I took off this morning with my camera, intent on taking the pictures I saw on Wednesday, when I didn’t have my camera with me. (They really don’t like it when you’re snapping off pictures in a Courthouse).
Of course, I didn’t find anything in that specific area that I wanted pictures of really. I did get a few decent ones of some of the deconstruction work downtown.
But I finally got out to Arlington National Cemetery. I hadn’t been there for almost 15 years, and besides being much younger then, it was cold and raining.
It was still pretty damn cold today, but it was very sunny and clear. I dunno… seems more fitting for a cemetery anyway.
There is Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester where people actually go on picnics, but it’s not quite the same thing.
Walking through fields of white tombstones on a cold winter day while leaves rustle and crows squawk in the trees…
it’s all a little too cheesy for me.
This is the real thing. A couple hundred thousand men and women who were willing to fight to the death to defend their friends and neighbors. And beneath Kennedy’s flame, a man struck down for trying to keep more men from having to do just that.
I imagine there’s a lot of volunteers for the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The man moved with absolute precision and timing. If I remember correctly, the guard changes every 2 hours. I can’t imagine counting off in your head and pacing for 2 hours, no matter the weather, the spectators, the season.
I noticed the guard was carrying a very old rifle. It was a single bullet breech loader with a wooden stock and a bayonet on the end. I wonder why they chose that particular model?
Anyway, pictures:
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