Cherry Blossom Saturday – Part 2 of 2

by Jim on 2011/03/28

[Jimbaux wants to know why you are running away.]

Whassup, my dear Jimbauxlings.  It is with love that I bring you part two of Cherry Blossom Saturday, or whatever we’re calling it.  (Part 1 can be seen here.)

I Just Wanted You To Tell Me The Truth

And you are I.

Anyway, we continue with another shot of the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.

It was not long after this that Bernie and I started talking about Thomas Jefferson, and he had plenty to say about Jefferson.  I mean no offense to my whoadies and my Cajuns when I say this – you guys and gals know I love you – but this is one of the reasons I left Louisiana and came here; I just couldn’t have these kinds of conversations with folks back home.  I’m grateful to have made some great new friends here this quickly.

What’s The (New) Deal?

We walked around the western edge of the Tidal Basin past the under-construction Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial (of which, I am ashamed to say, I was heretofore ignorant) on towards the FDR Memorial, where I hadn’t been in about five years.

Here’s a shot below of Bernie taking a picture at the FDR Memorial.

The below picture has special meaning for me since my last visit here, for it was in between this visit and my previous visit to the FDR Memorial that I lost my grandfather, who had been in the Civilian Conservation Corps.  (Yes, the lyrics and guitar are both by Jimbaux.)

I’ll write more about his death and the lessons I learned then later.

Like the renewal shown in the beauty of these blossoming trees, my grandfather’s death was a chance for a rebirth for me.  The trees were originally part of a gift from Japan about a hundred years ago.  Please take some time to thumb through these very moving images of the ongoing struggle in that proud nation.

That big building in the rear is part of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  Those greenbacks in your wallet are made there, and you can actually take a tour inside the place and watch the process for yourself.  It’s quite interesting.

The building behind the Washington Monument in the below picture is the Department of Commerce.

Here’s a more “horizontal” shot of essentially the same subject.

As Bernie and I were walking toward the Jefferson Memorial, I was telling him that plenty of “Tea Party” folks, including some I know, love to quote Thomas Jefferson when complaining about President Obama and about government regulation.  Specifically, I’ve seen Tea Party folks use this quote from Jefferson’s first inaugural address:

  • “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement.”

Someone I know, a “Tea Party” type, said, sarcastically, “what an idiot” in response to this.  As I told Bernie, what this person seems to totally neglect is that Jefferson was not an idiot but merely a man of his time, a time when the Industrial Revolution had yet to cross the Atlantic, a time before railroads, power grids, the internet, highways, refrigeration, modern medicine, and electricity.  This issue is not if we should regulate; the issue, the debate, the question, is how much to regulate, and how much is too much, and what kind of regulation.

Well, anyway, once I walked into the Jefferson Memorial and looked around – and keep in mind that my last visit here had been pre-Tea-Party, pre-Obama –  my faith in Jefferson was renewed much more when I looked up and saw the below quote on the wall.

Take that, Tea Party!  Welcome to the 21st Century.

Thank you, Mr. Jefferson.

Satisfaction At Sundown

Looking west across toward the state of Virginia, we see the Custis-Lee Mansion at Arlington National Cemetery in the distance.

The day is done (almost), and gone (almost) is the sun.

We wanted to hang out more, but the temperature was dropping, and Bernie was underdressed for the occasion and wanted to seek some warmth.  He also need to get rest for a Tae Kwan Do performance at the festival the next day.

Carwash, Baby!

Actually, mine needs one, but that’s not what I’m discussing.  Check out these really cool shots that Joy got of her car being washed!  Isn’t that neat?  She’s fortunate enough to have a new Canon 7D in her hands.

Canada, Baby!

So, I’ve been following David Frum on Twitter.  (By the way, don’t forget that you can follow Jimbaux by following @JimbauxsJournal on Twitter.)  I consider Frum to be, among conservatives, at least, fairly level-headed, which does not mean, of course, that I always agree with him, but he’s far more tolerable than most of the people who label themselves as conservative.

Frum posted this article on the legacy of PM Trudeau which I thought was interesting.  I sent it to two of my Canadian pals, each of different ideological persuasions.  Both of them sent me replies; one of them discussed Frum negatively and did not at all mention Trudeau, and another discussed Trudeau negatively and barely mentioned Frum!  It was a neat lesson on how people can have vastly different interpretations and responses to the same piece.

More To Come!

There’s plenty more content here to serve up at Jimbaux’s Journal in the coming days.

All for now . . .

Jimbaux

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

1 John Robichaux March 29, 2011 at 05:56

I know not what Jefferson might think of the present-day Tea Partiers as I am sure they are not of the same organized thoughtfulness of Jefferson. That aside, to enter Monticello is to enter the mind of Jefferson. Nothing speaks more of the ideals of any Founding Father than what a man does his whole life in search of a “better way.” Visitors to Monticello see what they think is the finished home of a man, but it is really the never-ending search of a man caught between 1st wave agriculturalism and 2nd wave industrialism. While the DC memorial is a fitting tribute, the Neoclassical Palladian ideals of Monticello and the innovative contents are indicative of the restless nature of a mind never bored with a day in his life. It speaks more to his expanding genius that anything I know. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what Jefferson would think of his memorial in DC? Does it speak accurately of Jefferson’s ideals? Would Washington approve of a huge obelisk in his name? FDR only wanted a memorial the size of his desk (Now nearly missed on the northwest corner of the National Archives.), but now has a monument of “rooms.” Do the words on the monument walls speak of these men or those who chose those words for the walls?

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2 David Ponson March 29, 2011 at 10:35

beautiful pictures cuz! enjoyed them.

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3 Zoe May 11, 2011 at 18:58

Wow these are so amazing Mr. R i wish i took pics this good wen i went to DC.

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