A Midnight Walk

We usually walk in the morning. I actually prefer dusk. Every once in a while we go at odd times. And that was the case last evening. Since both my husband and I like history, we are living in it in DC. We’ve been to inaugurations, and everything else that takes place on the National Mall. So last night close to midnight we dressed warm and walked over to the Capitol Building - four blocks away. Then we got in line to pay respects to President Bush. It wasn’t nearly as cold as other occasions, and we were finally inside the rotunda by one AM. We had an opportunity to observe the changing of the guards. The Capitol looks very different in the night hours. The rotunda felt a lot smaller in the dim light and solemn event. We saw President Ford’s lying in state when we first moved here twelve years ago. The visitor center was under construction back then so the lines wrapped around the Capitol building. I have visited the center many times when I worked at the Library of Congress. In fact, I have a piece of the Library’s brick wall from the groundbreaking ceremony that connects it to the Capitol through the underground tunnel. It’s hard to believe we have lived here over twelve years. We wouldn’t miss any of these historical events regardless of what it is.