AMERICAN MISCELLANY

May 24, 2012     It rained last night and continued to be drizzly this morning, so a perfect day to spend inside at a museum.  We took our #83 bus from the park to the College Park metro station, then the Green Line to the Archives station.  From there it is an easy walk to most of the museums.  But first, I wanted to stop at my old stomping grounds of my first employer.  I was back here only for special projects and was based in the L.A. regional office. 

We decided to take in the American History Museum, figuring that would consume the entirety of the day.  Pretty ugly on the outside, it’s a treasure trove inside.

Like the Air Force Museum, there’s just too much to cover in any one report.  The things that stood out for us most were the transportation section, which had a lot of trains and automotive dioramas,

They even had a section on RV’s!

Loni particularly enjoyed the Presidents & First Ladies exhibit, but the costumes were a yawner for me.  I did like some of the artifacts, like Lincoln’s watch and top hat.

Caution!  Religion rant ahead!  The best of the lot, for me, were the “Jefferson Bible” and the volumes he used to create it.  Jefferson created his own personal Christian tome by excising from the four Gospels only those portions that reflected Jesus’ own teachings, and ignoring things that he could not accept through reason, such as the resurrection and the miracles, or which he thought were later embellishments.  Through this distillation, he sought to clarify Jesus’ teachings, which he considered provided “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.”  AMEN, brother!  Now that’s a religious view that I could get behind.  Cut the magic crap and go with the message.  Unfortunately, his viewpoint will never gain traction.  It undercuts the my-way-or-the-highway power play that has always underlain the organized forms of the Christian and Muslim faiths, and the irrationalities of the belief in a supreme being that would sanction the atrocities performed by the “faithful” in its name.  OK, we now return you to your regular programming.

 

 

The museum is not just a repository of significant artifacts. You can gaze with awe at Judy’s ruby slippers, Action Comics, and Lou Gehrig’s mitt!

There is a rotunda area within the museum and we happened to pass by as a large number of school kids were milling below.  They started to organize themselves, and this was the result.

As we headed back to the park, the drizzle stopped.  Good thing, because when we got back to the College Park station, we just missed our bus and had to wait in the open for over an hour before the next one arrived.  The perils of public transportation.  Loni fixed a nice cassoulet for dinner, and we watched the series finale of “House.”  Not quite a “Mash” moment.