Monuments to America at Night ~ D.C. and Philadelphia

Every great dream begins with a dreamer.

Always remember,

you have within you the strength,

the patience, and the passion

to reach for the stars 

to change the world.

~Harriet Tubman

I'd always wanted to go to the Lincoln Memorial at night. After marching with so many beautiful humans that day, it felt like the perfect night ...

Lincoln Memorial

Those who deny freedom to other,

deserve it not for themselves;

and, under a just God, 

can not long retain it.

~Abraham Lincoln

Press play ... ;)

America will never be destroyed from the outside.

If we falter and lose our freedoms, 

it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

~Abraham Lincoln

Nearly all men can stand adversity,

but it you want to test a man's character,

give him power.

~Abraham Lincoln

It will be found an unjust and

unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty

upon the supposition he may abuse it.

~George Washington 

Vietnam Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is inspiring and charged with an incredible energy that's hard to describe. The Vietnam memorial is very different experience. Like the Lincoln Memorial it feels like a sacred space, but so very quiet and solemn, as if you are surrounded by the thousands of souls lost in those years. You can't help but weep walking through and reading the names ...

"The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall provides one of the National Mall’s most powerful scenes. In truth, the “wall” is actually made up of two identical walls that each stretch 246 feet and 9 inches, containing more than 58,000 names. The names are listed in chronological order based on the date of casualty, and within each day, names are shown in alphabetical order."

"Just south of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, which serves to commemorate the 265,000 women that served in the Vietnam War, many of whom worked as nurses. The 2,000 pound bronze structure stands 15 feet tall and depicts three women attending to a wounded soldier, reflecting the unity required during the struggle of the war."

"The third part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) bronze statue, another moving reminder of the disparate groups that had to come together during the Vietnam War. Each of the three soldiers stands seven feet tall, situated on top of a one-foot granite base. One is European American, one is African American and the other is Hispanic American, with the statue arranged as if to show the three soldiers gazing upon the Memorial Wall at the names of their fellow comrades."

There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty,

that makes human nature rise above itself,

in acts of bravery and heroism.

~Alexander Hamilton

United States Treasury

I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.

There was such glory over everything.

The sun came up

like gold through the trees,

and I felt like I was in heaven.

~Harriet Tubman

There are seasons in every country 

when noise and impudence pass current for worth;

and in popular commotions especially,

the clamored of intruded and factious men

are often mistaken for patriotism.

~Alexander Hamilton

The White House

The Washington Monument

If the freedom of speech is taken away

then dumb and silent we may be led,

like sheep to the slaughter.

~George Washington

The World War II Memorial

We didn't have a lot of time and couldn't see everything we would have liked to have seen, but I had to go pay my respects at the WWII Memorial. When I was a hospice volunteer at the VA years ago, most of my guys were vets from the second world war. I was not sure how emotional I'd be. Mostly, Lauren and I walked around it separately. It was raining and quiet and I only saw a couple of other people around there.

So many things went through my mind, being there. Seeing the names of the places, the battles ... I thought of stories they'd told me of being in the Pacific, of rescue missions and quonset huts, and coming in at Normandy Beach. I started crying. 

I thought of my guys who had survived the war but were now gone and how I missed them, and then I started thinking of everyone who didn't survive that war and the Holocaust. I looked around at the memorial and started to think how crazy human beings are, and that throughout history we keep doing these horrible things to each other. Then I was really crying. 

Today the guns are silent. 

A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. 

The skies no longer rain death -- 

the seas bear only commerce- 

men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. 

The entire world is quietly at peace. 

~General Douglas MacArthur

Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women 

in the service of our country

can never be repaid. 

They have earned our undying gratitude.

America will never forget their sacrifices.

~Harry S. Truman

I was melancholy leaving D.C. It was still cold and rainy. I had all of these mixed emotions. It had been an emotional roller coaster weekend. The march was such a high and so inspiring and energizing, as was going to the National Museum of Women in Art. (I'll have to get to that in my next post.)

Guard against the impostures 

of pretended patriotism.

~George Washington

The Capitol 

Our flight to the West Coast was actually out of Philly, so we drove to Baltimore, dropped our rental car, and took the train to Philadelphia. And drank wine on the train. I looked at my photos and we talked about all the great things that happened and all the wonderful people we met and I started feeling hopeful again. 

                                                           Happiness and moral duty

are inseparably connected.

~George Washington

AND we were going to Philadelphia! 

Philadelphia Train Station

We hopped in a taxi and off we went. What could we see in about an hour?

Liberty Bell

Liberty, when it begins to take root,

is a plant of rapid growth.

~George Washington

Independence Hall

The Rocky Steps, outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Lauren downloaded the Rocky theme and the runner we grabbed held up that phone in one hand playing the music, and my phone to record in the other!

As you can see we were cracking ourselves up! And, no one has ever seen Philly that fast! 

And the next morning ...

Home.

This Land is Your Land

I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty 

will burn in your bosoms 

until there shall no longer be a doubt 

that all men are created free and equal.

~Abraham Lincoln

Blessings and light

Lincoln Exhibition at The Reagan Presidential Library

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth

on this continent a new nation,

conceived in liberty 

and dedicated to the proposition 

that all men are bread equal.

~Abraham Lincoln

Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863

Pocket Watch of Abraham Lincoln

Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln

June 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Simi Valley, California

from the website: 

"Twenty-five renowned Lincoln collectors and DreamWorks Studios join the Reagan Library for a major Abraham Lincoln Exhibit. objects on display include President Lincoln's famous stovepipe hat, a bloodied pillow from the night he died, a Lincoln-signed Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment, and sets from DreamWorks' "Lincoln" Movie."

Stovepipe hat of Abraham Lincoln. He used to store things in his hat, while he was wearing it! Amazing to imagine this was on his head ...

Lincoln is my nephew's favorite president, so this summer my parents and I decided to take him to the Lincoln Exhibition, at the Reagan Presidential Library. It was amazing to see many of his personal items and writings, in person. I'm so happy we made it!

Leather case, belonging to Mary Todd Lincoln 

Sets and costumes from the film Lincoln, by Stephen Spielberg 

... I know that the Lord is always on the side of right.

But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I

and this nation be on the Lord's side.

~ Abraham Lincoln, 

Set of Lincoln's office, from the film, Lincoln.

I walk slowly, 

but I never walk backward.

~Abraham Lincoln

One of many handwritten letters and speeches by Lincoln, in the exhibition ...

The better part of one's life consists of friendships ...

~Abraham Lincoln 

letter to Joseph Gillespie, 1849

Lincoln Presidential China - Lincoln chose the eagle, Mary chose the purple border, her favorite color.

Sleeping bonnet of Mary Todd Lincoln

Gutta-percha cases. It was common practice in the 19th century to carry one of these little cases with a photo and lock of hair. Above, Abraham Lincoln, and below, his son Willie who died in the white House in 1862, at the age of eleven.

Mary's gloves ...

My dad showing Benjamin, my nephew, remnants of the Civil War.

Below, medical tools of the time ... pretty horrific.

I pray that our Heavenly Father 

may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,

and leave you only the cherished memory 

of the loved and lost,

and the solemn pride that must be yours

to have laid so costly a sacrifice 

upon the altar of freedom.

~Abraham Lincoln

Letter to Lydia Bixby November 21, 1864

Uniforms of the civil war.

Below, the quill pen with which President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery

I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

~Abraham Lincoln

Speech to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment

March 17, 1865

One of several pieces of election paraphernalia, this campaign banner was from Logan County, Illinois, 1860.

Our reliance is in the love of liberty

which God has planted in our bosoms.

Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit

which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men,

in all lands,

everywhere.

~ Abraham Lincoln

Speech at Chicago, 1858

Grand Reception of the Notabilities of the Nation, 

at the White House 1865 

Hand colored engraving

(On the evening of the 2nd inauguration)

-Lincoln shook hands with an estimated 5 to 6 thousand people.

A fragment of the coat he was wearing, during the assassination, at Ford's Theater.

Mock up of the bedroom, where he was taken, after being shot. The pillow is the actual pillow on which he died, at the Peterson Boarding house, near Ford's Theater.

Steel engraving of Ulysses S. Grant, 1868

William E. Marshall

My nephew loved it, when we told him that U.S. Grant is actually his relative! ... A distant cousin or uncle. I'm not sure, my sister is the genealogy expert.

Anyway, these were such gorgeous engravings! Difficult to photograph, because of an incredible amount of glare. You can see that I took the photos, from an angle, but they lovely and detailed, with so much dignity and humanity. I love them.

Steel engraving of Abraham Lincoln, 1868

William E. Marshall

Peace does not appear so distant as it did.

I hope it will come soon,

and come to stay;

and so come as to be worth the keeping 

in all future time.

~Abraham Lincoln

Letter to James Conkling, August 1863

This 37 Star United States flag, was laid upon the casket of President Lincoln, in Philadelphia, PA., Independence Hall, April 21, 1865.

The library is in Simi Valley, up on a hill. Great views but quite windy! Below, is where we sat and had lunch.

Views from the Presidential Library

A piece of the Berlin Wall

And, of course, my nephew had to see it again ... Air Force One!

This plane flew 7 presidents, including Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. 

It's funny to see how un-techie it is. We forget how much has changed! Like the huge telephones and clunky VCRs and other equipment. Let's just say ... it's not exactly swanky or sleek inside. 

They don't let you take pictures inside the plane.

Air Force One Pavilion 

Boys love planes. Here's Ben. :)

The exhibition runs through September 30, 2013.

 Click here for more information.

Ken Burns, The Civil War: The Gettysburg Address

I leave you,

hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms 

until there shall no longer be a doubt

that all men are created free

and

equal.

~Abraham Lincoln

Blessings and light!

(I'm almost caught up on summer posting - back to Italy soon!)