Food for Thought

At no place was Economic Recovery more apparent than the memorials in Washington, D.C. The Jefferson Memorial had plastic sheets that kept visitors far outside, as workers repaired the retaining wall along the tidal basin. We walked all the way around the outside path to the street side entrance. "I've always liked this one best," I told Andy, "because of its classical elegance." Jefferson brought the circular colonnaded structure into use in this country, according to the pamphlet, and the memorial was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.

The bronze statue of a standing Jefferson by Rudulph Evans dominated the center. It looked cleaned.

Although too early for cherry blossoms on the Japanese cherry trees, some of them weren't doing well with broken branches and only a few twisted limbs. Hopefully, the final recovery addresses the grounds keeping.

Circling around the Jefferson Memorial, we entered through the back end of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. "It's too bad none of the fountains are running," said Andy, "especially on such a warm, lovely day."

I noticed a flock of robins pecking for worms in the soft earth and fluttering between branches. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. I read the carving in the red South Dakota granite wall. In his 1941 State of the Union Address, President Roosevelt spelled out his Four Freedoms to remind Americans why we prepared to fight World War II.

"I don't remember ever seeing the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt in here before this," said Andy.

"Maybe," I said. "I don't know, but I think it's fitting," I told him.

We walked our way forward through FDR's 12-year presidency and the four other outdoor rooms of the memorial to the Prologue Room. "That's new," said Andy. The Prologue Room included statues of Fala, Roosevelt's Scottie dog, and FDR in the wheelchair. "That's definitely new," said Andy, '"and what an inspiration for people with disabilities."

"I'm surprised," I said, "because it was FDR himself who never wanted the wheelchair showing." I read First Lady Eleanor's quote. "Franklin's illness... gave him strength and courage he had not had before. He had to think out the fundamentals of living and learn the greatest of all lessons--infinite patience and never-ending persistence.

"You ready to move on?" asked Andy. "Let's go."

I finished reading the panel first. It said, "One of this nation's greatest leaders, FDR spent each day of his 12-year presidency in a wheelchair."

Construction fences and mud surrounded the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial called Stone of Hope. Located on the last major plot of ground right on the tidal basin and costing about $120,000,000.00, the tribute will be completed by late 2011. "They have lots of work to finish this year," I said to Andy, and he agreed.

A contingent of Korean men in business suits listened to a tour guide at the Korean War Memorial point out the message, "Freedom is not free." Flowers from the University of Seoul bent and swayed in the breeze near the forward soldier statue. The memorial was dedicated by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, President of South Korea, on July 27, 1995, the second anniversary of the armistice that ended the war.
The 19 stainless steel statues, separated by strips of granite and scrubby juniper bushes, depicted a squad on patrol in the rugged Korean terrain, while windblown ponchos recalled the harsh weather there. The symbolic patrol brought together men from various ethnic backgrounds, as well as members of U.S. Air Force, Army and Marines. Sun on the black granite wall mirrored the statues and intermingled images with those of unidentified service men etched in the stone. I thought about FDR's quote. "I have seen war... I hate war." It fit here too.
"How about coffee?" asked Andy. We picked a wrought iron table at the refreshment stand near the Lincoln Memorial. He left to buy two coffees, and I wiped off the outdoor table, chased away some sea gulls, and pulled two breakfast bars out of the backpack.

When Andy returned with the coffee, a tourist named Caroline sat down at the next table. "I'm from Michigan," she offered, placing part of a French fry on her table for a grackle perched nearby. "I'll take your picture."
"That would be nice, but I wouldn't feed the birds if I were you," I said politely. The grackle landed on the chair next to her and hopped to her table. A couple more landed on the chair back.

The first one picked up the fry and took off. Caroline turned to Andy, "Where are you from?" she asked, holding another potato piece to her mouth.

"Connecticut," he answered, pointing excitedly as a warning.

One bird reached forward and snagged a fry from her box on the table. She never even saw it happen. The other swooped in, grabbed the fry as she put it in her mouth, and flew off with it in his beak. Caroline threw up her hands and gasped in surprise.

I wanted to say, "Ma'am, there are reasons the signs say not to feed wildlife." Instead, I kept quiet! Maybe the grackles in Michigan are more polite or not as hungry.