What's More American than DC on Memorial Day?

As our time in DC comes to a close, we realized that there was so many more things to experience in DC that had yet to do, and what better time than Memorial Day Weekend. On Friday, we traveled with Glenn School Learning Community to both the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetary. For many of us, it was our first time seeing the Pentagon Memorial, dedicated to those who had lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks both inside the Pentagon and on American Airlines Flight 77. As we walked through the Memorial, it was sombering to see the hundreds of benches, lined up chronologically based on birth, representing those who lost their lives. Small children who were on the plane to seasoned veterans who were working for the government in the building had their names engraved on each bench, facing either the sky or the building based on where they were at the time of the attack. All of the fellows could remember exactly where they were on that September day, and spent an extra moment acknowledging the victims who shared the same year of birth as us who were killed.

We then traveled to Arlington National Cemetary, another place for rememberance and respect for those who had lost their lives serving our country. It may have been one of the hotest days in the year, but we trekked through the cemetary to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where we made it just in time to see the changing of the guard. We were amazed by the precision and control all of the soliders displayed, especially in the 90 degree weather dressed in their full uniforms! Their dedication to honoring the tombs of the WWI, WWII, and Korean War unknown soldiers caused another moment to pause and reflect on their sacrifices.

I was particularly interested in seeing the Kennedy Grave Site during this trip to Arlington. I had seen the Eternal Flame and the resting place of JFK and his family as well as that of his brother Robert, but new to me was the grave of Edward "Ted" Kennedy. This was important to me because it was the only gravesite in this area of someone who I could remember living. I was born far after the deaths of JFK and RFK and have only thought of them as great public servants who were already deceased, but I was 18 when Ted Kennedy passed away, and can vividly remember watching some of his speeches on the Senate floor and public appearances. I saw his funeral and memorial on television, but it was a new and somber experience to see his grave after watching him when he was alive.

On Sunday, the other fellows and I walked along the National Mall to visit the Monuments and War Memorials. There were hundreds of flowers and tokens at each memorial to remember those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. It was important for us to stop and pay a tribute to the World War II and Vietnam Memorials- after all, isn't that what Memorial Day is about?

To finish our patriotic weekend, the four other fellows and I made our way to the Nationals Ballpark to see the Washington Nationals take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Memorial Dat. Being a Phillies fan myself, the group quickly divided into factions as some of the other fellows decided to root for the Nationals. Fittingly enough, both teams colors happened to be a combination of red, white, and blue! The teams took multiple moments to honor current members of the armed forces and their families throughout the game as well as remember those who had lost their lives. God Bless America was sung during the Seventh-inning Stretch, and we left the game feeling a strong sense of pride for our country (an in some of our cases, the Phillies!).

ED

My DC Bucket List

Although I had been to DC multiple times, I had never experienced much of the city outside the National Mall. When the other fellows and I came to DC, we made a "Bucket List" of things we wanted to do before our quarter here was over. With the WAIP Program Director and Coordinator urging us to experience the city on the weekends, the five of us were able to complete many things in the first few weeks we were here- visiting Eastern Market for breakfast and shopping on Saturday and Sunday Mornings, attending Congressional hearings (easy for those of us on the Hill), visiting the Library of Congress, and walking along the Mall to see the war memorials. I was able to explore the the Natural History Museum, one of the many Smithsonians, and see the gorgeous Hope Diamond (left).





The other fellows soon realized that I am not the most adventurous person, especially when it comes to food. When we went to Chinatown our second week here to see the National Portrait Gallery, one of the fellows decided it would a good time to experience suishi in DC. He recommended a restaurant named Sei just down 7th Street, and we all followed his lead. Little did we know that while Sei is one of the best suishi restaurants in DC, it it also one of the most upscale. Needless to say that one particular fellow was in the dog house for a few days, as we showed up in tshirts and jeans. Some of the other fellows, who were not suishi rookies as I was, promptly ordered their favorites while I picked a random sashimi dish off of the menu, which turned out to be raw scallops- ew. A few weekends later I decided to be adventourous again when we went to a different suishi bar just next to the Verizon Center, and had a much better suishi experience!





We also ventured to Georgetown to pay a visit to the Famous Georgetown Cupcakes, featured on the TLC show DC Cupcakes! Instead of waiting in line for hours, we ordered online the night before and were able to jump right to the front and enjoy our delicious cupcakes. Georgetown was a beautiful place, right off the water with many shops and restaurants, but found myself with a pang in my heart for High Street...

A few weeks later, two of the other law school hopeful fellows and I decided to visit the Supreme Court for oral arguments. We arrived at the Court at 8 am, only to find that were were 118th in line! The police officers let us go home with our place markers, and we returned at 8:45 to wait to be let into the Courtroom for the hearing at 10 am. As we waited, we saw several school groups bypass our line and walk in ahead of us, as well as a group of men and women from the Navy. By the time these groups made their way into the courtroom, the police announced there would only be room for 50 more observers, which sadly did not include us. We were offered 5 minute tickets, which meant that we could walk into the courtroom and sit in temporary seating behind a set of drapes for a five minutes before leaving and allowing the group behind us to get their moment before the highest court in the country. We did not anticipate the high demand for the arguments- the poor 51st person in line had been waiting since 6:45 am!- but were happy to be able to go into the courtroom for just a few moments. We went through security, had to check all of our belongings into lockers, and then go though another metal detector before lining up quietly outside the room. We were ushered in, and lucklily I was seated with a good view of Justice Scalia, although of no one else. We heard five minutes of argument from the case William H. Sorrell, Attorney General of Vermont, et al. v. IMS Health, Inc., et al. The attorneys were able to get in a few words, but were quickly interrupted by the Justices who wanted to have their own opinions expressed and points proven to the rest of the Court. Sometimes they bring new logic to light, and sometimes they point out weaknesses in the attorney's previous arguments and written briefs. In a prior trip to the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia revealed that he almost always has his mind made up before oral arguments, and that it is rarely ever changed by what is said that day, which is interesting to me. Attorneys spend months and even years leading up to their 30 minutes before the court, and often they are arguing a lost cause to a court that has already been decided.


ED

Washington D.C.: A Few Words, Many Sights

Part One

Well I guess it’s time that I share what I have seen, learned and experienced here in D.C. I have less than two weeks left here in Washington. This post is “better late than never, but never late is better,” so it’s good that I had all the time in DC to create this post. J

This Part One, this be the first few weeks in Washington…

"Somethings speak for themselves..."

New York: Our Nation's Capitol?

This weekend, our team, or 5-man wolf pack, traveled from the capitol of the United States to the “capitol of the world,” New York City. The others and I talked a lot about how different New York was from D.C., and some even said that they may prefer Washington over the Big Apple (myself included). I still love NY and could even live there one day if given the opportunity (and the money, of course :-) ). Of course, as a native of the state, I think I am predisposed to love the city, even if my hometown of Rochester, NY is almost as far away from NYC as Washington, D.C. (It’s only a difference of 40 miles.) While taking pictures of Federal Hall on Wall Street, I had a thought. What if Washington, D.C. was not chosen to be the nation’s capitol? What if, perhaps, New York, the capitol of the United States from 1785 to 1790, was chosen instead? What would a New York capitol city be like?

As I walked down Constitution Avenue on my way to work today, I was enjoying the wonderful weather and scenery. The Capitol Hill neighborhood is definitely one of my favorites because of its beauty and awe-inspiring views of the Capitol, Supreme Court, and the Washington Monument. The green space and trees accompanying the sidewalk provide an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re not necessarily in a “real” city when in reality, you are. Juxtaposed against scene is midtown Manhattan. It’s loud, smelly, and dirty. There are a few trees and green space here and there, but nothing compared to the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The sounds of car horns and screams for taxis, accompanied by the smells from food carts, known as “street meet” to New Yorkers, fill the air. Occasionally, a person who may very well be crazy will approach you for money or food, as Dara knows all too well. Instead of monuments and green space, there are towers and skyscrapers. Instead of flower boxes filled with tulips and pansies, there are street vendors selling the latest knock-off handbags, watches, and sunglasses.

While some might characterize my depiction of Manhattan as skewed because I pointed out what some might call “negative” aspects of the city, I would have to disagree. While it is true that New York is not as aesthetically pleasing as Washington, I think that is what makes New York so distinctive. I would also point out that there are many places around Washington that are not as pretty as Capitol Hill. The Southeast quadrant of Washington is known for having a high crime rate and the city in general has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States. There are many things about New York that make it truly amazing, which is why it is a destination spot for tourists from all over the world. The amount of diversity and culture in the city is astounding. You may here 6 or 7 different languages spoken a day in Manhattan, or in any of the other Burroughs for that matter. Because of the cultural diversity, the city has so many things to offer in terms of restaurants, things to do or see, or places to visit. Of course Washington, being a major metropolitan city in its own right, offers a similar experience, but New York surpasses it, in my opinion, because of its massive population.

My point is that both cities are different and distinctive in their own right. New York has its culture, its reputation for being the capitol of the world, the center of business and economy, and the center for the arts. Washington has its politics and law, its ambitious people, its impressive monuments, memorials, and buildings, and its surplus of interns. I love both cities simply for these reasons: they are so vastly different. So what of New York as the nation’s capitol? I think that it could have been a great capitol. It had the population, the location, and in the future, the reputation for being the capitol of the world, and as the greatest nation in the world, why not have an amazing capitol like the Big Apple? The city would have developed differently, of course, to include the sites that are necessary in running the federal government. Perhaps Central Park would have been the National Mall, the Federal Hall would have been part of the Capitol building, Times Square would have been home to monuments and memorials instead of MTV, Toys R Us, and Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co, and Park Avenue would have been the home of the Supreme Court. This is pure speculation, of course, and interesting to think about how that may have changed the future of our nation. But the fact is New York was not chosen to be the capitol, and I think it’s probably for good reason. Aside from the fact that Manhattan Island and the surrounding Burroughs would have been too sprawling for practicality sake, a city founded solely for the purpose of a national capitol makes sense. It is the people’s city. The mall, the monuments, even the Capitol building, is for the people. That doesn’t mean New York is not a “people’s city,” it just means they’re different.

I have loved my time living in Washington, and I was happy to be back in the District this morning. But New York is amazing, too. I guess this is my chance to stick up for my fellow New Yorkers everywhere to say that yes, New York is loud, smelly, dirty, and crowded. Maybe some New Yorkers are rude and angry. But really, we’re just misunderstood, and I would be proud to call myself a “New Yorker” if I ever lived in the city one day. Maybe you’re crammed into a small apartment with no yard, but that’s what central park is there for. Perhaps Washington is more “livable” than New York, but what does “livable” really mean anyway? Maybe Washington is too obsessed with politics. And perhaps Washington is a bit “uppity,” aren’t most major metropolitan cities? Maybe there are too many lawyers, bureaucrats, and politicians in Washington. But I know many people that would say there are too many of these types of people anyway, regardless of where they come from. Honestly, I wouldn’t have New York be any other way. And honestly, I wouldn’t have our nation’s capitol be other place than Washington, either.

-Katie Contino