Reflections on The Moving Wall

The Moving Wall, the half-size replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC, was in Orange County this weekend. Having only been in DC before the monument was built, it was a great opportunity for me to see it so close to home. Set up in a quiet corner of a large park, it had the somber reverence appropriate for a memorial. I appreciate the double meaning of the name itself, The Moving Wall: not only is it a traveling exhibit, but is also a touching, emotional work of art. The wall itself is an architectural beauty. The shiny black facade, which completely resists fingerprints (I tried), is as clear as a mirror. As you are reading the names of those lost at war, you can see yourself reflected there. There were many personal tributes left at the base of the wall: flowers, pictures, flags, a teddy bear wearing a military uniform, and a few red, white and blue cans of Budweiser.

Volunteers manned computers to assist visitors in finding their loved ones amongst the 58,267 names etched on the wall. Volunteers also roamed around the memorial ready to answer any questions about it. One gentleman explained to me how it starts at the center, the apex, with those killed starting in 1959, and expands out to the right from there until 1968. Then, it starts again at the opposite side, with those killed from 1968 on, and ends back at the apex, in 1975, so everything returns to the center. There are 74 panels, some listing only a handful of names, and some listing thousands, grouped by the dates they died, showing the ebb and flow of war. The symbolism of it is amazing.

There was also an exhibit of items donated by veterans and their families. It included a few jeeps, lots of uniforms, and tons of pictures, medals, and letters. A poem, written by a soldier who came home alone as most of his friends died there, was especially heartbreaking. The city, which has a large Vietnamese population, created a committee in 2009 to build a permanent Vietnam War Museum. With everything on display this past weekend, they are on their way to creating a great museum. I hope they are successful. It is something people need to see. We should never forget how horrible war is, and never stop working to make it something we only read about in history books.

Football and the office

I work in a small office with all guys. Not only am I the only female, I'm the only Browns fan among a bunch of football fanatics. The season is still a week away and there has already been a lot of trash talking, always done in my presence and always directed at my Browns. I keep telling them they'll be sorry once the season starts and McCoy, Hillis, Cribbs and company start kicking ass and taking names. Today, I thought my boss was working hard and printing out a document on my printer. Nope. He was printing out the top 300 fantasy football rankings. And quizzing us on where the first Browns player falls on the list. It's Peyton Hillis at #25. Four of us are in a fantasy league together--and I can't wait to take their money at the end of the season! The trash talking is only going to get worse come next weekend. I can't wait for football!

USS Abraham Lincoln

I was sooooooo excited when I read that the USS Abraham Lincoln would be stopping at the Port of LA for Navy Week--and giving free public tours. Not only is it 3 football fields long, 20 stories high, weighs 97,500 tons when fully loaded for combat, but it would be the first time in 20 years that an aircraft carrier docked in our harbor. I knew I had to see it. Tours were from 10am - 4pm. A friend and I left my house around 9:15 for the half hour drive to San Pedro. We made it over the Vincent Thomas Bridge and into the port area. Traffic was pretty backed up, but I wasn't worried about it yet, since we were right there. And I was still so hyped up to see that boat--waiting a little while was a small price to pay. After inching forward about 20 yards in 40 minutes, we decided to forego the parking lot and drive up the hill into the neighborhood and park there. A mile and half walk donwhill was fine. We get into the port and can finally see the MILLIONS of people who had the same idea. Everyone from LA and Orange Counties, and every single tourist in Southern California must have been there! The Navy was overwhelmed by the crowds. Tours were closed for the day by 11am, as those in line then would make it by 4pm. I wasn't going to get on the ship! It was hard not to cry! But my friend talked to the cops who said we could get a good view from Cabrillo Beach. So, we walked a mile and half back UPHILL to get to the car (great exercise), and took off for Cabrillo. We rounded the curve on the hill above the beach and OH MY GOD!! It was spectacular! To see that giant ship just off our shore, it was amazing! It was beautiful! We were very jealous of the people who live in the oceanfront homes who got that view for a whole week. It was breathtaking. And we never would have had this view of it had we made the tour. It was definitely the silver-lining! Hopefully, Navy Week will return to LA very soon--and we'll be in line at 6am for the tour!

The Demise of Borders Bookstores

I don't have a Kindle, an eReader, or a Nook, and I have zero desire to own one. I love to read and I like real books. Maybe I'm behind the times, but I'm OK with that. As everyone knows, Borders, once a retail giant, is closing their remaining 399 stores. We still have a few brave independent booksellers and, of course, Barnes & Noble, but they are in trouble, too. It's sad. Who hasn't walked into a bookstore and found a random book that you loved? That you never would have found if not for the cool cover, or interesting title. You can't do that online--you have to do a search for title or author, or something that you already know. You can't walk down an aisle and have a great book jump out at you. I feel cheated of everything I'm going to miss in the future. For what it's worth, I felt the same way about record stores. I spent most of my teenage years, and 20s, in record shops. But I guess time and technology marches on, and we are left with only the sweet memories of yesterday. See you at the Borders liquidation sale.

Santa Ynez Valley

I am not usually a weekend getaway kind of person--I prefer long vacations across oceans, but I did a road trip over July 4th weekend. And it was great! I went to the Santa Ynez Valley, just above Santa Barbara. Golden, rolling hills, orchards, and vineyards. If you saw the movie "Sideways", that's the place. I stayed at the same hotel they did in the movie, and drank wine at the same restaurant bar. It is a very agricultural area: 60 wineries are located there, along with apples, pears, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, farms, ranches, and a casino! My highlights were Ostrichland, Quicksilver Ranch, and Nojoqui Falls. Ostrichland was just what you'd guess, hundreds of Ostriches--that you can feed! My favorite sign said "Yes, we like to bite". These birds are huge (250 - 350 pounds) and very messy eaters. They violently attack the food pan that you hold out to them--and you have to hang on very tight to that dish! Small children aren't allowed to feed them. It was horrifying at first, but once I got used to it, it was kind of funny. I went from giant birds to tiny horses. Quicksilver Ranch is a miniature horse farm. Miniature horses, not miniature farm! They were beyond cute. The adults grow no more than 34 inches, and the newest babies were maybe a foot and a half high--the size of an average German Shepherd. I really wanted to take one home! You can buy them, but I didn't think they would like my small apartment. I love waterfalls, love, love, love them! Thanks to a friend who used to live in the area and told me about the place, I went to Nojoqui Falls. Pronounced no-ho-we. After a long drive down a winding road in the middle of nowhere, it's half mile hike into the woods. Very pretty, very peaceful--which basically, sums up the whole weekend! I might turn into a weekend getaway convert!

The Weiner Affair

Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive. Love that poem. It's something everyone should read, and heed. Congressman Weiner takes pictures of his bony, naked body and sends them to women who are not his wife. The wife to whom he's only been married less than a year. So much for that 'honeymoon phase'. Then, he lies about it, over and over and over. Lets' face it--he's not the first, not in taking the photos or in lying about it. There have been a rash of men doing the 'post picture and lie about it' routine lately. Let's not forget Brett Favre texted a pic of his junk, unsolicited, to a female employee of his former team. Not smart. What makes these rich, famous and powerful men think that taking, posting and sending these kinds of pictures is a good idea? What makes them think we want to see it? OK, I admit I'd be willing to take a gander at Brett Favre, but that's just me. But in all seriousness, why??? Why do they do it? It's just plain stupid! Do I think Weiner should resign? Yes, but not simply because of the pictures themselves. Do I care that he violated the trust of his new bride? Not really. I don't know her and it's not my business. I don't have time to be concerned about the millions of people who pick scumbag spouses. I do care that he violated the trust of the people who sent him to congress. I feel sorry for the people of his district--and for all of us, since as a congressman, his votes affect the entire nation. He made a very poor decision. He should be smart enough to know better. Poor decision-making is not a good quality for an elected official. I want him to resign because of the pure idiocy of the act and the blatant lying about it. I question what other stupid things he's doing, and then lying about. It makes him untrustworthy and unfit to make decisions on any level, much less a national one.

Work, TV and Blogging

I feel so bad that I haven't blogged for such a long time. Since I got a job, I haven't had the time to do any fun things to blog about! Actually, that's not true. I've been having fun, I just haven't been writing about anything. The main culprit for not blogging is television. I only watch three shows--House, Glee and American Idol--but they take up four evenings. Way too much time to be spending in front of the boob tube. Fortunately, they all had their season finales last week, and since I don't do reruns, I can get my life back. I feel free again!! I'm looking forward to cool summer nights, more tennis, longer happy hours, sunset walks on the beach, and of course, more blogging! Stay tuned.