With all the coverage about 9/11 this week, the following were my
thoughts sometime in January of this year. Dedicated to Rick, Jim, Tim,
Patty, and all the other men and women that serve our country.
Sitting here today thinking about the cruise my family will be taking
in a couple of weeks over Presidents Day, I began to wonder how this
vacation could possibly top last year. Our family vacation last year
was a rekindling of spirit and hope for me personally.
Last year I toured the White house where history is made. I walked
through the halls of our Capitol where decisions are made everyday that
affect millions. I saw the highest court in the land and witnessed
where individuals can protest peacefully without risking bodily harm. I
stood where George Washington himself probably stood while looking out
over the Potomac from a hill at Mt Vernon. I walked through the bedroom
where Abraham Lincoln took his last breath on this earth. I saw hills
and valleys of white crosses where our Nations heroes are laid to rest.
I cried in front of the eternal flame of JFK and wondered what might
have been. I stood on the very spot where Martin Luther King made his
famous "I have a dream" speech. I celebrated our Nations birthday
on the 4th of July by watching the parade and fireworks show on the
mall. I saw how Pierre L'Enfant laid out the city of Washington from a
view inside the Washington Monument. I saw more money than I will ever
acquire roll off printing presses from inside the Federal Reserve
building. I stood in front of all 19ft of Abraham Lincoln and viewed
Jefferson in the rotunda. I wept silently while viewing all 493.5 feet
of the names of the young men who gave their lives in Vietnam. I
visited our National Cathedral which stores the tomb of Woodrow Wilson
and Helen Keller. I saw our beautiful flag flowing gently in the wind
at night immortalizing the Marines at Iwa Jima. I watched the changing
of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and realized brothers
in arms do everything humanly possible to protect each other and bring
the bodies of those that don't make it home. I saw planes, rocket
ships and even touched moon rock in the Air and Space museum. I stood
inches away from our Declaration of Independence and imagined the
ideals and principles these men must have had. I saw the Gutenberg
Bible in the Library of Congress and marveled at the handwork, time,
and patience it took the Monks to write it.
I have only scratched the surface of the things I saw and experienced
on my vacation to Washington D.C. My life is richer by going and I can
only hope my children's lives are richer as well. Now hopefully when
they study about our Declaration of Independence they will not think of
it in terms of some worn out document some men signed many years ago.
I've never served in the military and in many ways I regret not doing
so. I salute all those that have and continue to serve. I'm reminded
of the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial that has "Freedom is not Free"
etched in stone. It has been paid for in blood at Yorktown, Antietam,
Korea, Vietnam, Pearl Harbor, Iwa Jima, Afghanistan, New York, Iraq,
and hundreds of other places.
I realize we have many problems in our nation today; war, healthcare,
social security, protecting our citizens, lobbyists, education, the
disparity between rich and poor, deficits, and immigration policies
just to name a few. I often feel that lobbyists get more attention in
Washington than the folks back home and that there is no real
accountability. However, after my trip I'm hopeful that middle
America (not left and not right) can and will help our nation preserve.
I only need to think about how my grandparents sacrificed during the
dark days of WWII or the great depression and I realize the things that
have challenged our nation only strengthen our resolve and bring us
closer together as a nation.
Mark Osborne
Columbia, SC
