Live from the Nation's Capitol. Here I am, live at the nation's capitol. I'm bleary-eyed from the red-eye trip here and then back again, but the sights and sounds of this place are unique to Washington, D.C.
A voice is blaring over the public address system, "US Airways is proud to host Honor Flight, a non-profit organization bringing World War II veterans from across the country in to Washington for the day to see their Memorial. Come wish them well at Gate 35." And I think, not for the first time, I'm not in Kansas anymore.
As we were landing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport, the Arlington National Cemetery passes beneath me. Row after row after row of white markers standing in perfect symmetry, now and through the ages a silent tribute to all of those soldiers who rest there in perpetuity.
As I take a taxi through picturesque Alexandria with its brick sidewalks and colonial houses, I am reminded of just how long ago people settled here and have been making history. These homes haven't been swept away by tornadoes ripping across the flatlands. No, they've withstood storms of a different type. Urban flight, urban blight and urban renewal. $600,000 for a condo.
As I eat lunch at an otherwise ubiquitous TGIFridays, I look out across the airport tarmac, littered by luggage carts, to see the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in the distance. This is it. This is the heart of our country. What happens here definitely does not stay here. It is heard across the world.
In Kansas the airport shops sell tee shirts saying "Will work for shoes" and sport Dorothy's ruby slippers. Here, the shops are predictably full of election memorabilia including tee shirts that say everything from "Thank his mama for O'Bama" to "Vote for Bill Clinton for First Lady."
And, once again, here comes the public address announcement. This time, in a manner representative of the melting pot this is, a man with an Oriental accent continues to promote the vets, "Help us cheer our heroes, our World War II vets, returning home to Atlanta, Georgia. Remember, freedom isn't free."
Here, in our nation's capitol, that is something that's impossible to forget.
