Beginning

The Orientation Day Begins

I’ve been here a week, and each day starts the same—up before 6 am and out the door by 6:30 to ride into DC with Claire. She drops me on 23rd St and Constitution, just before she enters secure State Department grounds. Then, as I walk into the sun, I get to see Washington before he politicos wake up. The civil servants are up, of course, to get their work started before the politicos arrive.

The weather has been near perfect; a bit too warm by my standards, cool to the locals. I saw my first homeless man sleeping on the only “active” heat grate I have come across, though several park benches were occupied by sleeping men covered by newspaper.

Still the tourist, I get a thrill crossing the diagonal streets and look both ways to see what monument dominates the end of the street. I vary my path each day, but always cross Virginia and see the Washington Monument side lit by the rising sun. I often cross Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania Avenues, which show me the White House. L’Enfant drew the plan with the original 13 states all linking some aspect of the National Mall or one of the major monuments. Some of the originals got short-changed when the leaders of the 19th century chose not to fully develop L’Efant’s vision, for example, the area east of the Capitol building.

A couple of days I have claimed a park bench in Patton Park (ca 13th & Pennsylvania). To be sure, Gen. Patton is honored there by a statue of himself without mount, one of the earliest military heroes honored without horse. [That reminds me of the controversy when Minnesota Gov Perpich wanted his wife included in his official portrait. Lola was included after Rudy pointed out that Gov Al Quie was painted with his horse.] In that park (which also has a statue of Gen Casimir Pulaski, on horse) I read the NY Times and watch Washington wake up for an hour or so, then walk on to wherever the new cohort of Science & Technology Policy Fellows meets that day. Besides the AAAS headquarters, we have met in several local hotels and the Cannon House Office Bldg Caucus Room 345. The latter is monumental in size, at least two stories to the ceiling, maybe three.

I will deal with other parts of my day later.