost and how they lost them; amputees and severally injured marines solemnly tell me about how they got blown up and the corpsman who saved their lives; family members who tell me of the loss of their child. It can be very emotionally draining at times.
I felt a little bad, because as Sagredo began telling me his story, I felt like I should be remembering it from having read it. I have found that so many of the stories start to melt together and I have a hard time remembering names and situations. I did go home and look up Sagredo's story, pages 148 through 154 of No True Glory. As soon as I started reading it again, I remembered it because what had stood out to me was the death of the Amtrac's crew chief, CPL Kevin Kolm. An RPG had penetrated the vehicle from one of the rear tracs, severely wounding the platoon commander and lodging into the engine, which burst into flame, trapping Kolm. They were deep in enemy territory, had to evacuate the vehicle and take cover in a home. 16 Marines, half of them wounded, had to fend off over 100 insurgents, for several hours. When help finally arrived, the Marines in the house were literally down to their last bullets.
I felt more guilty today after finding additional news articles about that day and how emotional it was for him to receive the Silver Star (third highest award for valor). He didn't want the award because according to one of the articles, it would remind him of that day. It was a day he thought it was going to come down to hand-to-hand combat, they might not survive it, he may never see his wife and children again. I don't want people to be thinking about the worst day of their life.
However, I will fall back to what Norm Hatch told his fellow Iwo Jima veterans, "You are doing your service and disservice if you don't tell your children and grandchildren your story."
I think it is very important for combat tested Marines to share their experiences with new recruits and officer candidates. Some of the officer candidates have seen combat, and they are a wealth of information for the "green" guys who haven't. You can go around being all macho, but when reality hits, you are, in the words of an Iwo Jima veteran, "So scared I didn't go to the bathroom for three days," and you do what you have to do. In some cases, some people perform beyond what anyone could have expected, while others, not so much.
It is the Sargredos in this world that I am grateful for, and others like him who haven't been recognized. They and their families make great sacrifices daily to provide folks like me with the freedoms we take for granted. I can also say, I won't forget his story.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps unveiled a new promotional video for docents to take out to show veterans groups, school groups and other organizations. I asked if this was something that I could upload to my blog and I was told that I could!
Wooo hooo!
I am so excited to share the following promo video produced for the National Museum of the Marine Corps! Besides the docents and staff at the museum, you are are part of the first outside group to see this.
If you haven't come for a visit, hope you can make it soon!
What is the Globe and Laurel? It is a restaurant owned by retired Marine Rick Spooner and his wife. Originally, it was located in historic Quantico Town but burned down. Its last location was on Rt. 1 in Triangle, Virginia, just north of the main gate to Quantico Marine Corps base. The Globe and Laurel is a museum in its own right to the Marine Corps and to law enforcement agencies. Why law enforcement? That is because the FBI academy is also located at Quantico and with many FBI agents and other law enforcement officers being former Marine Corps or military, they felt comfortable at the establishment surrounded by military paraphernalia.
The walls of the Globe and Laurel were covered with framed shadow boxes containing swords, military insignia and law enforcement patches as well as photographs.
And then, the Virginia Department of Transportation decided to widen Rt. 1. The Globe and Laurel would have to make way for additional traffic lanes.
Spooner relocated to the site of the former "Philly's" restaurant, south of the Marine base's south entrance. After a great deal of renovation (they pretty much gutted the place), The Globe and Laurel has re-opened. I missed the grand opening on Tuesday, an invitation had been extended to docents who have worked the most hours at the museum (clearly I'm working too much and volunteering too much). I wasn't able to attend the grand re-opening because I was working (that darn day job - - I need to win the lottery already!).
The photo above shows the new location.
The new location is twice the size of the former location, with much more parking available. For those who had ever been to the old Philly's (I had gone last year with docents after our awards dinner), it looks completely different. Its a nice sit-down restaurant with the small town feel. There is definitely more wall space for more Marine Corps and Military paraphernalia.
Here I am with several of my fellow museum docents. By the way, the mug the guy in front of me is holding is not a Globe and Laurel mug, its his own. Yes, you can bring your own mug, and you can leave it hanging on a hook over the bar, should you intend to be a regular.
And the important stuff - - how is the food? The dinner menu selection is limited, and that is o.k. Why have a bunch of o.k. choices when you can do a few great choices. I had the prime rib. It was done just right! The crab cakes got good reviews as did the onion soup. The lunch menu includes burgers, the dinner menu does not.
It was so nice to have a day off yesterday and it is so calming to come home to a clean house (well almost - - still have to tackle the dining room table). Today, I even got to come home at 6 p.m. Haven't done that in a long time. I almost didn't know what to do with myself.
I played with the cats for a bit. They are totally into playing with this piece of plastic strap that had bound a package I received a few months ago. Stryker carries it around with him but likes it much more when I make this "Invisible snake" move for him. All three love it. Ranger turns into a little kitten, ears forward, facial hair all fluffed up.
We had a meeting today to talk strategy on testing and where we were. Its going to be a busy summer. My manager spoke with me a couple days ago after everyone else had left. She wanted to know if I'd be o.k. with one of the newly hired analysts taking on the leadership role of the functional team. I guess she felt that since I was the more senior that I might be offended by the choice. I looked right at her and said, "I have no desire to be in management, I like being a worker bee. I hate meetings and all the paper work you guys have to do. So, I'm totally fine with it." I almost gave her a Dan Daily quote that he supposedly said when offered an officer's commission - - "Why would I want to be an average officer when I can be an outstanding NCO." I don't think she would have understood (first) what an NCO was and (second) the difference between and NCO and an officer.
Well, the guy that is helping me test is who they want me to groom to take on the lead role with this piece of software once we implement. Its a relief really, but its hard to let go. For the past 9 months, I've been nurturing this and suffering through the growing pains of figuring out how it works. Its my baby. And right now, the scariest realization for me, I am the only one who really has ALL the functional knowledge about why it works the way it works. I've got to pass the torch. I need to let go and let him test it all out so I can work on the training material - - and actually go out and teach users next month. OMGoodness next month! Ahhhhh!
Once the software deploys, he and I will be the experts the rest of the team will come to when users have problems. So we'll be really busy in the fall too. After things calm down, I will be moving to a new task on my current project. That is how I like things.
However, having the day off and getting to come home at a 'normal' hour, it really hit home how I let my job take over my life. Brad and I met for lunch a couple weeks ago. I had just received my 10-year anniversary pearls so I wore them proudly. He asked me if I was were I wanted to be.
"No, not really," was my reply.
He wanted to know if I hadn't been promoted or given growth opportunities.
I told him I've been given a lot of opportunities and have grown a lot and make a lot of money. But in some respects, I feel like I am still in the same place I was 10 years ago. By this I meant, many of the people I had started out with 10 years ago are now married with children. A lot of the women, who were my friends are not stay at home moms or are just working part-time. I'm still doing the career grind. For me, a family is much more important than a career but that just hasn't been in the cards for me.
"It'll happen for you," he said.
Does a man have any clue how that makes a woman they have broken up with feel when they say that?
"No, the reality of it is, it may not," I replied. SOB, here I was proudly showing off my pearls and now I was struggling to hold back tears.
I know that God's plan is to prosper me and not harm me. My singleness is best for me at this moment, because if it weren't, God would have made it so I wasn't single. I just wonder what awaits me in the next 10 years.
Don't know if anyone outside the Washington, DC area heard about the wild thunderstorms and tornadoes we got yesterday. It was pretty cool and scary all at the same time.
It all started rolling in around 3:00 p.m. When I went to microwave my lunch I noticed in the sky light that the sky was getting dark. When I emerged from the kitchen, the secretary exclaimed "Oh My!" I looked out the window to see the trees thrashing around violently as the sound of pounding rain drops hitting the sky light. (yes, I was eating lunch at 3 p.m. - - I had stuff I had to take care of so eating and going to the bathroom were put on hold for most of the day). I walked back to my desk with my lunch, we sit in a windowless area, and told everyone that a really bad storm was rolling in. As if on queue, the lights began to flicker.
By the way, why do women always scream when the lights flicker on and off?
I can tell you, I've never experienced the flickering lights. Its only something I've seen watching horror movies. Someone did comment that it was reminding them of the Exorcist.
Everyone was quickly trying to save thing on the computers and then POP! We were engulfed in complete darkness. Where the heck were the emergency lights?
It was so dark outside that light from the sky light and from the window by the conference room wasn't penetrating over our cubicle walls. I think the last time I had experienced that kind of darkness was when I toured some cave and they turned the lights out. I carefully grabbed my lunch and headed toward the conference room hallway where the window was.
HOLY COW!
The rain was coming down so hard and the wind was so strong, I couldn't even see the trees in the courtyard. It was like someone was dosing the windows with a fire hose. The lightening was AMAZING! I have never seen lightening like that during the day.
The office chief scurried past me and the five men who had joined me at the window to watch nature's show.
"Get away from the windows!" she warned, "You may get struck by lightening."
Well, the storm eventually blew over but the power didn't come back on. We sat around near the windows and played finger football (remember that game you used to play in elementary school with paper folded into a triangle?) The tech guys sat by the window overlooking the parking garage and timed how long it took a car to get out of the garage and onto the street (half an hour). We were just sitting around basically because we'd rather be sitting with people than in our cars waiting in horrible long lines of traffic. I left at 5:15, two hours later, I was finally home.
I had power at home.
This morning, while getting ready for work, my boss called to tell me our office still didn't have power so we weren't to come in. That really stinks, sort of, because I had a lot of stuff that needed to get done. But you know what, nothing I can do. So I used the time to get the things around my house in order. I did all of my laundry and ironed all of my clothes. It took me four hours to complete all of my ironing! I guess that is what I get for letting a months worth of clothes pile up.
Then I rescued a baby bird (fledgling - - half down half feathers and not able to fly yet) that had fallen from its tree. Let me just tell you how stressful that was. Poor little guy. I scooped him up in a shoe box and climbed my neighbor's tree as high as I could go, opened the box and it hopped out and onto a branch. I watched to make sure the adult birds came to it and they did, so hopefully it makes it.
I was then Suzy Homemaker and went grocery shopping and made fruit salad and regular salads to take to work with me and have through the weekend. Must eat healthy!
Luckily, I won't have to work this weekend as there was a planned power outage so they could install cooling systems for a server room. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to enjoy the 90 degree weather up at the pool!
Oh and I have one heck of a caffeine withdrawal headache this evening. So, I am off to take Tylenol and go to bed.
Don't know if anyone outside the Washington, DC area heard about the wild thunderstorms and tornadoes we got yesterday. It was pretty cool and scary all at the same time.
It all started rolling in around 3:00 p.m. When I went to microwave my lunch I noticed in the sky light that the sky was getting dark. When I emerged from the kitchen, the secretary exclaimed "Oh My!" I looked out the window to see the trees thrashing around violently as the sound of pounding rain drops hitting the sky light. (yes, I was eating lunch at 3 p.m. - - I had stuff I had to take care of so eating and going to the bathroom were put on hold for most of the day). I walked back to my desk with my lunch, we sit in a windowless area, and told everyone that a really bad storm was rolling in. As if on queue, the lights began to flicker.
By the way, why do women always scream when the lights flicker on and off?
I can tell you, I've never experienced the flickering lights. Its only something I've seen watching horror movies. Someone did comment that it was reminding them of the Exorcist.
Everyone was quickly trying to save thing on the computers and then POP! We were engulfed in complete darkness. Where the heck were the emergency lights?
It was so dark outside that light from the sky light and from the window by the conference room wasn't penetrating over our cubicle walls. I think the last time I had experienced that kind of darkness was when I toured some cave and they turned the lights out. I carefully grabbed my lunch and headed toward the conference room hallway where the window was.
HOLY COW!
The rain was coming down so hard and the wind was so strong, I couldn't even see the trees in the courtyard. It was like someone was dosing the windows with a fire hose. The lightening was AMAZING! I have never seen lightening like that during the day.
The office chief scurried past me and the five men who had joined me at the window to watch nature's show.
"Get away from the windows!" she warned, "You may get struck by lightening."
Well, the storm eventually blew over but the power didn't come back on. We sat around near the windows and played finger football (remember that game you used to play in elementary school with paper folded into a triangle?) The tech guys sat by the window overlooking the parking garage and timed how long it took a car to get out of the garage and onto the street (half an hour). We were just sitting around basically because we'd rather be sitting with people than in our cars waiting in horrible long lines of traffic. I left at 5:15, two hours later, I was finally home.
I had power at home.
This morning, while getting ready for work, my boss called to tell me our office still didn't have power so we weren't to come in. That really stinks, sort of, because I had a lot of stuff that needed to get done. But you know what, nothing I can do. So I used the time to get the things around my house in order. I did all of my laundry and ironed all of my clothes. It took me four hours to complete all of my ironing! I guess that is what I get for letting a months worth of clothes pile up.
Then I rescued a baby bird (fledgling - - half down half feathers and not able to fly yet) that had fallen from its tree. Let me just tell you how stressful that was. Poor little guy. I scooped him up in a shoe box and climbed my neighbor's tree as high as I could go, opened the box and it hopped out and onto a branch. I watched to make sure the adult birds came to it and they did, so hopefully it makes it.
I was then Suzy Homemaker and went grocery shopping and made fruit salad and regular salads to take to work with me and have through the weekend. Must eat healthy!
Luckily, I won't have to work this weekend as there was a planned power outage so they could install cooling systems for a server room. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to enjoy the 90 degree weather up at the pool!
Oh and I have one heck of a caffeine withdrawal headache this evening. So, I am off to take Tylenol and go to bed.
I don't usually post things straight from the AP, but this one, thought I should.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:32 a.m. ET JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during World War II and became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital. He was 80.
Lucas had been battling cancer. Ponda Lee at Moore Funeral Service said the funeral home was told he died before dawn.
Jacklyln ''Jack'' Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor. He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two grenades, and was nearly killed when one exploded. ''A couple of grenades rolled into the trench,'' Lucas said in an Associated Press interview shortly before he received the medal from President Truman in October 1945. ''I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off.''
He was left with more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in his body and in every major organ and endured 26 surgeries in the months after Iwo Jima.
He was the youngest serviceman to win the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War.
''By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance,'' the Medal of Honor citation said.
In the AP interview, written as a first-person account under his name, he recalled the months he spent in a hospital.
''Soon as I rest up, I imagine I'll run for president,'' the story concluded. ''Ain't I the hero, though?''
Big for his age and eager to serve, Lucas forged his mother's signature on an enlistment waiver and joined the Marines at 14. Military censors discovered his age through a letter to his 15-year-old girlfriend.
''They had him driving a truck in Hawaii because his age was discovered and they threatened to send him home,'' said D.K. Drum, who wrote Lucas' story in the 2006 book ''Indestructible.'' ''He said if they sent him home, he would just join the Army.''
Lucas eventually stowed away aboard a Navy ship headed for combat in the Pacific Ocean. He turned himself in to avoid being listed as a deserter and volunteered to fight, and the officers on board allowed him to reach his goal of fighting the Japanese.
''They did not know his age. He didn't give it up and they didn't ask,'' Drum said.
Born in Plymouth, N.C., on Feb. 14, 1928, Edwards was a 13-year-old cadet captain in a military academy when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
''I would not settle for watching from the sidelines when the United States was in such desperate need of support from its citizens,'' Lucas said in ''Indestructible.'' ''Everyone was needed to do his part and I could not do mine by remaining in North Carolina.''
After the war, Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University in North Carolina and raised, processed and sold beef in the Washington, D.C., area. In the 1960s, he joined the Army and became a paratrooper, Drum said, to conquer his fear of heights. On a training jump, both of his parachutes failed.
''He was the last one out of the airplane and the first one on the ground,'' Drum said. He was diagnosed with a form of leukemia in April and spent his last days in the hospital with family and friends, including his wife, Ruby, standing vigil.
Saturday, the Osprey Memorial Foundation held its dedication and reception at the museum. Their monument is pictured above.
The Osprey Memorial is dedicated to those who lost their lives while testing this hybrid air craft for the Marine Corps. Those names engraved on the monument include the two crews lost in 2008.
My thoughts observing all their friends and supporters gather at the museum for the dedication ceremony, which was moved indoors due to inclement weather, ran bitter sweet.
Earlier in the day, I met the parents and aunt and uncle of Keith Kelly, who was the crew chief on the Osprey that was lost in April of 2000. He was just 22 years old. His mom and aunt were wearing pins with a picture of Keith in the middle. I noticed the pins, couldn't quite make out what they said, but asked if they were there for the memorial dedication. They were and I asked them who their familiy member was and they told me.
I got excited. Yes, I got excited because I knew they were coming and I was just excited to meet family members associated with the names on the monument. I cheerfully said, "Gosh, its so good to meet you, I hope you enjoy your visit and I'm so glad you are here..." and instantly it hit me and I said, "I'm just sorry about the circumstances."
There was emotion being swallowed back by the family. His father asked me if I knew where the memorial was. I sure did. Again, that excited to tell a guest were something is lit me up - - and then I got sad again as I described where it was.
"Its in the back of the museum, " my brain was screaming at me, they don't want to know its all the way in the back, who wants to know their child's monument is 'in the back' where no one can see it. However, the other half of my brain yelled back, 'but that is where it is'. I described in detail where it was and how to get to it. I hadn't quite figured out why it was where it was.
I did learn, during the dedication ceremony that its current location is temporary. It all makes sense now. As they complete the switch back trails, construction on the road and chapel, they will be able to move it to its permanent location along the trail.
I also got the chance to meet Anne Murphy, the mother of Major Michael Murphy, one of the pilots on the second aircraft that crashed in December 2000. Mrs. Murphy is the president of the Osprey Memorial Foundation. She and her husband Bud, have led the drive to raise funds for the memorial. When the memorial was installed, I sent the Osprey Memorial Foundation photos of it. I wasn't sure if they knew it was up or not - - however, I'm sure the museum notifies organizations as soon as they are about ready to put their stones up. What a kind lady, she sent me a thank you note and asked me to tell her about myself and how I got involved in the museum - - I think I was good and kept the response short and sweet.
She has since sent me a few e-mails with links to news articles in their local paper about the monument and about the memorial's dedication. It was so nice to meet her. She gave me a big hug and told me it was nice to meet me and that I looked like a sweet girl. Then she had to run to get pictures taken with family and friends.
I hope they aren't feeling a big "let down" today, now that everything is over. All that work and planning for this moment and its done.
One thing that tugged at my heart as I photographed the family members seated in the crowd was how much life changes in 10 years. Widows have re-married, little boys and girls who would never see their dads again are now young men and women. I wondered what their thoughts were as they sat there and listened to other Marines speak of their parents. Were they angry? Did they want to be there? Life has moved on.
Below are photos and video from the early evening event.
Above, the family members and special guests listen to remarks.
I like the photo above because it shows the history of Marine Corps aviation, the JN-4G up front was the first modern air craft the Marine Corps owned and is what WW1 pilots trained in; the first Harrier AV-8B the Marine Corps owned; the HRS-1 Chickasaw, the first helicopter used by Marines to carry troops into battle during the Korean war.
Below, the weather improved, so they were able to do the Osprey fly-over. These are all the guests taking position to watch.
The first fly-over, you can hear them before you can see them. The name of their squadron "Thunder Chickens" is sure fitting. This is in helicopter mode.
The second fly over is done in fixed wing mode.
And finally, I will leave you with Heartland performing their song "The Few The Proud With Wings", a tribute song they wrote specifically for the fallen Osprey Marines.
This is the place where I share the things going on in my life such as travel, family events, interesting people I meet and things going on at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (where I volunteer). Writing and photography are ways that I process new things or events. Yes, there may be an occasional work vent or political/current event rant. That said, the views and opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of any organization I may be affiliated with.
