Summertime and the Living is Easy
The onslaught called spring break has made DC the land of a million motor coaches just in time for the first legitimate heat wave of the season.
Tidal Basin
I toured last week with eight-graders, mostly boys, on one of those languid afternoons around the Tidal Basin.
As we neared the King Memorial I spotted by far the biggest fish I had ever seen in the basin, at least 30 inches in length, a big old carp, hanging in the shallows.
Big Old Carp
With no pole nor even any line I thought longer than I should have of dangling a certain eight-grader as bait.
The moment passed.
And that fish got away.
My fellow guide Chess said he saw a beaver in the same area last week; a potential problem because of the lovely cherry trees surrounding the basin.
Otherwise, I’m all for beavers, and foxes too, as there has been a den of them, mom and the kids, over near the Korean Veterans Memorial.
Of Cemeteries and Hats
For the umpteenth time my group was strictly instructed that no hats were allowed inside Arlington National Cemetery, this on a day when with the sun beating down, one was sorely needed.
Hat
The mysterious “no hat rule” has the exact opposite of the intended effect as it seems to imply that hatless, any behavior is a.o.k.
It utterly fails to address the (by far) number one issue at Arlington, noise and loud voices.
Not only is there absolutely no hat prohibition at Arlington, there are any number of visitors who feel it proper and necessary to cover their head, or part of it because of religious or cultural reasons.
Hats off, hoards of yammering students blithely turn the cemetery into a “disneyland for the dead” as they play coin toss at the Kennedy grave sites and make enough noise to be heard a hundred feet away.
Thus the phrase, “Loud enough to wake the dead.”
Suggestion: By all means wear a hat in the cemetery, concentrate on being silent inside the gates and doff or tip the hat when you feel it appropriate.
My Kind of Teacher
Each group of students will have several “chaperones” whether or not they actually perform the duties of one and some of these seem to need a chaperone of their own though it is the height of unprofessionalism to acknowledge that the inmates have taken over the asylum.
Teacher
One guide told me last year that two of her chaperones had gone missing in the area of Ford’s Theater only to be found at a nearby bar having a drink.
I understand completely.
Lead teachers come in all shapes, sizes and demeanors and one molds oneself to fit the situation.
I knew I was in good hands last week with my “Tidal Basin boys” when the lead teacher gathered them together in the hallowed halls of congress and delivered an entirely appropriate observation:
“You all are starting to piss me off.”