Russia Raiders in D.C. Last Week

Russia Raiders in D.C. Last Week

The eight graders from Russia Local School in Russia, Ohio were in D.C. last week. I hope they all had a good time. I would love to know all the tourist sites that they visited while here. I hope they were not too disappointed that the reflecting pool on the mall was tore up for repairs. And of course they got to see the Washington Monument with its earthquake cracks. I wonder if they went to see the new and impressive looking Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the mall.

9/11/01

9/11/01

Let's always remember everyone who was killed or hurt or effected in some way by these terrorists attacks.

I Like Retired Gen Colin Powell

I Like Retired Gen Colin Powell

But Dick Cheney Is Something Else!

The Underachieving Hurricane Irene

The Underachieving Hurricane Irene

Some newscaster on TV described Irene as the underachieving hurricane. For everyone in northern Virginia and Washington D.C. it was. Jack and I had no home or garden damage and just got one inch of rain. Thank goodness. I think the people hit hardest are those that experienced flooding from the back up of water in the rivers and streams. This would be especially true for folks living in New Jersey, New York and New England.

Hope everyone has a good start of this work week before Labor Day. I know lots of kids are trudging off to school. Two big counties in northern Virginia don't go back till after Labor Day: Fairfax County and Prince William County.

The Rank and File of House And Senate Make....

The Rank And File Of The House And Senate Make

$174,000 A Year.

And Now They Are All Off On A Month Long Vacation

To Kiss Their Home State Big Pocket Lobbyists.

Just one of the many yearly vacations they get.

And when they are in session they have a three day work week!

No wonder these guys come to Washington and stay forever--till their old and

grey and in their late 80's!

The little men and the little women in America need:

more time off and someone to back them up.

It used to be the unions.

Congress has made the word unions a dirty word.

Anyway, how much do you make a year and how many days do you get off per year?

I Never Had This Sandwich--Have You?

I Never Had This Sandwich--Have You?

A Republican Congressman Described Voting No On The Debt Deal In These Terms:

It would be like eating a Satan Sandwich.

What??????????????

Subway--What Would You Put In A Satan Sandwich For The Folks?

A Funny Comment By A Congressman

A Funny Comment By A Congressman

"Trying to pass this bill is harder than trying to pass my kidney stones."

How true.

How funny!

How Much Is A Million, A Billion and A Trillion?

The Honorable Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia

Congressman Rob Wittman gave us a visual image of how much is a million, a billion and a trillion

***

A Million: If you stack 1 million dollars in height (straight up) in $1000 dollar bills, it would be just 4 inches tall.

***

A Billion: If you stack 1 billion dollars in height (straight up) in $1000 dollar bills, it would be 364 feet tall.

***

A Trillion: If you stack 1 trillion dollars in height (straight up) in $1000 dollar bills,

it would be 63 miles high.

63 MILES HIGH!!!!!!!!

Wow!

Does this help you visualize how deep or tall our national debt is?

Pink Cherries In Washington D.C.

Pink Cherries In Washington D.C.

These big old trees were a gift many years ago from Japan to the United States.

Take a look.

The cherries ring the tidal basin.

This fence marring the view of the trees is up to protect

the newest monument being built:

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Friday, April 8 there were lots of tourists visiting D.C.

and checking out the petals on the trees.

Even with the rain there were tourists in cars and on this green trolley.

Jack's Mother In Virginia

Jack's Mother In Virginia

Here is Jack's Mother in Virginia at George Washington's Mount Vernon home and estate. This is one of the most visited homes in America. The estate has been expanded in recent years with a recreation of George's round barn and the recreation of George's whiskey distillery. There is also a new visitor's center. Mount Vernon was saved by a group of ladies and it is now a great money making enterprise here in the state of Virginia.

This home is not my favorite colonial home in Virginia. There are several others including Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and James Madison's Montpelier that I think are more attractive and interesting. However the one thing that Mount Vernon has that neither Jefferson's home or Madison's home has is a tremendous view of the Potomac River and the state of Maryland across the Potomac River. That's why you see so many seats on the porch. Many tourists like to come and sit a spell to enjoy the view of the Potomac. Someone did have the foresight to forbid the erection of any signs or buildings across the river from Mount Vernon so that all you see is a beautiful forest. My favorite time to visit is in the fall when the leaves have turned and are reflected in the river.

In this photo Jack's Mother is standing by the tomb of George and Martha Washington on the grounds of Mount Vernon.
In this photo Jack's mother is visiting another very famous tourist attraction in the state of Virginia. This is a photo of Arlington National Cemetery and the grave site of President John F. Kennedy. It was less then ten years since the assassination of Kennedy in 1963 when Jack and his Mother visited the grave. There were many tourists on this particular day and there are many tourists each and every day today that visit the Kennedy grave at Arlington.

No matter what your political leanings are I know that all of us hope that we never have to live through another presidential assassination. In my opinion this presidential assassination during the Cold War was even scarier then the experience of 9/11.
Yes, this is a photo of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery and the changing of the guard. These specially selected army soldiers operate from the old Fort Myer Army Post in Arlington County. That rickety reviewing stand on the right is no longer blocking the view. Thank goodness.

Jack's Mother In D.C.

Jack's Mother In D.C.

Here is Jack's Mother standing in front of the White House getting ready to visit the Nixon White House. Jack and his Mother took this White House tour back in the early '70s. The White House tour today is so different. For one thing you no longer enter the White House thru the front door. For another, security is much much stricter. Look at these folks running to get in line by the ropes. Today you go thru the same electronic screening devices that you have to do to board a plane at one of our airports. Those big purses like Jack's mother's are opened and thoroughly searched.

Today you cannot stand so close to the Oval Office either. Yes, the times have changed and are still a changing. Did I mention yesterday when I showed photos of the U.S. Capitol that there is a special short subway line underground that takes congressional folks from their various office buildings like the Sam Rayburn building over to the capitol building.

Jack, our daughters and I used to take this subway when visiting the capitol. You would always be riding with senators and house members and aides. One time I remember the late Senator Ted Kennedy taking the train. But today this neat little subway is restricted to authorized personnel. No capitol visitors and tourists can take this subway.

This is a picture of the Lincoln Memorial from the '70s It is still pretty open to all visitors and you can go there anytime of day or night.Below is a photo of Jack's Mother posing by the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial. In the background you can see the Washington Monument. Notice the young girls with the long hair parted in the middle a la Gloria Steinem. That was the look in the early '70s.

Jack's Mother In D.C.

Jack's Mother In D.C.

From '71 to '74 Jack worked for Army Audit in Germany but made several trips back to the states to attend mandatory army audit schools. On one such trip Jack's Mom flew in from Missouri to visit with her son before and after each day's training session in Washington D.C. In these photos Jack is showing his Mother the U.S. Capitol building in D.C.

Last month Jack and I scanned these old slides (remember slides and slide projectors?) into our computer. It was fun to see these photos of Jack's late mother and to see how clothing styles and the landscape around the capitol have changed. Notice the bell bottom pants. Notice the car parking lot that leads right up to the steps of the capitol. Bell bottom pants are gone and so is this parking lot which is now replaced with grass, trees and physical barriers for protection of the building. Lots of concrete barriers around the capitol today since 9/11.

The times and the fashions well they are ever changing.

Crocheted capes were big in the hippie '70s

and Jack's Mom wore her cape everywhere on this trip.

Notice the big old cars with lots of chrome. But I do see one little Volkswagen beetle in this photo. If this parking lot still existed today, it would have a lot more cars packed into it. I think this photo was taken on the weekend but Congress back then did work on the weekends. Today the lazy congressional folks of both political parties show up around noon on Monday and then head back out of town Thursday afternoon. It is the lowly paid congressional aides who today keep our government running. The congressional folks spend a lot a time courting votes from their constituents and money from big pocket lobbyists.

Should there be term limits on our congressional members like we have for the president? I think so. Some of these folks love the D.C. area so much that when they finally must leave Congress they still remain in D.C., Maryland or Virginia. Former Senator Robert Dole and Mrs. Dole are both examples of this. How you going to keep them down on the farm once they have seen D.C.?

Skywatch Friday = The National Marine Corp Museum Part III

Skywatch Friday = The National Marine Corp Museum Part III

Quantico, Virginia

November 6, 2010

Does the architecture of this building remind you of a famous war scene? That's right. The building has been designed to remind you of the famous scene of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima in World War II both on the outside and on the inside of the museum. The day we visited the museum we were lucky enough to meet a marine who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. This lovely gentleman told us that he is now volunteering at the museum to tell the story of Iwo Jima since the death of his dear wife. He did a great job explaining the battle of Iwo Jima and answering questions of the crowd of visitors. Earlier in the day we had heard him playing the piano outside of Tun Tavern at the museum. He was playing romantic serenades in the fashion of Mancini or Montavani. Very relaxing and lovely.

The granite lobby with the U.S. flag and the marine flag and examples of marine air craft used in various landing operations.

The marines have landed.

Right in the middle of the lobby of this museum.

I can never ever leave a museum without checking out the gift shop. On this day I found a giant leggo version of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima! Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of the museum. To see more photo of the museum see my blogs for Wednesday morning and Thursday morning of this week. To learn more about the National Marine Corp Museum at Quantico, Virginia go to this site: http://www.mcmuseum.com/



To visit other Skywatch memes just click here: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

The National Marine Corp Museum Part II

The National Marine Corp Museum Part II

The Tun Tavern

The Tun Tavern is a very small intimate dining room off of the main Mess Hall at The National Marine Corp Museum. It only seats around 30 people at one time and the day we were there with our out of town friends I think all the other diners were current and former marines who kept yelling comments to the man dressed in red, white and black in the above photo. All the yells were yells of approval as this gentleman in colonial dress was explaining the oil painting behind him that this museum had commissioned to be painted of the most famous U.S. marines. All the marines whether from the 1770's or the 1940's or the 1950's are portrayed in colonial attire. If you look closely, you might spot Col. John Glenn of Ohio, First Sergeant Dan Daly, Col. David Shoup and other famous marines from famous battles.

This speaker then pointed out the man at the bottom of the painting holding a beer mug and said his name which I now forget. He asked us if we knew why this man was in the painting. We said no. He then said that he didn't know either until one day this man in the painting walked into the Tun Tavern and announced that's me in the painting so the speaker asked him what he had done to deserve to be in the painting. The gentleman replied because I gave $250,000 to have this painting created for Tun Tavern.

Our guests enjoyed the speaker's talk and then proceeded to eat with gusto the marine burgers and beers that appeared at our dining table. I would recommend eating at Tun Tavern versus The Mess Hall at the museum. But do get there early. It fills up quickly since there are only around 30 seats in the tavern.

National Marine Corp Museum Part I

National Marine Corp Museum Part I

The other weekend we met some out of town friends for lunch at the Tun Tavern at the National Marine Corp Museum. After lunch we toured with our friends the marine museum which has one of the most impressive history galleries in the United States. You come away with a quick and dirty military history of the United States from the Revolutionary War to the current gulf conflicts. Above is a photo of the main lobby of the museum that has marine military aircraft suspended from the glass roof. More about the glass roof later.

On the walls of this lobby are famous marine quotes and photos of marines.

Near the front entrance to this lobby we noted the U.S. flag, the marine flag and a type of non-manned plane that is currently being used for bombing operations in Afghanistan.

There are galleries devoted to each major U.S. war effort. The one I like the most is the Korean War gallery that depicts Korea in the cold winters of 1950, 1951, 1952 with snow on the mountainsides and in the valleys. You enter this gallery and quickly realize that it is refrigerated so it really and truly feels cold like winters in Korea in 1950's. The scene depicted above in the lobby shows the marines landing by helicopter in a desert setting.

The day we were at the museum which is located at Quantico, VA there was a boy scout troop taking a guided tour of the museum.

There was also a contingent of young navy personnel touring the museum. We were wondering if they were from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Now back to that glass roof. Look at the bottom rows of glass and you will see black tape covering bullet holes in the glass. Yes, our new D.C. sniper has shot out windows here as well as at the pentagon and a marine recruiting station and a coast guard recruiting station in Northern Virginia. The sniper shootings started October 19 and in spite of intense investigations by various authorities including the FBI this person still has not been apprehended. Scary.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our lunch experience at the Tun Tavern at the National Marine Corps Museum.

Final Thought For The Day: This past Sunday, November 14, was the anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps. Celebrations for the anniversary had already started the previous weekend that we were there.

Washington--Another Year, Another Sniper Creating Havoc

Washington Metro Area--Another Year, Another Sniper Creating Havoc
We had a sniper in 2002.
We have a new unknown sniper right now.
FBI and police investigators think it may be a disgruntle marine.
So far just shot out windows and nobody hurt.

Everybody Watched. He Did It. The Nats Won!

Everybody Watched. He Did It. The Nats Won!

Take That Pacifier Out Of His Mouth!

Give Him A Big Hand.

Let's Give That Rookie A Hi-Five!

Stephen Strasburg Set A Nats Record For Most Strikeouts In A Nats Game.

His First Pitch----Just 97 Miles Per Hour!

The Score: Nats 5, Pittsburgh 2

Just learned on MSNBC this morning that the Nationals organization took in 100 million dollars last night at the baseball stadium. This rookie Strasburg looks like the goose that lays the golden eggs. Or is he the Mark Zuckerburg of baseball. Mark Zuckerburg at age 21 created Facebook and became the world's youngest billionaire. Will Stephen Strasburg at age 21 creat the Great Washington Nationals. Stay tuned this summer for more Strasburg news.

New Young Kid On The Mound For Nats

Tonight's the Night!

There will be great excitement at Nationals baseball park in Washington D. C. tonight. A new young kid is going up on the pitcher's mound and his name is Strasburg. I wonder how he will do? Over 200 press passes have been issued for tonight's big game that kicks off this kid's major league career. Probably more passes for tonight's game than were issued for when President Obama threw out the first ball for the first game of the season back in April. Pitcher Strasburg is just 21 and he hails from San Diego State in California. The game is sold out but the team has now issued 2000 standing room only tickets for tonight's debut of Stephen Strasburg at the mound. How would you like to stand for 9 innings to just say someday that you were there in the ball park when Strasburg began his major league career? And guess what! There is a town in Virginia named Strasburg. It wants to rename their town Steven Strasburg, VA for a whole week if the rookie does well tonight.

Oooooooooo.......the excitement is building for today!

************

On another note, today is primary election day in a lot of states including Virginia. Are you going to take time to vote today? Just heard on TV that those who vote in off year elections are usually older and whiter. Hmmmmmmm.....that description fits Jack and I.

Jeanine's Condo Is Getting Built

Jeanine hopes to close on her brand new condo before the end of June. Jack and I are very excited for our daughter. This is a beautiful condo and it will be a good commute for Jeanine's job in Washington D.C. I just love the all stainless steel kitchen with maple cabinets and granite countertops!

Jeanine's condo will be on the top two floors right behind the red truck.
Since it will be on the top two floors it will be a much bigger unit. Aroud 2200 sq. feet which is more than some single family homes.

I will post more pics of the model condo later. This pic was taken in early February. Now look below to see how the condo is coming along.

Brick is being added and the windows and doors are now in the building. This is the front. In the back will be the garage.

Washington Nationals Pitcher in Russia, Ohio!

News Flash: Washington Nationals Pitcher, Craig Stammen, who graduated from Versailles High School in Versailles, Ohio gave a pitching class to the students of Russia Local School. For more good info on this event go to the address below to read story and see pics.

It is on the famous Fish Report: http://fishreportonline.com/

The publisher of the Fish Report is Craig Feissinger, a Russia, Ohio resident who started the report in 2004. Locals use it for news happenings as well as former Russia, Ohio residents who now live out of state and want to keep us with the happenings in dear old Roo-shee. I know Craig because he is married to the daughter of the Russia family that used to rent my father's brick ranch farmhouse on Miller Rd. south of Russia.

Final Thought: my late brother Harold Gariety who pitched for Russia Local High School's baseball team and for the army's Black Knights baseball team in Sendai, Japan in the fifties would have been thrilled to witness this event.