Storm Damage

On June 15th, we were planning to go camping as a family to the Waupaca Camping park.  All day long the weather was promising some severe storms.  Lots of texting and phone calls about what each family was planning.  Pat said we were going when he was done with work.  I told him we were waiting for Erin to get home from work and then we'd see what the weather was doing. 

This is what was happening when Erin was driving up Sunrise road almost home.

When I looked outside and saw the wind chime in a horizontal position, I knew this  was not good. 

Pat stood in the living room and said, "There goes the willow!  And there goes the rest of the willow!  There goes the locust!

I called Erin and told her to go around the back and into the alley as she wasn't going to be able to come up the driveway.  She said she was out in front of the Longbranch as there was a pine tree in the road.  

When the severe part of the storm had passed, Pat had Erin take him to the Transit and get the front end loader so he could move the trees from off the road and off the driveway.

Here's the interesting thing about those two trees, the willow is so messy and I wanted it down and gone.  

Pat wanted the locust down and gone but we didn't get it done before our mission.  

I guess Mother Nature took care of it for us.  Now for the clean up.  We had an Elder Quorum service project and after Scott came over and cleaned up the biggest pieces with the loader, there wasn't nearly as much to do.  Still plenty, but not what it could have been.

 

9/11 Pentagon Memorial

Before we flew home, we did one last thing.  We stopped at the Pentagon to see that memorial.

You park on one side of the freeway and cross underneath through a tunnel to get there. 

The names and ages of all the people who were killed that day either on the plane or on the ground.

Unless you do some research before coming to this memorial, you will not understand it.

We were fortunate to eavesdrop on a group who had a guide and explained how all these benches worked.  Youngest to oldest and depending on which way their bench faced told if they were on the plane or on the ground.  I think at night with each individual reflecting pool underneath each bench lit up it is probably much more impressive.  

Of course for those whose loved ones died at this place on 9/11, this is a sacred place and it doesn't matter if it is day or night.  It is a place of remembrance.

Museum of American History

On Wednesday morning we got in line early to visit the Museum of American History.  It was quite interesting the vast variety of things that are there.  I took only a few photos to remember some of what I saw and experienced.  

This is a piece of the Berlin Wall!  I got to touch it!  

Here are Dorothy's ruby red slippers from Wizard of Oz.

During WWII, many women went to work and Rosie the Riveter became a thing.  We were able to do some practice riveting and see how good we were at the job.  

Then, there's this.  If I were a well dressed woman during WWII, this is what I would be wearing.

FDR's speech to the American people following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  It was so interesting to see the changes he made when his speech writer was finished.

A hat worn by President Lincoln.

A piece of one of the twin towers left over after they went down and things were cleaned up following the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.

There was so much more, but these were things that spoke to me.  

Holocaust Museum

Getting tickets to go to the Holocaust Museum needs to be done months ahead of time or at 7am the day of.  We didn't get any the first day but there were many more available on Tuesday.

What a powerful place!  I cannot even describe the feelings I had as we stepped off of the elevator and were greeted with a photo very much like the one below.

I will never understand how anyone could do this to a group of people.

I will never understand how people can be treated like animals.

I will never understand why these people were transported in train cars and left to die.

Photos of victims.

This quote was above the pile of shoes below.

These walls were filled with photos of people whose voices have not been silenced.

This wall was two stories high!

There was an Ipad there and you could face it to a photo and it would tell the story of that person.

So much brutality.  The German people and military were led slowly and carefully to this point by a vicious dictator.

Amid all the destructiveness, there is a wall of photos with stories much like this one that tells how people saved others at the risk of their own lives.  So many good people.

Then there was this little boat that was used to smuggle people out.

Faces of innocent victims.

People being loaded into rail cars just to be taken to be killed or starved.

The actual doors used on the furnaces where so many bodies were disposed of.  

Everyone should have the opportunity to witness this place. As I thought about those whose lives meant nothing to the Nazi's, I know that if I lived then and there that Tom would've been left to die or outright killed as he is not perfect.  That fact brought things home for me.  

 

Odds and Ends

A few funny things that we noticed.

First of all, this dump truck.

We saw several "Please be patient.  Student driver" stickers on cars.  

And then this $5.15 for a gallon of gas.  Made me sick.

The. National Mall

After Mount Vernon we headed over to the National Mall.  

I always marvel at the size of the Washington Monument.

I love the look of it in the reflecting pool.  

One of my favorite monuments is the one dedicated to those who served in WWII.

I have so many feelings that tend to overwhelm me as I walk through that space and read the quotes.

On this day there were some men there from Honor flights.  Most of them were Vietnam war veterans but there were a few Korean and WWII vets.  I can't imagine what they witnessed. 

The Korean War memorial depicts what those men wore and I marvel at how technology has advanced.

There are some changes being made to this memorial.  All of the veterans who served in this war are having their names inscribed in alphabetical order by the branch of the military they served in.  That means my uncle Ike's name will be there.  

The Lincoln memorial isn't as impressive as the Washington memorial until you step inside.

Then it comes to life.  Reading the inscribed walls and seeing the monstrous statue is aw inspiring. 

We put on a lot of miles walking the mall.  I didn't recall that the planes flew right over the top of Lincoln.  They probably don't but is surely looks like they do.

We walked the Vietnam wall and it was interesting to see all the things that family members leave near their loved one's name.  Flowers, pictures, letters, a baseball cap.  I looked down at a photo near this man's name and saw that he was part of an athletic team from Shawano!  

Even though I was a kid at the time this war was happening, this name brought it right into my back yard.  

I looked a little closer and found another name that looks like it came off of the Menominee reservation. 

How grateful I am for all of those who served in the many wars that our country has been involved in.  I'm grateful for their service and sacrifice.