ARLINGTON AND ARTISTS

Three volley salutes rang across Arlington Cemetery several times this morning, indicating another military funeral, of the twenty-eight scheduled just for today.  At one point, a horse-drawn caisson slowly went by with a black draped coffin.  Six horses were harnessed, with riders on the leading pair, and one rider on each of the following pair.  It was a sombre reminder that this is an operational cemetery.

My knowledge of Arlington was neat rows of white headstones, set in lawn, but it is so much more.  Below is Arlington Woods, a natural area which formed part of the original Arlington House
Plantation, home of Robert E. Lee.  His house stands on high ground, with a view from the front
to a distant Lincoln Memorial.

Arlington also houses the grand Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which had been guarded every minute of every day since 1948.  The special troops who perform this duty undertake a nine month training course to qualify. In today's heat, the guard changes every 30 minutes, so we witnessed this solemn and precise ceremony, the crowd standing and silent.  Their uniforms are pure wool and tests showed the temperature inside can reach 130 degrees.  In cooler night duty, the guard changes every 2 hours.

Another surprise was the fields of different headstones.  One amusing point was the Confederate headstones were pointed on top, whilst for Union soldiers have a rounded top.  It is said the Confederates didn't want Unionists sitting on their headstones.  But sometime ago, the decision was made that all headstones would be the uniform, Government issued ones, which provide those well known images of immaculately precise lines of so many graves.  The cemetery is on gently sloping land, with a maze of paved avenues, so the rows are parallel and precise to their own section.  

 We navigated the Metro successfully again, to return from "interstate" in Virginia to the Portrait Gallery.  I suppose I prefer the London one as I had heard of more of their subjects.  But there were galleries there with Impressionists, Shaker furniture and modern works as well.

 This horse was created with worn, grey branches and beautifully captured the shape and energy of the animal.  (Hello Sally.)

The building is the third oldest public building in Washington and was a hospital during the Civil War and hosted an early Inauguration Ball too. This one wing boasted a magnificent mosaic floor and grand decoration.

We stopped for coffee and to read here before we left.  It is a covered courtyard, with a glass roof up three stories and several flat sections of water.  Such a restful, cool place.

On leaving, a reminder that Washington, D.C. is not always humid and hot.  These free plastic bags are to contain wet umbrellas, with racks to leave them during your visit.

 Just down the street was the Martin Luther King Memorial Public Library.  An unadorned, squat functional building, it is spread over several floors and had an enormous entry foyer, with a grand piano, covered up and with a notice it was only for special events.

But what got me was this:  they have Library Police!  I got the impression they were more for public safety, than chasing down overdue books.  After all, the front page of today's Washington Post reads "Gunfire erupts again in District.  1 slain, 3 wounded within hours".  There have been 95 homicides here this year, up 30% from this time last year.