A Rooftop Party, A Campaign, A Memorial

This weekend was filled with lots of different activities. Since it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 the city was having memorials, programs, and different exhibits going on. But before we got to the 9/11 part of the weekend we had a few other events to attend.
Friday night we went to a birthday party for my friend Matt Holton on the roof of his apartment building. We felt pretty cool about the whole situation. The view was beautiful since you could see DC all lit up. I actually ran into a few people I knew from home which is always fun and we met a few new friends through out the night.

Kristen and I with our Root beers

Saturday morning I was up bright and early. Me and two other guys decided to volunteer for Mitt Romney's campaign. The two guys had been helping with it all summer and had found out they needed people to collect signatures in Delaware to get Mitt on the primary ballot. We took a two hour drive out to Delaware with 3 we'll say interesting individuals. We went to the Milford town festival and started asking people if they were registered republican voters. The responses went a little something like this:
         "Yes, how do we get those democrats out of there"
         "I am a felon and can't vote"
         "I am a democrat but wish I was republican"
         "You better wash your mouth out little lady for asking me that question"
         "I'm an independent"
         "Is he that mormon guy? I like Perry"
         "If I vote for anyone it's going to be him"
I met some very interesting individuals to say the least. They ranged from American flags on their t-shirts to covered in tattoos and smoking cigars. But the good news is we got enough signatures so the day was worth it!

They had all of these old fashioned cars lined up

The campaign crew

I could not have asked to be living in a better city than DC for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Even though there was a terrorist threat happening all weekend everything went just fine and the city was filled with an amazing spirit. For class on Friday we ventured to the Pentagon to see the new memorial dedicated to the 184 lives lost in the plane that hit the pentagon and the pentagon itself. It was the perfect way to start off this emotional weekend. It was a beautiful memorial where each victim has been given a bench engraved with their name. I am always amazed at the people that come up with these memorials and how much symbolism goes into it.

One of the benches dedicated to a victim. Underneath is a reflecting pool of water

If the name is being read while you are facing the building it meant the victim was killed in the Pentagon, if your back was to the pentagon the victim was in the plane.

Outside the memorial

On Sunday after church a small group of us went to the Smithsonian. They have an exhibit that is part of the American History museum that is dedicated to 9/11 and artifacts recovered from the 3 sights of the attack. We weren't able to get into the exhibit today but we saw a movie they had put together that was clips of the coverage and people's stories from that day. The firefighter chief that was on location at the Twin Towers that day and to hear his story and the bravery of all those rescue and recovery teams that risked their lives to run into those buildings really touched me. It was a day full of spirit, hope, and recovery. We are so blessed to live in such an amazing country that grows and become unified in the face of such destruction.

I am grateful for all that this flag symbolizes.

  9/11 Never Forget.