Still locked out!

Okay, I was short on internet time yesterday…so here is the rest of the story. The District of Columbia is a piece of the US that was carved out for the “Federal City.” It is 10 square miles. The center is the capitol building and the city is divided into quadrants…NE, SE, SW, and NW (of the capitol). Streets are numbered or lettered on a grid in each of the quadrants. Streets with state names run diagonally through the city.
That is neither here nor there…just a piece of information.
The monuments at night were truly beautiful. I thought I had to been to all of them, but I had not been to the USMC Iwo Jima Memorial. It is truly breath-taking and I got kind of weepy standing by it. You can’t help but be proud of our country and our servicemen and servicewomen as you stand by it.
The Korean War Memorial at night is really my favorite. Pictures didn’t turn out well however. I walked the Vietnam Memorial and I really appreciate the respect people have as they quietly walk past.
The next memorial to be built will be for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be placed between the Lincoln Memorial and the FDR Memorial. If you haven’t visited the FDR Memorial, I highly recommend it. It has four sections to represent the four terms…and reflects the Great Depression, the New Deal, and WWII.
Today (Wednesday), we heard about the Freedmen’s Bank. It was started to help black servicemen and later freedmen. It did very well for awhile, but collapsed during the Depression of 1873. Frederick Douglass tried to save the bank with $10,000 of his own money, but it still failed. However, some people did get up to 62% of their money back. They had to have proof in the form of a passbook, notarized papers, applications, etc. A man from the National Archives came to show us some of the records. It was like a giant puzzle of which you kept finding more and more pieces. It was really pretty exciting.
Later in the day, we went by bus to Virginia!!!! to see Famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s house. It is right outside DC and has great views of the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The house is called Cedar Pines and he bought it for a great price. It has 21 rooms. In his time, that meant he had to pay taxes on a 21 room house. So, the house did not have “doored” closets….as a door would make something a room! He had a kitchen which was unusual for the time…and especially for him since his last house burned down. The kitchen had an ice box and the water was from a water collecting cistern. He placed this calendar on the wall himself. Most of the furniture in the house is original. In his bedroom, you can see that he lifted weights. He was a fit man who lived to be seventy-something. Every house and every historical adventure must have a toilet…here it is….a chamber pot under the bed.
Mr. Douglass’s favorite place was the Growlery. This was an itty-bitty place in his backyard where he could go to get away from his family. He could “Growl” in it. I guess it was a 19th century MANCAVE.
This is Frederick Douglass's death mask.


Upon returning from the Decatur House, I decided to check to see if Rosemary (my car) was okay. The garage has posted that towing will occur after 3 days. She was fine and I dropped off some of the many books I have been given. Now the bad side…the lock STILL doesn’t work. Another “I fixed it” note was on my door. Nope, still didn’t work. I sat on the floor and called the KEY DEPOT. I must say they are very nice and sincerely apologetic. I explained I was headed to class and wouldn’t be able to hang around.
Back at the Decatur House, we had the most meaningful "reflection" time. It was a very honest dialogue that was heart felt and so sincere. It was a highlight of my week here.

Later, MaryAnn of the Key Depot called and said I was all fixed and she would meet me at the room when I was ready. I called her when I arrived and she was here quickly. Guess what? Only one guess…it didn’t work. I was able to get in, but we couldn’t get the key to work again. She called someone and Jason just showed up. AND…no luck. He WD-40ed it to death and determined it was the door part not the lock. It will have to be fixed tomorrow. Actually, it is quiet and nice. The other floors are filled with loud teenagers!
Thanks to the staff of the Decatur House. They have been wonderful and so accomodating...very helpful on this historical adventure.