Sometimes I walk around the National Mall just to soak in the symbolism and to feel the power. For three years in the early 1990s I actually worked in one of the government buildings and was in downtown DC five days a week. I was on the Mall once as a new President took his oath of office.
My most memorable visit was the Sunday after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Our national symbols had survived attempts to destroy them and I had to be there. I had to see the buildings and the monuments to feel the security they represent. The oddest observation I made of that visit was how quiet it was on The Mall. Airplanes were still grounded, so the only objects in flight were birds and the occasional military jet. There were very few tourists that day. The important thing was that the buildings that are always there were still there.
During a daytrip into DC this morning, I understood for the first time why the National Park Service refers to the National Mall as America's back yard. I saw bikers, hikers and tourists; joggers and protesters; soccer games and picnics. It is one giant, mixed-use neighborhood park shared by people who live a block away and people who live half a world away.
My use of the Mall today was an exercise walk and some photo-taking. At one point I had to laugh at myself because I realized I was sitting on a park bench in front of the White House drinking Starbucks and listening to a Rolling Stones song blasting from a war protester's boom box. I'm pretty sure I never had an experience as unique as this when I lived in Milwaukee.
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