Transatlantic Conversations at the Library of Congress

We usually attend programs at the Library of Congress when they are scheduled in the early or late afternoon. Mid afternoon is best for traffic and parking. Last week we received a notice about a program that was scheduled on Monday from 1030-1200. It sounded interesting so we registered for it in spite of the early hours. It was sponsored by the Kluge Center and it was about transatlantic conversations: lawmaking and representation in the US and the UK. The parking was just dreadful at this time of the morning. But we finally found something and walked through the construction zones to arrive at the front of the Jefferson Building. There was no line - which seemed odd - because you need to have a pass to get in these days, except if you are attending a program. Then I realized that the library is closed on Monday - except for the program that we would be attending. So there would be no walking through the great hall because it was all roped off. So we headed down the beautiful corridor to the decorative meeting room. There was a large group of high school students so the room was almost full. The guests were folks from parliament and the US Congress. It was an interesting question and answer session with Donna Edwards, Tom Graves, Steve Norris and Baroness Ann Taylor. We have been attending programs at the Library since I started working there many years ago. And since I retired we continue to visit whenever we can. It hardly matters what the subject matter is. It’s a nice getaway in spite of the traffic and construction.