Psssst...I See Dead People...(and I Honor Them)

Arlington National Cemetery

Today The Elk Committee for Sanity paid tribute to those who served our country, either in life or death. It was a beautiful sunny day for such a somber experience. Even though Ross and I made a pact to be as quiet and respectful as we could, we still managed to make a couple of mistakes.

First we went to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the Changing of the Guard. For those of you who don't know, the Guard is comprised of active duty soldiers who are exactly 6 ft. tall and have well proportioned physical characteristics. One guard keeps watch over the tomb and is relieved every hour. They exchange ceremonial weapons in a tightly choreographed ceremony that is presided over by their leader. It was amazing to see these young men perform so many little movements and steps in tandem without a single mistake.

Afterwards, we saw all of the gifts and plaques that other countries presented to America in honor of our fallen unknown. Ross, of course, pointed this one out to me.

This flag and war bonnet presented to Eisenhower by Chief Plenty Coups was very cool. It made me think about the sacrifice that many American Indians made in all of America's wars, even though at that time they were being treated like shit.

We didn't notice that Ross was still wearing his hat and we were totally embarrassed when an employee brought it to our attention. So, we got out of there and continued on in search of JFK's eternal flame monument. On the way Ross couldn't resist sitting in this giant chair, sans hat.

We stopped at the Arlington House, which is the former residence of Confederate Army general Robert E.Lee. The reason Arlington cemetery exists today is because the Union Army occupied the premises during the war and began burying their dead on the property. After the war, the estate was returned to Lee but due to the all the dead bodies, he sold it back to the government for $150,000. The house is seen here at the top of hill above Senator Ted Kennedy's grave. Ross's big head in the foreground.

(Representing Team Sweeney in D.C.)

The section where the Kennedy's are laid to rest was the most powerful for me. The walls are inscribed with some of RFK and JFK's most memorable quotes and seeing the eternal flame burning above the headstones of JFK, Jackie Kennedy, and JFK Jr. struck me. Here is a family who gave everything in life and death to this country. I felt weird about taking pictures, so there are no shots of that here. Just the famous, "ask not what your country can do for you..." below.

Today's blog isn't very entertaining but it wasn't an entertaining day. Instead it was energy sucking and exhausting but that's the least I can do to honor these people. Never again will I hear a news story about war casualties or the death of a Supreme Court Justice without remembering the feeling of honor and respect that we felt here today.

We saw many different types of people from rednecks to Muslims and they all were there for the same reason we were...to honor those who died for this country. We didn't make fun of one person while we there. If you know us, you know that's a pretty big deal.

We were even fortunate enough to observe a funeral procession taking place. It was led by a military band and the coffin was being drawn by a team of horses, while draped in the American flag.

Afterwards, Ross and I made fools of ourselves trying to figure out the Metro. We made it back downtown, had lunch at a Fit Bar (a bar that serves "healthy" cocktails, AWESOME!) and got groceries at this rad farmer's market. Don't forget the sheep cheese!

So, we're gonna have a salad, fresh bread, homemade butter, and JACK n CIDER!! Stephanie arrives tonight so the Three Elk Cadets are off to the Smithsonian...mayhem to follow.