The Family Circle

A lot has happened in the past two weeks, so I'll try and get through all of it as thoroughly as possible. Also, the title might seem a bit random, but I promise I'll get to it
 So tomorrow starts a new week, and the realization that I've been here seven weeks; I have been interning on the Hill for almost 2 months. It's weird to think about, because I don't think a year ago I expected to actually make it here. I know it's something I've wanted to do for a while, but like a lot of lofty dreams, I had doubts about it actually coming to fruition. I'll be starting this week looking for full-time work here. I've loved it so much, I'm pretty confident I want to stick around for the long haul.

I'm getting ahead of myself a bit though, a lot of other things have happened in the past 2 weeks, so let me back up:

There is a community service component to this UConn internship program, something I was skeptical about. I didn't know why we were bothering with it. Like most cliche's it turned out as differently from what I expected as possible. We spent all Saturday morning at the Father McKenna Center, a small homeless shelter run by a UConn alumnus named Tom Howarth. The Center is in the basement of the Gonzaga College High School - one of the most prestigious schools in the District. The McKenna Center provides showers, a phone, warm food, a place to sleep and above all else a warm place to sleep to anywhere from a dozen to several dozen people from the area. Normally, they aren't open on the weekends during the morning; they only open in the evening for their Hypothermia Program - a seasonal over-night service. About 6-7 men can stay overnight from 6pm to 5am so they can be somewhere out of the cold. It's run from October through April every year. In the day time, they open for breakfast and lunch to serve most of the people who make their way over. So, the UConn contingent was there to fill necessary volunteer roles that other volunteer groups will rotate in and out throughout the weeks. We checked people in, operated the showers, prepared and cleaned up the food. Outside of that, it was up to us to fill the rest of the time. I prepared some food in the beginning, then did what I do best, sat down with some of the guys who came in to get warm and talked. We talked about their pasts and their plans for the future. It was a heck of an education, I learned a lot. Any fleeting ideas that volunteering here would be a waste were quickly extinguished. It does seem so cliche, but here is why it changed me; it substituted the traditional conception of what homelessness meant. None of these guys had given up and were just going through the motions; sure all of their stories were different, but they were all equally committed to getting back on their feet. For example, one of the guys there wasn't broke, he had some money and in most other cities he would qualify for low-income housing and be able to provide for himself, but in the District, he just couldn't make it. It was sad, he was in his mid-fifties, he should have been getting ready to retire.

Tom asked us to come back the next day, for an Irish music benefit concert for the homeless men they care for at the McKenna Center. It was very entertaining. Hunter Biden, the second son of the Vice President, spoke. The Governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, came by to play his guitar with an acapella group.

Maryland Governor O'Malley; this is the second time I have seen him this spring (the first being Morning Joe). He's gonna run for President...I'm pretty sure.

It was thoroughly entertaining. I'm not sure why none of the homeless were actually invited, but aside from that it was fantastic all around. It was an illuminating experience. This benefit concert was in the evening though, so I had an entire day to fill...so I went to the zoo.

It is still cold out, so a fair amount of the exhibits were closed for the season, but since it's a Smithsonian it was free, so I wasn't too concerned. What I did see though was pretty cool:

In the Bird House, there was a large open area where a keeper answered questions about the array of birds who were calm enough to be right up with the visitors...this little guy just hung out at her feet the entire time

He's on the move..

...that's where he was going...food

When I saw this I thought I was on the set of Jurassic Park Two

So inside here there are usually a bunch of birds out, but since it was so chilly, there were all tucked away out of site on their little heating pads

I was able to circle back into the bird house to an upper level in that wide open middle room from before

The one in the middle is Greater Rhea, the one in front of him is Lesser Rhea and the dude in the back is Ralph. In all seriousness, they're called - as a group - Greater Rhea's

Panda Watch

This is a crate one of the two panda's were brought over in..I touched it, it was cool.

The massive gates made me once again feel like I was on the set of Jurassic Park.

Dirt bath!

She was getting trained by a couple people right outside the gate there.

This is the elephant walk, they're allowed out of enclosure occasionally to get exercise on this 1/4 mile path

Walter the beaver.

Sea Lion..sun bathing...rough life.

This little guy was pretty defensive of his little area up there. Every time one of the other 2 came over, he kept yelling at them...all they wanted to do was hang out, or not, I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Tiger Enclosure

That's a Tiger.

Lionesses...I think that's the plural.

hahahaha, I thought this was funny

Male Lions in a separate enclosure

Gorilla!

This is the Orangutan Walk, it's open twice a day for orangutans to go between two enclosures

This is the alpha male

"God, I'm having a rough day at the office, so much eating to do, you know?"

Otters!!!!

This was such a cute otter family...Chowder and Clementine were the dad and mom and their kids were Kevin, Olive, Peaches, Pickles, Pork Chop, Radish, Rutabaga, Saffron and Turnip.

It was a great Sunday, lots of fun and lots of walking. I think over all, I spent maybe 5 hours or so there. It was great.

Work has been pretty standard the past two weeks, I'm doing the basic duties interns generally are assigned, and I'm getting pretty good at it. It's kinda funny, I didn't think in the beginning I'd ever get the hang of sorting mail and compiling press clips, but I think I'm there. It's varied though, let me tell you. Mail and clips is the base of my work day, but research, briefings and errands makes up a lot of the rest of my time. Like I've said here before, veterans are a major concern for me. It's simple, if you put your life on the line for the welfare of the nation, you shouldn't have to worry about the little things when you get home. The current system - most agree - is stacked against vets. There is a major backlog in processing claims, which is not secret to anyone. The problem is how to solve that. It's nice to see the bipartisanship between the Senate and House members. Senate Chairman Bernie Sanders, a Democrat, and House Chairman Jeff Miller, a Republican, were agreeing on pretty much everything at the pair of joint hearings last week. That was cool to see that not only did they recognize the problems, but agreed on how to fix it. One of the first steps will be to pass a law compelling public colleges to charge in-state tuition to veterans. Another step is to develop a more comprehensive online claims processing system to simple and complex claims can all be addressed in a timely manner. The 40-65 day waiting time is unacceptable. It's uplifting to see that change on that front can happen sooner rather than later, and change that both parties agree with. I'm not a veterans kind of person because it's most likely to be a bipartisan effort, but it is certainly a relief to know that if I ever get hands-on more so than I am now I won't have to worry as much about the opposition.

This weekend was a bit more comprehensive in terms of site-seeing. Yesterday I went to the Sackler Gallery, the Freer Art Gallery, the Old Post Office Tower and Ford's Theater. It might sound like a lot, especially considering how spread out they all are, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. The first two I mentioned collectively hold the Smithsonian's Asian art collection. The Old Post Office Tower is essentially what the name says it is, today it's just a tower and shopping complex. The Postal Service moved out a long time ago. Ford's Theater is the site of President Lincoln's assassination.

Sackler was pretty much entirely underground. I unfortunately came at a time when some of their exhibits were being rotated in and out, so out of the 3 levels, 2 were open and only one of them entirely. It was breathtaking though

Ceremonial wine containers were a major part of the collection; back before the common era began the Chinese Imperial Dynasties drank a lot of wine

The back of the chair holds the Chinese character for "joy"..pronounced "xi." I'm not sure which dialect it is though...

Identifying marks were important, and the five above were stamps from the Warring States Period of 1020 - 221 B.C.E.

This is essentially what most galleries looked like

Imagine hauling this canteen on a hike...I can imagine it, but I wouldn't want to try it.

This is the shot from all the way down to the bottom.

Consider the fact this was forged before Christ, and it elicits a greater degree of appreciation than if was made, saaayyyy, a year ago.

Naturally, after combing the galleries of an underground museum, the museum it's connected to is all above ground...meaning I had to walk up a bunch of flights of stairs to get to the main exhibition space of the Freer Art Gallery. It was totally worth it though, again another impressive assembly of art and sculpture.

Like most buildings in the District, it had a courtyard.

The design almost made it look like it was a private residence first, even though Freer worked with architects to design it explicitly as a museum

This and the next several pictures are of the Peacock Room, which I think is best explained by this excerpt from the Smithsonian:

 "The Peacock Room was originally designed by architect Thomas Jeckyll for British shipping magnate Frederick Leyland, who wanted a place to showcase his blue-and-white Chinese porcelain collection in his London home. When American expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler redecorated the room in 1876 and 1877 as a "harmony in blue and gold," he was inspired by the delicate patterns and vivid colors of the Chinese porcelains. Their slick surfaces, however, did not appeal to Freer, who favored complex surface textures and subtly toned glazes. After he purchased the Peacock Room and moved it from London to his mansion in Detroit in 1904, Freer filled the shelves with pots he had acquired from Egypt, Iran, Japan, China, and Korea. The current presentation of works is based on photographs taken in Freer's Detroit residence in 1908."

The painted detail was incredible; Freer purchased the whole room, had it disassembled and shipped to D.C. and completely reassembled. It is awesome

That stone in the background is a frame to a burial couch, where recently deceased would be placed before their eventual burial

Once they invented the wheel they really went crazy

After this, I trekked off the National Mall to the Old Post Office Tower. There was a time when the District wanted to tear the building down, since it was disused and the architecture didn't match newer buildings around it. There was a major effort put forward to save it, and it was eventually successful. The structure was gutted and re-purposed to serve as federal office space and a food court / shopping area. The building maintained it elegance though, and I appreciated that. Prepare yourself for the views, this location is the 3rd tallest in the District...

The Father of the Post Office, Ben Franklin, at the foot of the Old Post Office Tower

The bells

The tower space was fenced in by wire for the most part..some spots had plexiglass

The Washington Monument

The Capitol

The Air and Space Museum on The Mall

The National Cathedral.

The White House in the background and the Treasury Department in the foreground.

The Lincoln Memorial.

The WWII Memorial.

The Washington Ringing Society practices every Thursday night ringing the bells for Federal holiday's

This is the building from across the street

After a quick check of the map app on my iPhone, I headed towards Chinatown for Ford's Theater and the Peterson House. The latter is the building President Lincoln died in.

So when I saw this, I thought this was Ford's theater, and I thought to myself 'wow, what a tourist trap'...but I was wrong, thank God....this was just the visitors center.

This is Ford's Theater, just as it looked in the 1860's.

Lincoln received death threats even before his inauguration, and his bodyguard convinced him to carry these things as he entered Washington..in the pitch black

Lincoln's cabinet...a team of rivals (I know, a perfect name, totally came up with it myself). From the left, you'll see Edwin Stanton, Salmon Chase, Lincoln, Gideon Welles, Caleb Smith, William Seward, Montgomery Blair and Edward Bates.

This massive quilt was made by the organization the preceded the Red Cross of today, signed by many luminaries of the time in a fundraising effort

William T. Sherman, a major general.

Sherman, Ulysses Grant and Lincoln from top down...Lincoln is in the middle at the bottom.

This was a chair Lincoln used in the White House

Almost notoriously, the President's middle son - Willie - died while the family was in the White House. This was taken months before his death from Typhoid.

These three guys, between the ages of 21 and 29, were Lincoln's personal secretaries who helped run the nation.

This tree, right in the middle of the whole thing.

This is the gun that killed Lincoln.

This is the pillow Lincoln's head rested on. Like most of the museum, the light was kept very low to prevent any colors from getting washed out.

This was the door into Lincoln's box. John Wilkes Booth was a noted actor who often performed at Ford's Theater, so Lincoln's valet just let him in..thinking he was invited...

That is the overcoat Lincoln wore.

This display holds the possessions the team of assassins had on them at the time of their capture.

These revolvers were worn by Booth when he was smoked out of a barn outside of D.C.

The box...done up exactly as it was the night of his assassination.  They didn't have a Presidential Seal that night, so they replaced it with the likeness of the first President.

Since 9/11, access to the box has been very limited, but I lucked out and got to see it.

An interesting fact, Ford's Theater is a functioning establishment. At least this year 4 different shows have been scheduled. Hello Dolly will be performed next.

This is the Family Circle. Back in the day, it cost 25 cents, cheap seats for those with less. Today, the theater holds about half as many people as it did in the 1860'ss

The Peterson Home across the street was the closest open place doctors could bring the President. They knew Lincoln was going to die, so they were looking for some place where he could die with dignity (believe it or not, a theater wasn't a dignified place).

In this room, William Seward held several cabinet meetings and interviewed suspects in Lincoln's assassination; just like the room above, Lincoln was never put in this room.

This is the room Lincoln died in, set up just like it was then. The bed is right off to the right. I didn't bother posting a picture because the bed there now isn't THE bed, that one - for some reason - is in Detroit.

Lincoln was the first President to have a riderless horse.

Seward made the three males accomplices wear itchy, hot masks over their faces. Mary Surratt didn't have to wear the mask, but as you can see below, it didn't stop President Johnson from letting her hang..the first woman ever put to death in American history.

This is the outside of the Peterson Home.

By this point, I was considering going on to the Postal Museum, but I got a text from the President of the Undergraduate Student Government at UConn, my old boss from last fall. He was in town for a conference, coincidentally about 4 blocks from me. I met up with him and we caught up for an hour. It was fun to catch up, but when he had to get back to the conference, it was getting late and the Postal Museum was going to close soon. So, I went there Sunday.

It's housed in the old Post Office for Washington, D.C. In the 1800's, major Post Offices were built near the rail road hubs of cities to provide for a quick transfer of mail from the extensive rail lines.

After going through security, this is a pretty good entrance..

This is kind of funny, because until recently, mail was delivered to my house in a station wagon owned by the mail carrier, we were too rural for a van like this.

Air mail used to be a big part of moving the post...today it's contracted out.

Ford used to have a monopoly on mail carrying vehicles...this Model A is an example of a fleet of almost one thousand ordered.

If you look around today, you won't really find mailboxes that can be placed on lamp posts anymore

Stagecoaches that carried passengers also carried mail...the mail was stored under the drivers bench.

Mail also used to be carried by rail

Just when I thought there wouldn't be a sled dog reference, there was. Mail carrying duties in rural areas were contracted out...in Alaska, they picked sled dogs as the preferable mode of transportation.

This dog was the mascot of the Postal Service, when it died, it got stuffed. It's career began in Albany, New York.

For each distribution center he went to, clerks clipped different tags to his specially-created harness.

You had to sort - roughly - a gagillion pieces of mail an hour.

Look, Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. I also know someone will appreciate Paterson...

The stereotype of "going postal" is redefined when you find out the Postal Service has an investigatory wing that heavily armed themselves with the approval of the Postmaster General.

Ok, forget the context of this picture, but look at President Woodrow Wilson all the way to the right, he's  got FOUR buttons on that suit! Four buttons! Today we get 2, and you can only button 1...eventually suit jackets won't even get buttons.

I loved the "Mail Call" exhibit, a gallery dedicated to delivering mail to soldiers. This is the package style sent to troops...the USPS waves postage fees too.

This is a coconut...sent through the mail, during WWII.

The "father of the United States Postal Service" Ben Franklin

Even though I really don't like stamps, this wouldn't be complete without at least one picture of stamps...

This is the second oldest stamp in the collection...from the mid 1700's...the infamous Stamp Act stamp.

The past two weeks have been incredible. A lot happened, but there's a lot more to do. Things in my life are about to get pretty serious as I wade into the job search arena. There were a lot of different quotes I could have pulled, but the one I picked for some reason just made sense.

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it."
~ President Abraham Lincoln

This quote was used during the Iran Hostage Crisis at the Lincoln Memorial during a holiday vigil. The wife of the Chief of Mission organized the reception and made sure it was televised so the Iranians could see it. So with the movie Argo winning all the awards it did this season, I have successfully managed to tie Abraham Lincoln to Ben Afflack. In all seriousness though, it's a telling quote about the balancing act any government has to perform in executing their everyday responsibilities.