EWR

Up and at 'em, 4:45AM, to the Newark Airport. We watch a spectacular sunrise over the Empire State Building. Kids pretty good about it, too, while me : I just drink more, and more, coffee. Does anybody else notice that the more you imbibe the more you need ?

We cross the Holland Tunnel into New Jersey and already rush hour traffic in the other direction. Our cab driver plays Miles Davis. New Jersey's first impression : swamps, industry , elevated railroads; most of the Manhattan skyline hidden behind a ridgeline but eventually, there she is, beckoning. I consider those who live in marginal or small towns on this side of the Hudson : not easy.

I've never hesitated about Berkeley, a place I am proud of, from the freakiest hippie-dippies of the '60s to the liberal moderates of now. Sure, it ain't Civil Rights nor Viet Nam but maybe equally bad given three wars and the no-compromise Tea Party fools. We need voices, and radicals, in the streets, out there fighting the system, man. Where is our ipad-addicted, video game obsessed, yuf? My mom notes that today equally depressing, and scary, as during Viet Nam.

Shaw Memorial

Shaw Memorial, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1900, Gallery 66

"The gigantic, golden full-scale plaster model of the bronze memorial erected in Boston to young Colonel Shaw and the African American soldiers of the Massachusetts 54th Infantry Regiment is not to be missed. In their valiant effort to preserve the Union, they also overcame prejudice about their military ability. Their heroism inspired the film Glory."

--West Building Highlights, National Gallery

I disagree with the enthusiastic description of Shaw, above : African Americans, I am sure, wished to destroy the South; any thought of saving the Union a secondary consideration.

Forced walk

Sonnet: "We are going to see the Washington and Jefferson memorials."

Madeleine: "Aren't they just statues?"

Sonnet: "Yes, they are."

Madeleine: "We're going to look at them for, like, 15 seconds."

Me: "Maybe you will learn something, then."

Madeleine: "Oh, Dad. Why do you always have to do that?"

Ziggy

Eitan, whose eyes are about to disappear along with his ears, at (or underneath?) the Hirshorn Museum. We have just come from the Smithonian Air and Space Museum.

Eitan eats NASA "space ice cream": "That's infinitely delicious."

Eitan: "Which do you think is better: heat when you are freezing or air conditioning when you're boiling hot?"

Eitan holds up his Smithonian ID card, purchased for three dollars: "Eitan Orenstein, average intelligence."

Madeleine: "Dad, do you mind if I run, frolic, and play on the jungle gym?"

Federal Reserve Building

The Fed, the US central banking system, created in 1913 in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. Sound familiar ? Over time, the Fed's role has changed in response to things like the Great Depression. Its duties today "are to conduct the nation's monetary policy, supervise and regulate banking institutions, maintain the stability of the financial system and provide financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions" , according to their charter.

The Fed's structure composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous privately owned U.S. member banks and various advisory councils. The FOMC is responsible for setting monetary policy. The Fed designed to serve the interests of both the general public and private bankers. The result : a unique structure among central banks.

The Fed independent inside government, ie, "its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government." However, its authority from Congress and subject to congressional oversight. Uncle Sam receives all of the system's annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid, and an account surplus is maintained. In 2010, the Federal Reserve made a profit of $82 B Band transferred $79 B to the U.S. Treasury. (Source: Wiki &c.)

Lincoln Memorial

From Jefferson to the Lincoln memorial, pictured.

Eitan: "What are we doing today?"

Sonnet: "Lincoln Memorial."

Eitan: "What?! Another memorial? No way!"

Sonnet: "Oh, come on, Eitan."

Eitan: "I thought this was going to be a fun trip."

We approach the Lincoln Memorial. Eitan: "Where is he?"

Sonnet: "Be patient. All will be revealed."

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free ... it expects what never was and never will be."

--Thomas Jefferson

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. "

--Abraham Lincoln

White House To Capital Building

We start our day, 7:30AM, w/ a tour of The White House which Sonnet secures via her Alaskan Congressman. The first floor open to the public and used for state dinners and formal entertaining. The President occupies the second and third floors; secret service guard the chambers. I ask one armed dude about his qualifications and he informs me : "military combat+six months 'special training.' "

From there, our 16-year old friend Michael gives us a special inside tour of The Capital Building including seats to the House of Representatives and the Senate (Michael the son of London friends Diana and Simon+interning for New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen; he attends London's Westminster School). Since a Saturday and the US 72 hours from defaulting on its sovereign obligations, there is a .. festive mood on the house floor. The Congressmen huddle - look, there's Nancy Palosi talking to Barney Frank!- and gossip (Michelle Bachmann in over-sized pearls!) and chatter away (accept for Harry Waxman who is by himself and all business!). At the Senate we see John Kerry and listen to Alaska's Senator Mark Begich, which makes Sonnet happy. The highlight : bumping into Harry Reid, shuffling along a side-corridor, huddled over his papers that seem to spill from his satchel. Exactly what one would expect of the Majority Leader.

Me: "What building is that?"

Eitan: "The Capital Building."

Me: "And that one?"

Madeleine: "Washington Monument?"

Me: "Good. And what are walking on?"

Madeleine: "The ground."

Me:

Eitan: "The Mall."

Me: "Do you think the President ever suffers from trapped wind?"

Eitan: "Dad! No, but I'll bet the Queen does."

Sonnet: "I'm not part of this conversation."

"The lucky thing for us is that we are in a race with Europe and Japan for 'most financially irresponsible Super Power'. And, for right now , the European and Japanese have substantial advantages in that race."

--Walter Russell Mead, Bard College

Ginevra

Sonnet and the kids give me one - ! - at the National Gallery of Art so I head to the information desk and a Senior Gal gives me a memo: "Less Than An Hour?" which includes the West Building's twelve must-see highlights.

Ginevra de Benic, c. 1474/1478, Leonard da Vinci; Gallery 6

Ginevra's face displays the delicate translucence of porcelain. Behind her, the misty landscape assumes a soft, atmospheric effect. Perhaps an engagement portrait, this is the only painting by Leonard da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere.

Eitan, in backseat, overhears us discussing Wagner : "Do you mean the guy on X Factor?"

Me, Sonnet:

All American

Dad (goofy hat) with three healthy girls. He's got his work cut out for him. The flags half-mast following the death of a FEMA officer in the AZ forest fires.

While considering this perfect family in our nation's capital, think of this : home ownership in America 59%, the lowest since '65. The peak, prior to the financial crisis, was 69%; today it is 67% but 7.5 M are in arrears on their mortgage. Exclude them from the official count and it is dire - but is renting so bad? Perhaps like a flat-screen TV : nice to have but not necessary. More critically, Eric notes Americans get what they deserve.

During our visit we stay in Alexandria, just outside DC, with Sonnet's cousin Jacqueline , her husband Jay and 5-year old daughter Ingrid. Jacqueline the daughter of Shelton and Bridgette. Jay is an IT engineer whose firm currently engaged by the Federal Government, the largest employer by far in the area. Jacqueline works for a communications and PR firm representing energy and some of the largest companies in the US.

Sonnet: "What are two things George Washington is famous for?"

Madeleine: "Battling the Portuguese?"

Sonnet: "No. You're just winding your father up."

Eitan: "Fighting the Germans?"

Me:

Eitan: "I am sooo tired."

Me: "You've got a long day ahead of you then."

Eitan: "Can't we just watch TV or something?"

Washington Memorial

The Washington monument , made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss , is the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing at 169 m. Its construction began in 1848 but not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after architect Robert Mills' death, due to the co-option by the Know Nothing party, a lack of funds, and the American Civil War.

I ask a ranger : why the difference in shading of the marble? visible about 50 m or a quarter up.

The builders ran out of local marble so the materials changed+for years the obelisk remained half-built. When opened in 1888 it became the world's tallest structure, a title previously held by the Cologne Cathedral. The monument held this designation until 1889, when Eiffel's tower completed.

Madeleine, after seeing the Washington Monument: "We came all the way here to see that?"

Me:

Madeleine: "I don't mean it as a bad thing."

National Archives, D.C.

Here we are , at the National Archives, to view the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The kids' attention elsewhere.

From New Yawk we catch the Silver Bullet to Washington DC, which is the only district of America to pays taxes with no representation in Congress. Conflict of interest, dude. I am told by a bored ticketing agent that this the only Amtrak line that does not lose money. Hey, she has a job.

The National Archives created by Congress in '34 and has 9 B records including the census from 1790 to 1930, ships passenger lists and naturalization records; not surprisingly, then , it is most often used for geneology research.

The Constitution is 4 pages on over-sized parchment , all on display, which was not the case before 911 when only the first page on view. Following the attack, it was felt that we, the people, should see our government in its entirety. I notice that there are only 12 signatures and wonder- where's the 13th states? The security women informs me Rhode Island withheld their John Hancock for two years until certain ratifications. I learn that it was all rather tenuous whether the states would sign the darn thing. When Massachusetts gave the fifth signature, all assured positive.

Eitan: "Look at that little bird . ."

Me: "It's so hot, he's rolling in the dirt."

Madeleine: "Really?"

Me: "It looks that way anyhow."

Madeleine: "If it was a Husky I'd feel sorry for it."

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States."

--Article II, Section II, of the US Constitution

Madeleine sees the gift shop at the National Archives: "Can we go there instead?"

Anne And The Peace Corps

Anne, pictured, in Peace Corps #1 with Moe and Grace from 1961 to '63; they met , with a group of about 20, in Syracuse, New York, for training before Malawi, where Moe and Grace stationed , teaching French, maths and history. Anne now an artist , living on 36th St. and 9th Ave., in one of those impossible open spaces that covers half a building-floor that we all know exist somehow. She is warm and energetic and it is nice to hear a few new stories+Madeleine grooves on the creative.

By '61, upon graduating DePauw University, Indiana, Grace wanted out of 1950s America : cheer leading and bobby socks and wifehood, motherhood and limited career prospects which were second class at best (NB Grace put on hold a writing scholarship from Washington U). My mom's ambitions pre-dated the women's movement but very much a part of it.

Moe, for his part, contemplating his legal career and finishing a law degree from the University of Michigan. In '60, on the Michigan campus across the way from Moe's dorm, at speech Moe did not plan to attend (Joe Kennedy an anti-Semite) , JFK announced a "united corps for peace" and, then and there, the Peace Corps was created. Moe was all-in.

My parents met because of the Peace Corps, got to know each other in Africa, and have remained true to themselves, each other, and their youthful exuberance over a lifetime that I have shared for 44 years. Not a bad deal.

"To promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower."

--Executive Order 10924 on March 1, 1961, and authorized by Congress on September 22, 1961, with passage of the Peace Corps Act (Public Law 87-293).

So Busted

Sonnet: "The kids have to take a shower. Can you help me out?"

Me: "It's vacation. Let them go without a shower."

Sonnet: "They stink. They have to take a shower, Jeff."

Later, Me: "Eitan, you have to take a shower."

Eitan: "What?! I took one yesterday."

Me: "Your mother says you stink."

Eitan: "I don't stink."

Me: "Ok, tell you what, go upstairs and turn the shower on and just wet your hair a bit."

Eitan: "Really?"

Me: "Go, but be quick about it."

Later, Eitan: "I was so busted, Dad. Mom came into the bathroom and caught me wetting my hair. "

Me: "Did you tell your mom it was my idea?"

Eitan: "Yeah, I said you told me to do it. "

Me: "You couldn't keep me out of it?"

Eitan: "I'm not getting into trouble for something you did."

Me:

Sonnet: "I cannot believe you told the kids to do that."

Arms And Policies

I am free for a couple hours to take photos and amuse myself sans familia. I snap this couple on 33rd St - hand-in-glove.

Roger completes Microsoft's "wide Standards of Business Conduct Training" including:

-Reminder about Microsoft’s Anti-Corruption Policy

-Update you [Roger] of the revised FY 2012 OSD PO Approval Process & MOI PO Approval Process including Yahoo! related expenses

-Closing all FY11 PO’s

-Ensure you [Roger] are aware of key Microsoft Procurement policies

-Remind you [Roger] of our [Microsoft's] OSD Accrual policy and internal guidance

-Ensure you [Roger] are aware of the existing OSD Discretionary Spend Policy

I would last less than a moment @ Microsoft.

Lips

Eitan @ Katie's apartment.

The art behind Eitan by Katie circa 1992. The oversized frame a gift from my old girlfriend's father, a small-town orthopedic surgeon and real dickface, who gave me two over-sized framed photos of Mount Mawenzi (5149 meters) which I took from Mt Uruhu (5896 m), the highest peak of Mt Kilimanjaro. Of course he lost the negatives and made my mom cry , so I was going to throw the photos out along with a bunch of bad memories, post break-up , but Katie saved one frame from the dumpster and turned it into something good.

In real time : It is hot-as-hell in New York : the Central Park South tower, whatever it is named, tells us 104 F but when humidity included it is more like 115F. Air conditioners hum, baby. The underground unbearable but the cars air-conditioned joy. New Yorkers take it all in stride, of course : the men ditch their suits or, at least ties; women, their bras. God, bless. My deodorant quits after two hours but who notices ? Everything stinks. The tarmac melts. Everybody sweats. It's a jungle, man, but no place compares.

The Wizard

Katie takes Madeleine to breakfast at her Broadway local , chica to chica. Afterwards, she owns Eitan and madeleine for the afternoon treating them to Central Park, ice cream and hot dogs - as much as they can take. I often consider Katie's lost presence on the Shakespeares - every kid should have a cool Aunt who lives in Manhattan.

Madeleine: "Will they let lizards on the plane?"

GW Bridge

We drive under the George Washington Bridge which I once ran over weekly training for the '97 NY City Marathon. And here is a factoid : As of 2007, the GW has the greatest vehicular capacity of any bridge in the world, carrying approximately 106 million autos a year, making it the busiest car bridge in the world (according to the Port Authority of NY and NJ).

Here is what Le Corbusier said:

"The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams in the sky like a reversed arch. It is blessed. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city. It is painted an aluminum color and, between water and sky, you see nothing but the bent cord supported by two steel towers. When your car moves up the ramp the two towers rise so high that it brings you happiness; their structure is so pure, so resolute, so regular that here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh. The car reaches an unexpectedly wide apron; the second tower is very far away; innumerable vertical cables, gleaming against the sky, are suspended from the magisterial curve which swings down and then up. The rose-colored towers of New York appear, a vision whose harshness is mitigated by distance." (Source: When the Cathedrals were White)

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Father, Son

Back in action. To all my Dear Readers : You may relax. Here I am with my father on the Upper West side.

The Orenstein-Stanfill family circus departs Vermont, cruising along the Taconic for 124 miles, then Bronxville. I do not get lost which happens every time - and I do mean every time - I visit my Aunt and Uncle. There was the evening, for instance, when Dan and I procured the family car, against Larry's will who cautioned we would never find the Bronxville exit, to hit the Palladium and disco clubs. This was '85, two weeks before freshman orientation, and no way were we going to miss the action nor be constrained by the Metro-North . So, of course , we get lost and end up God-knows-where at 4AM. So upset are we that I flag a driver who says "Follow me!" and takes us on a goose chase. We eventually break away and somehow stumble upon Sarah Lawrence College (in Bronxville) and home. Sunrise. Marcia notes the fuel tank empty. It took me about 20 years to earn that one back from Larry.

Orenstein Stanfill Lee Manning Bahr Schady

Madeleine, at dinner: "Why do squirrels swim on their back?"

Me and the table: "Why?"

Madeleine: "To protect their nuts."

Eitan: "That's my joke!"

Madeleine: "Is not!"

Eitan: "Is to!"

Me: "Look, I think it is MY joke so knock it off please."

Madeleine: "Yeah, Dad, but what makes it funny is how you tell it."

Boner

John Boehner, Republican, 8th District of Ohio. Minority Leader of the House of Reps (photo NYT)

Remarkably, for the first time since in US history, Uncle Sam may default on his sovereign obligations as Congress battles itself to raise the debt ceiling from $14.5 T to whatever. Americans mostly agree that the national debt not sustainable and we need to get it down. Democrats willing to do so with cuts to military and some cherished entitlements (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) and via taxes, mostly eliminating loop holes to corporates and the rich (NB In the USA, the top 10% pay 90% of all taxes; 50% of Americans pay no taxes at all).

Republicans want to go by cuts alone , protecting the military and, mostly, entitlements which keep the Elephants in office. Everybody else, go fish. Recall how Republicans argued debt okey-dokey during Bush's two unfunded wars and his ruinous tax cuts.

Believe you me I agree that we must reduce entitlements whose escalating costs will destroy the country inside a generation. Nor can we dream the problem away with more taxes so in this regard I side with the Republicans. Yet the debt ceiling no place to leverage policy. Unfortunately 250 Repubs have signed Grover Norquist's no-new-tax pledge and this, Dear Reader, threatens America''s future.

"Traitor: A person who is guilty of treason or treachery, in betraying friends, country, a cause or trust, etc."

--Webster Dictionary

Quarry

From Larry and Marcia's house, pictured. Their property dates to the 19th century when it was a sawmill cutting marble; the water powered a turbine that cut the stone which was drawn from the nearby quarry. Now it is an evironmentally protected area.

Plaque at the marble quarry, one mile down route 7A:

"First Marble Quarry

Oldest Quarry in the U.S., 1785.

Here, near Mt. Aelus, Isaac Underhill opened the first marble quarry in 1785. Dorset quarries were most active in the early 1800's when small slabs were used for for hearths, doorsills, and headstones. With better transportation and saws, larger blocks were quarried.

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