It’s been a warm week here in D.C. – summer has definitely arrived. I’ve had some nice days to get out and explore the city this week, but also some hot and humid ones and a few epic thunderstorms as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced summer in our nation’s capital, and there are definitely pluses and minuses. I will say that the lack of traffic anywhere at any time makes the heat of summer a little more tolerable. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, that lack of traffic definitely makes for cleaner air and clearer skies – something my camera sees even more than I do. That is one of the pluses of the situation. We’ve been enjoying some summer fruit too, which is one of the best things about summer anywhere. We’ve had beautiful cherries, watermelon, strawberries and others and I’m looking forward to peaches very soon.
Last Friday my stepfather made some wonderful homemade pizzas and we sat in the basement and played some games and listened to some music while we chowed down on a couple of pies. It was another great Forget-About-It Friday, which we are grateful for. This coming week we will tap our homebrew and see how it turned out, and begin our next batch as well – an American Cream Ale. I’m looking forward to having a taste and to keeping the brewing going while I’m home. It’s fun and there’s a (hopefully) fine finished product at the end. After the cream ale, I want to try something a little more complicated now that I’m getting my brewing confidence back up.
The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. My mom spent Saturday cooking up a storm and we had a wonderful dinner on Saturday night as well. Sunday I spent some time reading my new (to me) book about the Gettysburg Address which I’m really enjoying. I also got some photos edited and published from our trip to Antietam last week, and got some writing done as well. It was a pretty relaxing weekend all around, but it felt good to accomplish a few things along the way.
Monday I got up early and took a long walk up to and around the National Cathedral. It was a little cooler than it had been, and the sky was clear, so I jumped at the opportunity to take some photos and get some exercise. I was glad I did and really enjoyed wandering the grounds and giving my camera and myself a workout. When I was very little I went to school on the grounds of the National Cathedral, so it’s always been a special part of me. Visiting this week was just another example of reconnecting with my hometown during this pandemic. While I would much rather be cruising the byways of the American West and getting ready to start my tour season, I’m still trying to make the best of the situation.
I’ve been asked what my timeline is for getting out on the road again, and I just don’t know the answer to that question right now. Much of my way of doing things is dependent on public restrooms, public libraries and the shower at the gym, none of which I consider safe right now even if they are open. There’s just too much breathing and body fluid going around. Beyond that, my personal journey involves museums, music venues, restaurants and other public places which are all hit-or-miss at the moment, and are definitely not in their best light no matter what. My chances of getting infected with so many different exposure possibilities is actually fairly high and is something I’m currently unwilling to risk. If I were infected, even under the best of circumstances, I live in my van and would be dealing with summer temperatures on top of whatever symptoms might develop. In the worst case, if I ended up in the hospital, it would be far from home and full of unknowns. If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you know I have some serious anxiety that I deal with some days better than others, and the anxiety alone would be enough to keep me from enjoying myself at the moment. Taking all of these things into consideration, I’m staying put for now. When those plans change, you’ll be the first to know (well, maybe the second). Everyone’s situation is different and mine on the road is one of cautious precariousness, so for now this is my best option. All of that being said, I’m definitely trying to keep busy and keep my travel game sharp.
Yesterday my mother and I packed the car and our picnic lunch and continued our journey through the Eastern Theater of the Civil War with a trip north to Gettysburg. We enjoyed the podcast episode on Gettysburg from History That Doesn’t Suck on the drive up, and once again spent the whole day recreating in our minds the battle which took place there over three days in early July of 1863. It really was a turning point in the war, and it was interesting to revisit Gettysburg for the umpteenth time, but with much more background and context from all of our recent trips. Why would Lee push Pickett’s Charge when he had seen firsthand the devastation of such an attack from the other side at Fredericksburg? Why didn’t Meede pursue Lee after the battle knowing that McClellan had made that same mistake after Antietam, losing the chance for a decisive victory and perhaps an end to the war? We pondered these questions as we wandered the Confederate line on Seminary Ridge, the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, and the stronghold of high ground at Little Round Top. The hundreds and hundreds of memorials around the battlefield were a constant reminder of the carnage of the battle, the bloodiest in American History. It’s going to take a while to get through my Gettysburg photos, but I hope to get them published in the next week or two - it was a big battle and a big battlefield.
People have asked me why the recent focus on the Civil War. First and foremost, it has been a much needed escape from the city and the feeling of being trapped at home day after day. The battlefields are open, reasonably close, outside and relatively uncrowded (there were considerably more people at Gettysburg than elsewhere because of the location and importance of the battle, but we were still able to keep our distance). Second, this region was the center of much of the war with the Union Capital here in D.C. and the Confederate Capital an astounding hundred short miles away in Richmond. This was the border between the North and the South, so it makes sense that so much of the war was fought here. Coupled with the time I spent in Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg earlier this year, the war makes a lot more sense to me and I want to push through to the end. And lastly, as a historian I’ve always been fascinated by the Civil War. In my opinion everything that happened from the minute Columbus landed in the Caribbean led up to that war, and everything that’s happened since has been a result of it (including the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests and the election coming in November). If you understand the causes of and repercussions from the Civil War, I believe you will have a far better understanding of America. It’s not a simple thing to understand though, and after decades of reading and visiting these sites I only now have what I consider a reasonable understanding of the war. We came home to a pot of New Orleans style red beans which I had in the slow cooker all day which was definitely a wonderful thing.
Today, I had a tutoring session with one of my very best friend’s nephews. It’s hard for me to believe he’s 13 and going into 8th Grade – he and his twin brother are growing up so fast. It’s been almost a decade since I left my math classroom for the last time and put my teaching days behind me. Today I was thankful I had a skill which I could pass on in a tangible way to someone else. I enjoyed working with him and guiding him through the lesson on linear equations. I definitely felt a little rusty, but it was nice to be back working with a young person. I enjoyed this math session and am already looking forward to the next one.
I’ve just finished reading a book called Reign of Error by the great American education historian and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch. While I’ve left my teaching days behind me, public education is still something I’m passionate about and have more knowledge about than the average person. I think Ms. Ravitch is brilliant and is one of the only voices of reason in the education discussion that continues to focus on the privatization movement - which is not only a threat to our education system, but to our democracy as well. I miss teaching, but I don’t miss the bureaucracy or the frustrations of the job. It’s definitely nice to be taking those skills out for a little spin, but it’s unlikely you’ll see me in front of a classroom anytime soon.
One other thing I’ve noticed this week is that I’ve barely worn a watch since I’ve been home. I’ve worn a watch pretty regularly for most of my life, but time has a very different meaning during this pandemic. It seems like I’m measuring it in days and weeks instead of minutes and hours. On the one hand, that’s been a good thing as I’ve been more focused on the big picture instead of the details. On the other hand, it was nice to have my watch on today while I was tutoring so I didn’t go on for way too long. It was great that the hour flowed pretty easily and I wasn’t counting the minutes like I used to in my classroom. Just an interesting observation I had as I was searching for my watch before I left the house today.
And that’s been my week. It hasn’t been a bad one all things considered. This coming week will hopefully be more of the same. I still have plenty of neighborhoods around my corner of D.C. I’d like to photograph, more writing I want to get done, and still two more years of the Civil War to explore. Wherever you are, I hope you’re keeping safe, keeping your spirits up and making your way through all of this the best you can. Take care out there, and I’ll see you right back here, same time next week.
-Mike