Carved in Stone

Two months before his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. told a congregation in Memphis, Tennessee about how he would like to be remembered upon his death:

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

When selecting MLK quotations to inscribe on the granite walls that surround and make up the memorial, organizers decided to include the following paraphrased version of this quote: "I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness." It was inscribed on the Stone of Hope section of the memorial, which features King's statue.

Noted poet and author Maya Angelou, who was a friend of King, and The Washington Post last week criticized the paraphrased inscription and requested that officials correct it. This weekend, the memorial architect responsed that  there are no plans to fix the inscription.

This is another example of people not doing their homework. Would it have been so difficult to use the actual quote? It just goes to show how a simple error can call everything else into question.

MLK Returns

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most important civil rights speeches in history on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Now, his likeness returns to the National Mall in the form of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Located opposite the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and next to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial along the Tidal Basin, the site includes three massive granite stones. Two of the stones mark the entrance to the memorial and the third sits closer to the Tidal Basin water with King's image carved into the 30-foot tall stone. Two-stone entrance symbolizes the Mountain of Despair and the stone with King's image represents the Stone of Hope, inspired by the MLK quote, "hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope."

After photographing the memorial from all angles on Sunday, I really like the depiction of King here. Critics of the memorial did not appreciate that its architect was a Chinese national. They felt his background impacted the accuracy of King's likeness. In person, I did not think this was the case at all.

From my vantage point, King's visage was familiar and beautifully crafted. Besides, didn't King ask us to judge others by the content of their characters and not the color of their skin? To be modern caretakers of his dream, we should extend that principle to the memorial designers as well, regardless of where they call home.

Pinkish Sun

This weekend, I visited the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial which is located on the National Mall along the Tidal Basin. In order to avoid the Labor Day weekend crowds, I visited the memorial at dawn. While the early wake-up call on a holiday weekend was painful, one of the payoffs was the ability to take today's image.

In between the photo session around the MLK Memorial, I turned toward the Tidal Basin and saw the pink-hued rising sun above the Bureau of Engraving and Printing building. What was even cooler about this photo moment was when I noticed the sun's pink reflection on the water. In response, I zoomed my camera lens out and widened the composition to include both the sun and its reflection.

Morning Newspaper Break

People sometimes call the National Mall "America's Park," which is a good description. For this couple, however, they consider the National Mall as their backyard with a river view.

Here they are on a Sunday morning  on the Potomac River-side of the National Mall with two camp chairs, thermoses of coffee and their newspapers. They are totally set.

It's not a bad way to spend your Sunday morning, reading the day's news with the national monuments to your back and the Potomac River in front of you. From this vantage point, they have a great view of Arlington House at the Arlington National Cemetery across the river as well.

Bluegreen Pool

Change is in the air this week, but it is so challenging to make change actually happen. Just ask President Obama, right? It is like swimming in a bottomless pool; you can't sense the depth and the current seems to strong to swim against.

My sister forwarded an email to me a few days ago that discussed how to make life changes. The email's author shared great wisdom about this topic and I wanted to pass it along:

You cannot hope to solve any problem using the same energy that created the problem. Whether it's the endless wars in the world or the unending quarrels and fighting in your own home, the problem is the same: conflicting energy. If you want to change the outcome, change the energy. The extraordinary aspect of this solution is that you do not have to wait for the other party in order to do it.

Some Beach

Somehow September has arrived and summer is officially over. How sad. Thank goodness I was able to get some beach time earlier this year during my March trip to Kauai. So now, I don't feel as badly about not getting any beach time this summer.

Wouldn't it be nice, if regardless of the time of year or weather, beach time was always possible? Island and beach dwellers are lucky in that respect; they can access the beach at any time.

One day, I hope I will be able to live near the ocean. To be able to walk along the ocean shore, sit on the sand admiring the surf and wake to the sound of the seashore would be an extraordinary way to live. While I don't like quoting country singer Kenny Chesney (long story), his "no shoes, no shirt, no problems" life philosophy is a good mantra. But, perhaps I would reword it to say "no shoes, no sleeves, no problems" for my life mantra, just to avoid any indecency problems at the beach.

Monkey on His Back

As Hurricane Irene wrecked havoc on the East Coast, she also disrupted my travel itinerary. A canceled flight provided an extra day in California, but resulted in a ticket on a packed, anxious return flight to DC on Monday night.

When we finally arrived at the airport in Washington, DC, my fellow passengers were already standing in the aisle, ready to disembark before we had even reached the gate. Standing in front of me, anxious to leave, was this guy with a monkey on his back. Now, it was actually a backpack shaped like a monkey, but looked as if it was a real monkey on his back.

Thank goodness for my inconspicuous iPhone camera, which allowed me to take his photo without this guy's knowledge. To onlookers, it appeared as if I was simply checking my messages on my phone. It did make me wonder though how many people are taking photos with camera phones without our notice.