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. 

Foggy and Silent Sunday on Capitol Hill

Sundays are usually a lot quieter than during the rest of the week in our Capitol Hill neighborhood. But today was eerily so. Maybe because the fog is very thick. The statue of freedom is almost invisible atop the dome this morning. The flags are all at half staff. The Capitol building is being prepared for the head of state funeral of President George HW Bush. The barricades are going up around the perimeter. The last funeral we attended at the Capitol rotunda was for President Ford when we first moved to DC twelve years ago. It was cold then too. We went to pay our respects in the late evening - I remember standing in a line that circled the Capitol building. As we passed by the Supreme Court and the Senate Office Buildings the streets were still empty. Then we headed towards Union Station. The large Christmas wreaths were in place at the front entrance. The large lighted Christmas tree was where it was last year and the many years before that. The train set was placed in the middle of the main lobby with little traffic around it. Somehow it just didn’t feel quite right to be celebrating. When we headed back home we kept hearing what sounded like cannon fire every once in awhile - a salute prep for the days ahead? When you live in the Capitol city you can’t avoid the news and events of the day but you can always decide which ones are worth taking note of and going to. I don’t think we will miss this one.