Our Nation's Capitol

November 4 - November 18, 2002

Stuff happens here. I know that Julie, my teacher buddy who hates the word “stuff”, will enjoy that as an opening sentence, but it is true.  Washington DC has lots of stuff going on. During our stay we sat in twice at the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments to the highest court in the land. The first time we went we were only able to stay for about 20 minutes. We heard a little of a death penalty case. That whetted our appetite, so the next time we got in line at 6:30 am for the 10:00 start time. (Yes, we are getting good at standing in line.) We heard Victoria's Secret v. Victor's Little Secret about trademark infringement. We also heard US v. Recio about entrapment and conspiracy. Both were quite interesting, but the process interested us even more. The lawyers get about 30 minutes before the bench. The lawyers start into a prepared opening statement, but at any time any of the 9 justices can interrupt them and ask questions. I think my mom would think they were a little rude - they don't even say "excuse me." The lawyers speak legalese, but the justices are constantly un-legalising sentences. They used many "hypotheticals" (such as, "if some company wants to sell bug spray and they call it Bug Weiser, is that infringement." It is all quite fast paced. Many of the justices are actively engaged, some peppered the lawyers with questions. Justice Thomas spoke just once the 2 times (3 cases) we were there (a whispered aside to the judge right next to him, correcting the justice’s use of “Victoria’s Little Secret”, rather than the correct name, Victoria's Secret). Most of the time Justice Thomas appeared to be nearly nodding off or studying the intricate ceiling. Overall, the experience was moving and it was fascinating to see justice in action.

We also visited the Senate. I can't say that experience was as moving. We got to see a vote and a few drawn out speeches on various minutia to an empty chamber. One bit of history is that we happened see the newest senator (appointed by Gov. Ventura for the late Senator Paul Wellstone) introduce a piece of legislature honoring Senator Wellstone. The news later commented that it was probably a country record for the "junior-est" senator to get a bill passed. It is strange to see senators talking to an nearly empty room with no one listening though. It is just to get their words entered into the record so they can play it back during campaign time.

Other than that Washington has consisted of monuments, museums, zoos, and walking around. David decided he wanted to see the zoo on his birthday (Happy Birthday David). Even though it was raining, Gen and I humored him. The zoo here is free, so it is painless to walk in, see a few of the many exhibits, and take off. Needless to say, not many people visit the zoo on a rainy weekday, so we had the place to ourselves.  We got to see the famous giant pandas get fed and gorge out. The gorillas were all settling in for a good night sleep, the lions and tigers were on the prowl, and the giraffe looked a little bored.  I still feel pretty shaky on zoos.  Some of the animals look miserable, and I think some of the need for educating people has been lessened by the Discovery Channel (where Gen works). 

The Smithsonian American History Museum (cool web site) was particularly good.  The 9/11 memorial and the sections on the experience of being President and First Lady were outstanding.  I’m sure the rest of the museum was just as good, I just couldn’t get to it all. We also enjoyed the new International Spy Museum (which has lines around the block on the weekends as the locals take time to check it out). If you are visiting, enjoy the first part, get ready to be a little disappointed in the middle, and save time for the end which is interesting again.  It felt like they “filled up” the middle a bit with fluff. 

Oh, and we waited in line for 2 hours for the new Harry Potter flick with Gen and her friends. Gen, by the way, is a high school friend of David’s.  They also went to college together. She and her fabulous husband, Gus, were kind enough to host us in Washington. For the first time in months, we actually slept outside of Tiny for a few nights.  It was a novel and rewarding experience.  Gus also cooked a delicious meal. The sleep-overs were fun for all - even Pluto. It was great to get to know them more - a common theme of this trip so far.  Along the same lines, we had the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful evening of Middle Eastern dining and entertainment with another of David’s college friends, Karen, and her husband, Craig.  They live in a beautiful, hip, up-and-coming neighborhood in Baltimore (Canton).

In our travels, we also visited the Crayola “Factory” - enh - great for kids, but it is a manufactured factory for display purposes and the Hershey Commercial enterprise - only if you are desperate to entertain a child (although the rides at the amusement park looked interesting).  Surprisingly enough, the hidden Canal Museum at the Crayola building was interesting. I wish we had saved more time for it.

For pictures, I’m just linking to David’s photos page.  We need to hit the road for Cary.

Betsy