Congressman Paul's on First

     One of the most exciting events that I have attended this summer was the Congressional Baseball game. Each year the Congressmen play a baseball game for charity where the Democrats play the Republicans at Nationals Park.  This year was a special game because Rep. Ron Paul was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the game because he is retiring this year. He was inducted into the hall because in 1979 he was the first person to hit an outside the park home run in the Congressional Baseball game.

      As an intern I had to go to the game early to save seats for our staff with the other interns, but this proved to have its advantages. I got in and saved our seats and to my surprise Ron Paul was sitting one section to my left. Eventually I went over to talk to him and he signed my hat and took a picture with me, which was not necessary but shows what kind of person he is.

      The game itself was a blowout as Dem. Rep. Cedric Richmond, who actually pitched in college, shut down the Republicans who really had no chance for the second year in a row. It was a great experience though, and one of the more memorable of my summer.

AH

The Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus

While interning at The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend The Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus. Since AFSP's executive director was on a special panel at the caucus I was even able to assist in deciding the material and information that would be discussed. A major focus of AFSP is to make sure that people realize that bullying is one of many contributing factors of suicide.

The caucus consisted of three initial panels, the screening of the documentary Bully, and then a closing panel. The movie Bully was more emotional than I could have imagined. It chronicles the lives of students (elementary to high school) that are struggling with bully or have completed suicide due to bullying being a contributing factor. Seeing the struggles the students and their families faced was shocking. Even more startling, many school personnel and parents in the movie did not know the proper ways to deal with instances of bullying. There is definitely an awareness and education factor that needs to be set in place for adults.

Another interesting part of caucus, besides the documentary, was listening to all of the information the panelists presented. Students, parents, teachers, principals, school personnel, and health experts were all represented on the different panels. Each one brought a unique and vital point of view to the discuss. I quickly realized the different angles that bullying needed to be targeted. Overall the caucus was well done and I am definitely looking forward to following the steps they make towards combatting bullying in the future. Bullying is a huge stressor and factor that if dealt with properly can help to combat suicide among America's youth. 

- Jenn

Psycho

            Yesterday was one of the best events I have been to since I have been in DC called Screen on the Green. My friends and I grabbed a few blankets and made our way to the mall to see the showing of Psycho on the big screen. I was very excited because I have never seen the film before and have an affection for black and white movies. When we arrived we sat down near the front with a mass of people behind us. For a few fleeting seconds I looked to my right to see the sun setting behind the Washington Monument, with the blues, the golds, and the reds, mixing together to paint a perfect backdrop to the end of the day and the near end of my time in DC. I look to my left behind the screen to see the lights of the capital building light up around the dome to fight off the darkness. It really was a beautiful sight.

            Finally the projector switched on and started playing my favorite cartoon, Bugs Bunny. People laughed as Elmer Fudd chased Bugs Bunny around a jagged landscape with colors and silly faces nostalgic of childhood. Then, after Bugs Bunny ended the music started playing and everyone around us stood up. So, we stood up as well, and when the crowd of probably 150 people began to dance, so did we. After the sporadic dance party we took our seats and the movie began.

            I was amazed by how scary a movie from the 60’s could be. From the different angles and sharp, piercing horror music, more than one person in the audience jumped. Although, I would like to point out that I called what was going to happen at the ending. That night was the beginning of a great end to my last week in DC.

-Evan

Mt. Vernon

            My final weekend spent in DC was spent travelling to see the residence of George Washington at Mt. Vernon. We piled in the car and I had immediately forgotten how much I love driving. It was so relaxing to sit in the passenger seat with the windows down, music playing, wind blowing, and talking with friends. We made our way through the spiraling off ramps and exits until the concrete parted and trees appeared.

            We bought our tickets and made our way onto the grounds. The first lesson that we learned on the premises was that the greatest thing any leader can do is learn when to give up their power. Not only did Washington do this once, but he gave his power up twice. The second lesson we learned while walking around was that it was very hot and we ducked for shade whenever we had the chance.

            However, we made our way to his manor and toured the insides which would have be spectacular living for even someone of today let alone in the late 1700’s. Perhaps my favorite object in his house was the key to the Bastille, as a gift to the Father of Freedom from the people of France. The view from his front porch was spectacular and a perfect place for an O-H-I-O picture.

            I cannot imagine living in the 1700’s let alone living as well as he must have. His vast property, his house on the hill overlooking the beautiful river surrounded by gardens would make anyone envious. As we drove away, all of us tired from a day of walking in the hot summer sun, some of us fell asleep to the gentle curve of the road and the wind in our hair, and I wondered if I would have been able to give up the power that Washington had, and could have had, for the greater good of the country. I wonder if any us would have been able to do what he did then, today.

-Evan

Behind Enemy Lines

 

I had the opportunity to travel to Baltimore and attend the Liverpool v. Tottenham soccer (football) game a few weeks ago. For those of you are soccer illiterate, Liverpool and Tottenham are two clubs who play in the English Premier League, which is the preeminent  and most popular league in the world. Full disclosure, I have been a Manchester United supporter for over a decade (as long as I was aware of their existence) and they play in the same league as these two clubs. So if I seem snarky at all towards the two teams it is only because: 1: they are our rivals, and 2: I hate them.

Thanks to the Amtrak I was able to make going to the game a day trip, taking the 40 minute train to Baltimore at 8 A.M. and returning that night. I met friends from home there, and unfortunately they were all Liverpool supporters so we met at the official Liverpool pre-game event. There were probably 1000 fans there when I arrived at about 9:30 A.M and the game did not start until 1 P.M., so there was quite a crowd.

About an hour before game time we all marched towards the stadium together in a parade of sorts with a police escort, it was a great experience but unfortunately it was the most exciting part of the day. The game itself was actually quite miserable, and both teams looked like they had no desire to be there, but this is not shocking from teams of their character. It was exciting to watch two EPL teams play each other here in the US; the game just didn’t live up to the event surrounding it.