! welcome to washington D.C. !
Upon hearing a kid Jess who is in two of my classes say that his friends and him were driving to DC for the war protest I made a last minute and somewhat rash decision to join them. Here are the events that unfolded:
1. I was dropped off at the lovely doorstep of a particular Mz. Morgan Maggie Machledt, and couldn't stop looking at her and hugging her she's just so darn precious. We biked to Adams Morgan where the house she works at is, and I got to meet some of the residents that she spends her days with, beautiful souls with bodies suffering from AIDS. She loves her job and you can tell; she brings them such warmth with her presence.
2. After staying up late and laughing and then crashing to sleep, Maggie and I went separately to the protest. I really wanted to bike the city, and I knew that I would be milling through the protest photographing. It was one of the most striking sights I have ever seen: 300,000 people filling, swarming the streets around the white house, all in the pursuit of peace. It was hopeful to witness so many people who desired to love those who have been deemed enemies and push to make the actions of our government truly democratic.
3. The protest was a bit overwhelming though, and after a few hours I decided to explore DC. I went to the Hirshorn (contemporary art), The National Gallery of Art where I got to see an in.cred.i.ble photography exhibit by Irving Penn, then the Green Fair at the convention center which looked like a bunch of hippies eating veg food and dancing to silly banjo music. it made me pretty happy. :)
5. I biked to Georgetown and had a wonderful surprise when a stranger pulled up on a bike next to me and when I asked him how exactly to get to Georgetown, he said he was headed there as well. His name was Brady-we biked together and told our stories. I spent the night at Sue's, laughing a lot and also seriously sharing our hearts. I woke up at 7:30am and biked to Eastern Market, where I met up with Maggie and Meghan Hunt! and we oogled over old glass negatives and hilarious old postcards. Went to church with Sue, biked back to Maggie's, drove back to Pittsburgh.
The conversation I had with Sue Morton rocked me in this way: she was so very honest about her pride and how it has built walls in some of her closest relationships. She spoke to how she is defensive about silly things; comments and actions from others whose intentions were obviously good hearted, but that she immediately reacts to, trying to prove that she's good enough, or smart enough, or whatever. I see so many of these things in myself, and I think we experienced a sort of freedom together, seeing ourselves in humility for how selfish we can be in our dearest relationships. Jesus break down walls in us; all these relationships are too beautiful to be squandered for silly insecurities.
1. I was dropped off at the lovely doorstep of a particular Mz. Morgan Maggie Machledt, and couldn't stop looking at her and hugging her she's just so darn precious. We biked to Adams Morgan where the house she works at is, and I got to meet some of the residents that she spends her days with, beautiful souls with bodies suffering from AIDS. She loves her job and you can tell; she brings them such warmth with her presence.
2. After staying up late and laughing and then crashing to sleep, Maggie and I went separately to the protest. I really wanted to bike the city, and I knew that I would be milling through the protest photographing. It was one of the most striking sights I have ever seen: 300,000 people filling, swarming the streets around the white house, all in the pursuit of peace. It was hopeful to witness so many people who desired to love those who have been deemed enemies and push to make the actions of our government truly democratic.
3. The protest was a bit overwhelming though, and after a few hours I decided to explore DC. I went to the Hirshorn (contemporary art), The National Gallery of Art where I got to see an in.cred.i.ble photography exhibit by Irving Penn, then the Green Fair at the convention center which looked like a bunch of hippies eating veg food and dancing to silly banjo music. it made me pretty happy. :)
5. I biked to Georgetown and had a wonderful surprise when a stranger pulled up on a bike next to me and when I asked him how exactly to get to Georgetown, he said he was headed there as well. His name was Brady-we biked together and told our stories. I spent the night at Sue's, laughing a lot and also seriously sharing our hearts. I woke up at 7:30am and biked to Eastern Market, where I met up with Maggie and Meghan Hunt! and we oogled over old glass negatives and hilarious old postcards. Went to church with Sue, biked back to Maggie's, drove back to Pittsburgh.
The conversation I had with Sue Morton rocked me in this way: she was so very honest about her pride and how it has built walls in some of her closest relationships. She spoke to how she is defensive about silly things; comments and actions from others whose intentions were obviously good hearted, but that she immediately reacts to, trying to prove that she's good enough, or smart enough, or whatever. I see so many of these things in myself, and I think we experienced a sort of freedom together, seeing ourselves in humility for how selfish we can be in our dearest relationships. Jesus break down walls in us; all these relationships are too beautiful to be squandered for silly insecurities.