Washington, D.C., September 2001

I went to DC for meetings 09/05-07 and took the opportunity to bring Kara with for 08/31-09/05. The last time either of us had been to DC was 1992. Agenda was to visit and revisit memorials, museums (especially Holocaust Museum), and landmarks; see a Baltimore Orioles baseball game (actually two) in Cal Ripken's final year; and visit Kara's friend Kris who started at Gaulladet University this fall. We also worked in a day to King's Dominion for water slides and roller coasters.

Nobody would have anticipated the hijacks and crashes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center the following Tuesday. We saw (did not visit) the Pentagon, we visited the World Trade Center in January 2001 as part of Kara's choir trip. The trauma and distress of those events was even more immediate to us by the recency of of our visit. As terrible as those actions were, I am hoping our government and our populace will not call for or support further terrorism in retaliation. Justice if we can truly identify the guilty, but no further terror against innocent people of any other country. We are better than that, let us not stoop to that level. As horrible as those actions were, let them move us toward world peace not world war.
The Holocaust Museum was a priority for both Kara and I. At several points I was close to tears, at the end in the remembrence hall I did break down. I returned another day to light candles for Babi Yar and Dachau, both of which I visited in previous travels.

Outside the museum was a protest by the New Black Panthers wanting recognition for the "Black Holocaust". They had some points, but their method of expressing it was perhaps too zealous. We had already planned to visit the Great Blacks Wax Museum in Baltimore, the picture of Kara with Martin Luther King, Jr. is from there. The horrors shown there of the cruelty inflicted on slaves and during the struggle for Civil Rights does represent the Black Holocaust. Whether it's 6 million Jews (and Gypsies, and dissidents, and ...) in Europe or millions of Blacks killed or exploited in slavery or repressed from basic freedoms, it is wrong. Neither is worse than the other, neither can be condoned. Both must be remembered, that was a theme at both museums, so they are never repeated. They can never be rectified.

Now, shortly after we have terrorist strikes in New York or Washington. Let us not forget other countries and other people have also been striken by terrorists, both insurgents and those posing as governments. We must remember those who died, they did not deserve that. We also must insist that no terrorism is inflicted against other innocent people under the guise of retalliation or justice.


The Smithsonian Castle
Missiles and rockets inside the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (Kara's Grandpa Brown helped engineer the Titan Missile) and Kara inside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The sign says her height in $100 bills is $1,584,400... but she was standing on her toes to increase her value. I was distresed to find the Bureau did not give free samples. To make matters worse, they charged us tax when we bought uncut sheets of bills.
Outside the Hirshhorn Museum
Two views down the mall from the Capitol. The Smithsonian Castle is visible in both.
The Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law
The White House and the Capitol


Running from Congress or Running for Congress?
Kris, Kara, and Kurt in Georgetown
At King's Dominion (theme park), Kara beat me (and several others) in a game to win the Tweety. We both enjoyed the water slides the best. They had a couple nice roller coasters, too.
The Viet Nam Memorial (very moving) and the Korean War Memorial (with Lincoln Memorial in background).
The Lincoln Memorial, note the plane in the picture. There were several times I was amazed by the low flying aircraft (to or from National Airport)... and then the next week's events.
The Jefferson Memorial
The Washington Monument (unfortunately still closed)
The Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial... I never knew this was there until I walked into it. There is also a Theordore Roosevelt Memorial I found one morning during one of my runs.
Other pictures: New York, Carnegie Hall, Baseball

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