Feeling 44

As I am up at 4:30AM for some horrible reason , I rouse myself from bed to sneak from the hotel to the SUV to drive to Black Canyon. The temperature a perfect 70 degrees , despite the hour , while HW 50 deserted. I turn into the National Park and curve along the mesa, passing the empty ranger station, a number of look-outs, the closed visitor center and eventually Painted Wall , pictured, where I set up my camera and await pre-dawn. The gorge, cut by the Gunnison River over millions of years, puts my balls into my stomach : one slip and it is a long ways down. I jump about the rocks with my tripod in a reckless fashion that would make Sonnet scream.

"At a sheer 2,300 feet, the Painted Wall, a prominent segment of the Black Canyon's north rim, is Colorado's highest cliff. The darker rock is Black Canyon Gneiss. The bold white and pink bands are granites and pegmatites injected during Middle Proterozoic (1.4 Ga) through Cambrian (~510 Ga) intrusions. Large books of white mica (muscovite) and crystals of pink potassium feldspar and translucent quartz give the pegmatites their lustrous pink look.

Just as Precambrian joints and faults controlled the placement of these igneous intrusions, the current regional jointing system now controls the locations of the side canyons cut by smaller streams left behind as the mighty Gunnison cut through the Gunnison Uplift.

These views look west from the Chasm View Nature Trail overlook, which is across the canyon from Chasm View on the South Rim. "

--Colorado Geology Photojournals

Painted Wall @ Sunrise

More words from Washington D.C.:

Me: "I'll give you five bucks if you can name five things about the white House."

Madeleine: "Really?"

Me: "They have to be good ones, too. I'm not paying for baloney like the White House is white."

Madeleine: "Barack Obama and his wife and his dog live on the 2nd floor."

Me: "Good."

Madeleine: "That the British burned down the White House in 1812."

Me: "Yep."

Madeleine: "There are 35 toilets. And five kitchens. That counts as two."

Me: "35 toilets?

Madeleine: "Four, dad, one more."

Me: "Go for it."

Madeleine: "There are eagles everywhere."

Me: "Dig deeper."

Madeleine: "The eagle is the symbol of America."

Eitan: "Mom told you that! "

Me: "I'll take it. Here's $5."

E: "What! Can I do that?"

Me: "Nope, you had your chance."

Eitan: "How about 5 questions for a dollar?"

Me: "No."

Eitan: "50p?"

Me: "No."

E: "A quarter? I'll do it for free, even."

Madeleine: "Washington: Museums, museums, museums."

Me: "Your worst nightmare?"

Madeleine: "Yep."

Eitan on the Jefferson Memorial : "Do we reaaallly have to go here?"

Eitan: "You know we burned down the White House? "

Me: "Oh, really?"

Eitan: "1812. It says right here the British burned down the White House."

Me: "Well I'm glad to know what side we're on."

Eitan: "I do like it when the British win."

Eitan: "Bye Dad! Bye Daaaad!

Me: "Get off that escalator right now!"

Madeleine: "What if the train comes?"

Me: "Then we will leave him."

Madeleine: "You would want to see some dumb old statue instead of keeping your own child?"

Sonnet: "I remember our trip to Washington D.C. when I was your age. I recall feeling the same way as you."

Madeleine: "Gee, thanks Mom, for making me feel really bad."

Soccer Camp

And no vacation would be a vacation without football for Eitan. Thanks to Stan, Eitan joins 75 kids, ages 10 to 14, for three hours of evening action, Wednesday to Friday. The well groomed pitches offer sweeping views of the mesa and Rockies. Two-thirds of the players female. Photo by Sonnet.

Me: "I noticed there are a lot of girls playing football."

Eitan: "Yeah, so?"

Me: "What's it like, playing against a girl?"

Eitan: "The same, I guess. .it's not like I care or anything."

Me: "Do you know what a Trojan Horse is?"

Eitan: "No."

Me: "It's from the Illiad. A bunch of Greeks hide in a giant wood horse which is left for the Trojans as a gift. The Trojans take the horse inside their city and, at night, the Greeks sneak out and open the city doors. Boom! They sack the city."

Eitan; "Why are you telling me this?"

Me: "It's kinda like playing with girls on the football squad."

Eitan: "La la la la lalalalalalala . ."

Big J

Big J's Pawn Shop on Main Street across from the Coffee Trader, the best coffee in Montrose. The founder-proprietors Fong and Will, both gay, from Las Vegas where Fong responsible for Harrahs Hotels entertainment and Will same for MGM Grand. In short, better than a sitcom. The duo moved to the Western Slope twelve-years ago, buying a derelict house, and turning it into their vision : a stately Victorian with a lovely coffee garden filled with flowers, tables , a few lounge chairs and a happy vibe. Many new proprietors followed their lead and, today, downtown Montrose celebrates a Main Street festival every Thursday evening of summertime.

Silver Is Purple

Eitan: "You are not going to JC Penney with Mom, Dad."

Me: "Oh? Why's that?"

Eitan: "Real men don't shop at JC Penney."

Me:

Eitan: "Real men only buy BBQ grills and sports stuff."

Me: "Thank you for clearing that up for me."

For the FYI: Founded in 1907, JCP's 1,106 stores produced $17.8 B of turnover and $389 M of net income for the 12 months ending December 2010. The company employs 156,000 people. While not particularly my style, JCP offers good basics and many a young man bought his first suit here. Many still do.

Texas Wedgie

Sonnet prepares dinner at her parents house.

Me: "Have you ever had a Melvin?"

Madeleine: "What's that?"

Me: "A wedgie. ."

Madeleine: "We call them a Texas Wedgie."

Me: "Oh? What's that then?"

Madeleine: "It's when you grab both sides of someone's pants and do this" [Madeleine puts both arms above head]

Me: "Have you done this in school?"

Me: "Yes, the last time was Harry. And only when he needs it. Billy had to put his hair back in school and Harry was laughing at him so we chased him across the yard. I caught him, Nathaniel held him. And Alex gave him a Texas Wedgie."

Me:

Madeleine: "And he never laughed at Billy again."

Sonnet: "Harry got a Texas Wedgie? That's mean."

Madeleine: "That's life, Mom."

Emma Watson Goes To Brown

Following seven books, 3,408 pages, 1,090,739 words and eight movies : Harry Potter comes to an end at the Fox Cinema Center where we see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2". Sonnet began reading Harry P to the kids when they were 5.5 and 7 years-old, replacing my Spider Man bedtime stories. Unlike the wizard, my adventures included, like, real characters such as the "Giant Green Cricket" and the "Spider Killers", a series of deathly spider rob0ts, controlled by Kingpin, which scaled buildings to slay Our Man. But, hey, I am not jealous : We all have to move on I am sure.

Eitan, at the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": "Oh, God."

Highway

We cross the Rockies on familiar tarmac , heading for the Western Slope and Montrose.

"

Eitan's List of things we have to do in Colorado. By Eitan

1. Montrose swimming pool every day.

2. Dairy Queen at least once.

3. Make a cake or a pie/ tart.

4. Go shopping for a snorkel and camera.

5. Go watch Harry Potter.

6. Take lots of pictures.

7. Go for a late nigh dip in the hotel pool.

8. Go to McDonald's Playland.

9. play lots of football.

"

Summer Reading

Eitan: "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Madeleine: "Wolf Brother," Michelle Paver

Sonnet: "Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West", Dorothy Wickenden

Me: "Vanity Fair", William Thackery

High

Obama, whose prior experience not much to crow about, fast losing my attention. No doubt he has the hardest job in America (as Leno quipped: "a job only a black man would take") but has failed to stand against the bully Republicans. Even following the debt-ceiling "negotiations" where Obama caved on his single request - revenue increases - he takes the hit from Bahner who blames the White House for a S&P downgrade; Quoth Bahner : "Unfortunately, decades of reckless spending cannot be reversed immediately, especially when the Democrats who run Washington remain unwilling to make the tough choices required to put America on solid ground."

The reality that our national debt spiraled out-of-control thanks to el presidente Bush and his Republican controlled Congress who increased US debt by $5 T. Obama, by 2010 year-end, has added another $1.6 T mostly to save the financial system and address the economy he inherited. To suggest the Democrats responsible for the debt a bunch of baloney.

So when will the President wake up ? The story now told by the loudest to the dumbest. Dullards must be met head-on. FDR , in similar circumstances, relished the battle and welcomed the hatred of his adversaries. Obama's instincts , and decency, have set us back.

Eitan, from the air: "Chicago is neat."

Me: "Neat?"

Eitan: "Neat and tidy."

Madeleine, at a bookshop in Chicago O'Hare airport: "Look, Dad, I've found the comics you used to like. Want to see?"

Me: "Sure."

Madeleine: "See? I like the X Men. They are my favorite."

Me:

Madeleine: "Can you buy me some?"

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).