National Cathedral visit

On to the National Cathedral which is what John most wanted to

 see on this trip.  We had to walk up to a bus stop through beautiful houses and you could tell that we were in the money section of town.  We got our bus and it lets you out in front of the Cathedral.  It’s gorgeous and looks like something that makes more sense on the banks of the Seine.  With flying 

buttresses and "gothic style American" which is the only way that I can think to categorize a gargoyle that is Darth Vader, it was very artfully arranged on a hill.  I have to complain for a second about the reversal that is America in entrance fees.  We have been going into world class museums for free and had to

 pay to get into the National Cathedral….that’s the opposite of Europe where the awesome churches are free and you have to pay through the nose to get in to any museum.  Just doesn’t make sense to me, but whatever, DC is a very cheap place to take a kid.

 Oscar is free and John gets a discount for being a teacher, I get one for being a student. (I'm have to reapply to Ferris in order to keep getting student discounts everywhere when we go to Europe next year)  Anyway, back to the National Cathedral.  It’s very pretty and the 3 rose windows are spectacular.  The docent was telling us that the newest one acts like a kaleidoscope and 

 changes color as the sun moves.  Which seems awesome.  As John is moving around actually looking at things, Oscar and I sit down in some chairs to understand that the books there are hymnals so that everyone can sing

  along.  It takes me quite a while to find a hymn I actually know, but I finally found the Christmas section and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.  Oscar is amazed that I know the song in the book, it does look like magic because of all those notes that tell you how to sing something.  We are told where 

 the presidents sat for George HW Bush’s funeral and Oscar is morbidly interested in where the coffin is when we tell him that they have big state funerals here.  He likes the kids’ chapel and the cross stitched seat cushions that are made after “Famous Americans”.  We find

  out later that the Cathedral chose 400 from all the ones elected by different people for the most influential Americans.  I was on board with it through most of them, but kind of said, “what?” when we saw JEB Stuart and then “WHATATHATHATHHAT?!?!?!?!” (I wish I could channel Gloria Wheeler’s voice for her vignette in Love, Loss and What I Wore for this part) when I saw

 Jefferson Davis.  The seat cushion had appropriate things like an Antebellum home, southern kinds of things on there, but the president of the Confederacy who tried to rip apart the United States is a “great American”?  I have a hard time with that.  Is this really so hard to understand for people, or is it just me?  Even the French don’t venerate Robespierre anymore because he turned out to be worse than

     the Bourbon kings… it’s not like Caesar conquering Gaul, and then liking Vercingetorix if you’re of Gallic descent.  But then again, there are people who put flowers on Stalin’s grave everyday when he killed more Russians that anyone else, but it’s not the best metaphor.  And why I’m struggling for one is because in the history of mankind, people like Jefferson Davis don’t get remembered, they get vanquished and obliterated 

rom history….not put in the National Cathedral as a great American!!!  Now for the coolest thing that we saw in there.  I didn’t know that Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan were buried together in the Joseph of Arimathea chapel.  Now, there's a great American (who did have a seat cushion as well)

  The Cathedral store was also really interesting because there were whole sections of Buddha paraphernalia, “Coexist” wear and I didn’t expect that in a Cathedral.  The observation platform made you realize why we can’t walk all over this town because it gives a good bird’s eye view of how far apart things are in reality.